As their student visas are about to run out, some Nigerians in the UK are looking for legal ways to stay in the country.
According to Sunday PUNCH, the actions happened after the UK government announced new immigration rules and warnings.
Last Sunday, the UK government put out an emergency statement on its website saying that nearly 10,000 overseas students had already been told to leave the country because their visas had run out.
It said that the change was made because there had been a lot of asylum petitions from those with visas.
Under the previous government, asylum petitions from those with work, study, or tourist visas were believed to have more than tripled. They made up 37% (41,400) of all claims in the year ending June 2025.
International students made up the most claims at 40%, followed by people with employment visas at 29% and visitors at 24%.
The ministry said it started a direct messaging effort to inform students that their visas were about to run out in order to stop the practice.
The BBC says that the statement issued to student visa holders said, “If you file an asylum claim that has no merit, it will be quickly and strongly denied.” Any request for asylum help will be looked at based on the criteria for being poor.
“You won’t get help if you don’t meet the requirements.” You have to leave the UK if you don’t have the legal right to stay. We will take you away if you don’t.
The UK House of Commons Library said in a research briefing on June 27, 2025, that 732,285 foreign students, or 23 percent of all students, went to UK universities and colleges during the 2023/24 academic year.
The number of new students from other countries in 2023/24 was 428,200, which is a 6.75% decline from the 459,200 recorded in 2022/23.
The top sending countries have changed throughout the years, but Nigeria still sends the third most students, with 34,500.
Students in Nigeria are scared.
It was learned that certain Nigerians who would be affected by the new migration rules were looking for legal ways to stay longer.
A PhD student in Scotland, who didn’t want to provide their name, told our reporter that the students were freaking out.
He remarked, “Nigerian students are scared because the laws in the UK keep changing.” I know some people who are currently on student visas who got the text and email.
The student said that some people had switched to skilled worker visas to avoid being deported, but many others were still unsure about their future.
The PhD student said, “Before, you could stay in the UK on a post-study work visa for two years after finishing your Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. Now, it’s only 18 months. This is part of the UK’s plan to make immigration stricter.”
“If you are a student and your visa expires, you automatically become an illegal immigrant in the UK, which is a crime. If you can’t get a certificate of sponsorship from an employer, you can’t apply for a skilled worker visa or switch to another type of visa.”
A University of Salford graduate student, who also asked to remain anonymous, claimed that the new migration policy made them feel uneasy.
“It’s just awful because time and money have been wasted,” he told our reporter.
“Under the new legislation, new student visa holders can’t move to the skilled worker visa on the shortage occupation list after July 22, 2025. The post-study work visa has also been lowered to 18 months.
“People here don’t know what to do next, and some are looking for other places to study besides the UK, as shown by the drop in the number of international students.”
The student, who began his program at Salford in March 2024, said that he had since switched to a skilled worker visa that would last until July 2028 after recently deciding against the postgraduate option.
When asked if he would think about going back to Nigeria, the student answered, “Hell, no.” Not with the inflation that makes everything so expensive,
criminality and the careless way our leaders act. “Sometimes, if you taste a working system, you can’t go back; you have to move on.”
A Nigerian woman who graduated from the University of Cambridge and asked not to be named said she had previously applied for a post-study visa because her student visa will end on August 30, 2025.
She said that the UK Home Office had approved her application.
She said that most of the students she talked to had either already had a post-study visa or were in the process of getting one.
She said, “For those who haven’t, we haven’t heard anything from the UK government yet.”
The Cambridge graduate, who started her studies at the institution in October 2024, made it clear that she did not want to go back to Nigeria. She had always expected to stay in the UK for work before going on to get a PhD.
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission warned people residing overseas not to linger longer than their permits allowed.
Abdur-Rahman Balogun, a spokeswoman for NiDCOM, said, “The moment your visa expires, it becomes criminalized because it is illegal to stay there.”
He told Nigerians to always act well and be excellent representatives of their country.
Experts were split
Mr. Tolani Jaiyeola, who helped start Globalink Pathway College in Lagos, said that the current notice was just a reminder of the laws that are already in place for immigration.
Jaiyeola said that the decision is part of the UK government’s larger plan to lower net migration, which had reached record highs.
“This move fits with the UK government’s main goal right now, which is to greatly lower net migration,” Jaiyeola added.
People have been looking at the graduate visa route because they are worried that some people are using it as a way to get low-skilled jobs instead of as a way to start high-potential careers. The warning is a clear sign that the UK is serious about the fact that student visas are only temporary and is cracking down on anyone who is thought to be overstaying or abusing the system.
Jaiyeola agreed that the UK has the right to control immigration, but he didn’t like how the message was sent since it could have turned law-abiding students against them.
Jaiyeola said that the warning could make Nigerians less interested in UK education, especially because there were already limits on dependents.
Prof. Anthony Kola-Olusanya, a professor of Environmental Sustainability and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, also criticized the UK for being exploitative and hurting its reputation.
Kola-Olusanya added that every country has the right to define its own immigration regulations, but the way the UK does it creates moral problems.
He remarked, “It’s not weird or novel to think that foreign students should go back to their home country after they finish their education. But the moral question is this: do you see these students as a commodity that you can exploit and throw away after taking their money, with a promise that if they graduate from your system, they can get a job and maybe even residency in your system? If you can’t accomplish it now, why do you still want your colleges to keep looking for students from Nigeria and other African countries? That is nearly like 419: take the money, give them a degree, and tell them to go.
Prof. Francis Egbokhare from the University of Ibadan, on the other hand, said that visa compliance was not up for discussion.
“I believe that every visa has a purpose, and the visa itself is a contract between the immigrant and the government.” Illegally staying longer than allowed or breaking the requirements of a visa is illegal. The UK has the right to tell immigrants who stay longer than they are allowed to go back to their native country. He remarked, “Nigeria shouldn’t have any reason to question this.”
Prof. Bayo Oladipo, the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Lagos, said that Nigeria needs to fix its own problems if it wants its citizens to come back.
Oladipo stated that the policy wasn’t new and that students always knew what they had to do when they applied to study abroad.
“I want to believe that everyone who applied to study in the UK filled out the form and said they would go back to their home country after the program.”
“I think it’s part of the requirements for getting in and for the immigration process.” So you should be able to keep your promise to say, “I will go back to my country after the program.” He said, “That’s what honesty is all about, that’s what integrity is all about, and that’s what national consciousness is all about.”
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