Date of publication:
09/28/2026
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
Do domestic laws and policies provide for a legal status to refugees, authorizing them to stay in the country?
Assessment by population
Analysis
UK domestic laws and policies provide refugees with a legal status that authorises them to remain in the country.
Upon recognition as a refugee, individuals are granted refugee status under Paragraph 334 of the Immigration Rules.1
No fee is payable in order to obtain refugee status and a refugee does not have to complete any additional administrative steps to obtain the status once they have been through the asylum process.
Until 2 March 2026, refugee status was typically granted for an initial period of five years (Immigration Rules, Paragraph 339QB), after which individuals were able to apply to extend their leave to remain or apply for indefinite leave to remain (settlement). As of 2 March 2026, refugee status and humanitarian protection will usually be granted for the shorter period of two and a half years for all claims (other than those made by unaccompanied children or a small number of other categories of applicant)2 lodged on or after that date (Immigration Rules, Paragraph 339QAA).3
Individuals who claimed asylum before 2 March 2026 and are granted five years’ refugee status or humanitarian protection will retain eligibility to apply for settlement after those five years. The Government has not yet legislated in relation to the length of time a person granted protection status law having made a claim on or after 2 March 2026 will have to wait in order to apply for settlement. However, the Government’s most recent policy paper on the matter indicates that such people will have to wait 20 years, with the possibility to “earn” a reduction to this timeframe through working or studying, 4likely to a minimum of at least ten years.5
- 1
Immigration Rules, Part 11: Asylum. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-part-11-asylum.
- 2Home Office, Permission to stay on a protection route for asylum claims lodged on or after 2 March 2026. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/permission-to-stay-on-a-protection-route-caseworker-guidance.
- 3Immigration Rules, Part 11: Asylum. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-part-11-asylum.
- 4HM Government, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, November 2025. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-and-returns-policy-statement.
- 5A prior Government policy paper stated: “We will reform our settlement and citizenship rules by expanding the Points-Based System and increasing the standard qualifying period for settlement to ten years.” HM Government, Restoring Control over the Immigration System, May 2025. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-white-paper.
Related provisions of domestic law or policy
Immigration Rules
- Year: 2016
- Type: Domestic law
- Rights Category: Documentation
- Link to external source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-part-11-asylum
Legal provision
Immigration Rules - Generic
Immigration Rules - Generic
Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, November 2025
- Year: 2025
- Type: Domestic policy
- Rights Category: Asylum
- Link to external source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-and-returns-policy-statement
Legal provision
Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, November 2025 - Generic
Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, November 2025 - Generic
Restoring Control over the Immigration System, May 2025
- Year: 2025
- Type: Domestic policy
- Rights Category: Asylum
- Link to external source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-white-paper
Legal provision
Restoring Control over the Immigration System, May 2025 - Generic
Restoring Control over the Immigration System, May 2025 - Generic
Permission to stay on a protection route for asylum claims lodged on or after 2 March 2026
- Year: 2026
- Type: Domestic policy
- Rights Category: Asylum
- Link to external source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/permission-to-stay-on-a-protection-route-caseworker-guidance
Legal provision
Permission to stay on a protection route for asylum claims lodged on or after 2 March 2026 - Generic
Permission to stay on a protection route for asylum claims lodged on or after 2 March 2026 - Generic
Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002
- Year: 2002
- Type: Domestic law
- Rights Category: Asylum
- Link to external source: https://www.refworld.org/node/9272
Legal provision
Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 - Generic
Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 - Generic