Domestic laws and policies in the UK provide for the return of individuals determined not to be in need of international protection.

Section 10 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 permits the Secretary of State to remove individuals from the UK when they do not have a legal basis to remain.1 There is no exception to this for those refused protection or other legal status following the completion of the refugee status determination procedure, including any appeals.

Anyone liable to removal from the UK, including those who have made a protection claim, may be eligible for a voluntary, rather than enforced, departure, unless they have already been detained by the Home Office with a view to removing them from the UK. A request for voluntary departure will generally be granted unless Home Office staff can demonstrate why an enforced removal should take place instead. Requests for a voluntary departure from someone who is not (yet) detained but for whom an enforced removal has already been arranged will generally be refused unless there are exceptional circumstances.2

An assisted voluntary departure may also be available. A person who is departing to a developing country or who has complex needs or vulnerabilities can be provided with up to £3,000 of resettlement support, either in cash or by way of in-kind support from a provider in their country of return.3

Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 requires the Home Secretary to make arrangements “[t]o ensure that immigration, asylum, nationality and customs functions are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK.”4

The Home Office guidance document “Children’s Asylum Claims” states that “The Home Office has a policy commitment that no unaccompanied child will be removed from the UK unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that safe and adequate reception arrangements are in place in the country to which the child is to be removed. In addition, the decision to return must take into account the section 55 duty to have regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child, including that their best interests are taken into account in the decision.” The guidance states: “If safe, adequate and sustainable reception arrangements in the child’s home country cannot be made, and there is no current prospect of them being made, and but for this it would be reasonable for the child to return, decision makers must consider granting UASC leave under paragraphs 352ZC to F of the Immigration Rules. This is in keeping with the duty under section 55. Leave under paragraph 352ZC (also known as UASC leave) is granted for 30 months or until the child reaches the age of 17.5, whichever is the shorter.”5

A decision to remove a person from the UK, including one returning an individual deemed not to be in need of international protection to their country of origin, is not a decision which carries a right of appeal to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the Tribunal. However, a removal decision may be challenged by way of an application for judicial review in accordance with section 31 of the Senior Courts Act 1981.6 The High Court or Upper Tribunal7 will consider the application. A removal decision may be quashed if the Court considers that it is illegal, procedurally unfair or irrational,8 or if it is incompatible with human rights given effect in domestic law by the Human Rights Act 1998.9

• 1Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, Section 10. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1999/33/section/10.
• 2Home Office, Voluntary and assisted departures, updated 1 September 2026. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/returns-preparation/voluntary-and-assisted-departures-accessible. Home Office, Get help to return home if you’re a migrant in the UK, Available at: https://www.gov.uk/return-home-voluntarily/who.
• 3Home Office, Voluntary and assisted departures, updated 1 September 2026. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/returns-preparation/voluntary-and-assisted-departures-accessible.
• 4Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, Section 55. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/11/section/55.
• 5Home Office, Children’s asylum claims, Version 5.0. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/678e41f3432c55fe2988f633/Processing+childrens+asylum+claims.pdf.
• 6Senior Courts Act 1981, Section 31. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/54/section/31.
• 7Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Section 15. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/15/section/15.
• 8See case of Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service [1985] AC 374, UK House of Lords.
• 9Human Rights Act 1998, Section 6: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/section/6. See also case of R (on the application of Daly) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2001] UKHL 26, UK House of Lords. Available at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200001/ldjudgmt/jd010523/daly-1.htm.