Who can apply for asylum in the UK?

A person can apply for asylum in the UK if they have a well‑founded fear of persecution for one of the recognised reasons listed below. This process is known as seeking asylum, and the initial application is referred to as an asylum claim. A person may claim asylum regardless of their current immigration status, however, it is taken into consideration in your eligibility.  If the application is successful, the person is granted protection status and is usually recognised as a refugee under UK immigration law.

It is important to understand some key terms before exploring the area of international protection:

• Asylum seeker: An asylum seeker in the UK is someone who has made an application for asylum in the UK and is awaiting a decision on their application.
• Refugee Convention: This is an international legal framework that will be considered by the Home Office when they are deciding whether an applicant is eligible for Refugee Status. Only someone who meets the requirements of the Refugee Convention will be granted refugee status in the UK.

To seek asylum in the UK and be granted refugee status, your asylum claim must fall within one or more risk categories (called Convention reasons) under the Refugee Convention. This means that someone must face a well-founded fear of persecution because of their:

1. Race
2. Religion
3. Nationality
4. Membership of a particular social group
5. Political belief

Additionally, you must be unable to obtain protection from the authorities of your country of nationality or origin due to a fear of persecution, and you must be unable to relocate internally, for example, to a different city, to get away from the risk of harm.

How do I claim asylum? Process for initial claims

The process for claiming asylum is very different to other immigration applications. There is no specific application. Instead, you present in person or contact the Home Office. You can claim asylum at any point, although this is normally done when entering at the border of the UK.

After you claim asylum, the Home Office may send you a preliminary questionnaire to complete. Normally you will then need to attend two interviews. The initial screening interview records your details and the reasons you are claiming asylum. The next step is a substantive interview, which is the main opportunity to explain why you fear persecution.

The substantive interview is very important, and the Home Office will consider this in detail when making your asylum decision. The Home Office will also consider any discrepancies and/or differences between what you have said in the screening and substantive interviews.

What if my asylum claim is successful?

If your claim is successful you will be granted protection status either in the form of Refugee status or Humanitarian Protection.

Refugee Status and Humanitarian Protection are forms of international protection given to someone who is accepted as being at risk of harm in their country of origin. Both will be considered at the same time. Ordinarily Refugee Status is considered first as it can afford an individual with more benefits than Humanitarian Protection. 

• Refugee status: A refugee is someone whose asylum claim has been accepted and is recognised as meeting the requirements of the Refugee Convention. An asylum seeker will become a refugee if the Home Office grants them refugee status.
• Humanitarian Protection: This is a form of leave to remain where someone does not fall into the risk categories under the Refugee Convention and you are therefore not eligible for refugee status. However, the Home Office may still consider that you would still face a real risk of suffering serious harm and you are unable or unwilling to return to your country of origin because of that risk.
  An example of a situation where humanitarian protection may be granted is where you are fleeing a war zone for reasons of fearing indiscriminate violence, and the Home Office agrees that returning you to that country would lead to a risk of serious harm. 

Both refugee status and humanitarian protection offer similar rights in the UK, but there are important differences between them, such as the type of travel document you can obtain. It is therefore essential that your application is assessed correctly.

How long is protection granted for?

From 2 March 2026, the length of leave granted to successful asylum applicants was reduced from five years to 30 months. This means that anyone who claims asylum or makes further submissions on or after this date will receive 30 months only and will need to renew their protection status. 

This change does not affect people who were granted refugee status or humanitarian protection before 2 March 2026 under the previous five‑year route. Those individuals can continue on the five‑year pathway and may apply for settlement after completing five years of leave.

What if my asylum application is refused? 

Appeals

If the Home Office decides that you do not qualify for refugee status or humanitarian protection, your asylum application may be refused.

In most cases, you will have a right of appeal against the refusal of a protection claim. You can read about Appeals and Challenges. However, if your claim is certified as ‘clearly unfounded’ this would prevent you from appealing the decision.

Human Rights grounds 

Before refusing an application, the Home Office should consider submissions, including all your reasons for remaining in the UK and assess whether a grant of leave or permission under another part of the immigration rules is appropriate. 

It is possible, for example, that while you do not qualify for refugee status under a convention reason, you may have sufficient evidence that the Home Office consider whether your evidence raises other human rights grounds under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

For example, you may have developed a private or family life in the UK (Article 8). This could be relevant if you have lived in the UK for a long period of time, or have developed close family relationships here.

Alternatively, one situation which overlaps over with asylum claims is where, due to medical reasons, returning you to your country of origin would amount to cruel, degrading or inhumane treatment (Article 3).

It is therefore very important that your initial application includes all arguments and reasons for remaining in the UK. Even if you do not qualify for protection, you may still meet the requirements under a different part of the Immigration Rules. If these reasons are not raised in your submissions, you risk them not being considered.

Making Fresh claims: further submissions

Following a refusal, it may be possible to submit a new claim for asylum, also known as making further submissions. Your initial asylum claim must have been refused or withdrawn and appeal rights exhausted, before you present further submissions.

However there are restrictions on relying on previous evidence already submitted when making further submissions. You must be relying on new evidence. Therefore, this may be relevant if there have been changing circumstances in the country you would need to return to, or if you now have new information or documents that were not available to the Home Office at the time of your initial claim.

What is Family Reunion? 

Family Reunion was a route for people granted refugee status or humanitarian protection to sponsor their immediate ‘pre-flight’ family members to join them in the UK. This route was designed only for those who formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled the country (termed as ‘pre-flight family’).

The route was suspended in September 2025 and is currently under review. Although the route is suspended in the meantime, family members can still apply through the other existing family members routes under the Immigration Rules. Read about UK family visa routes.

There are some key differences you should be aware of: 

• Cost: Unlike Family Reunion, the standard family visas have application fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge. However, fee waivers may be available if you can show you can and would not be able to afford the fees or the surcharge.
  
• More requirements: The standard family visa routes have more eligibility requirements, that did not apply to Family Reunion cases, including financial, accommodation and English language requirements. They can become complex depending on your circumstances. If you cannot meet the requirements you may need to explain and rely on exceptional circumstances. 

You will need to prepare and plan to meet the eligibility requirements of the Family visa routes including whether you are raising exceptional circumstances in your application. You should seek legal advice or support before applying. 

Legal support for your asylum or Humanitarian Protection claim

Asylum claims are complex and it is important to obtain legal advice to support your asylum or protection claim. Asylum remains one of the few areas in which you may be entitled to legal aid which provides free legal support to you.