International students warned by text they will be deported if they overstay their visas

Tens of thousands of foreign students have been contacted by the Home Office and warned they will be deported if they overstay their visas.

In part of separate plans to crack down on illegal immigration, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also told Gareth Barlow on Sky News Breakfast that she expects the first deportations under a new returns deal with France to begin "later this month".

The Home Office messaging campaign comes as it says there has been a spike in the number of overseas students claiming asylum once their studies come to an end.

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The text warns that asylum applications without merit will be "swiftly and robustly refused", and those without a legal right to remain in the UK must leave or