Date of publication:
09/28/2026
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
Do domestic laws and policies authorize asylum-seekers to be present and remain in the country, pending determination of their asylum application?
Assessment by population
Analysis
Sections 77(1) and (2) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 provide that, while a person’s claim for asylum is pending, they may not be removed from the United Kingdom. However, sections 77(2A) and (2B) provide that the earlier provision does not prevent an asylum seeker being removed to a country in which they will not face persecution or a contravention of their rights under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and from which they will not be sent to another country where this would result in them facing persecution or a contravention of their Article 3 rights.1
In practice, however, asylum seekers who are admitted to the asylum process (those whose claims are not declared inadmissible) are issued with Asylum Registration Cards, which certify that they can remain in the UK while their claim is pending.2
The laws and policies relating to the authorisation of asylum-seekers to be present and remain in the country, pending determination of their asylum application, apply equally to all asylum-seekers, irrespective of their individual characteristics.
- 1Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, Section 77. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/41/section/77.
- 2Home Office, Guidance: Application registration card (ARC). Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-registration-card-arc/application-registration-card-arc.
Related provisions of domestic law or policy
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
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
Immigration Act 2016 (amended)
- Year: 2016
- Type: Domestic law
- Rights Category: Asylum
- Link to external source: https://www.refworld.org/node/115519
Legal provision
Immigration Act 2016 - Generic
Immigration Act 2016 - Generic
Guidance: Application registration card (ARC)
- Year: 2025
- Type: Domestic policy
- Rights Category: Asylum
- Link to external source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-registration-card-arc/application-registration-card-arc
Legal provision
Guidance: Application registration card (ARC) - Generic
Guidance: Application registration card (ARC) - Generic