Successful applications

This page explains what you can expect if your application for asylum is successful and you are recognised as a refugee, or if we decide to give you protection for humanitarian reasons.

If we recognise you as a refugee, or we decide that you may stay here for humanitarian reasons, you will be given permission to stay in the United Kingdom for an initial period of five years. (We call this 'leave to enter' or 'leave to remain'.) For more information about humanitarian protection, see the Human rights applications page.

Instead of being given temporary permission to stay for five years, refugees who are resettled in the United Kingdom through the Gateway Protection Programme are given permanent residence immediately. For more information, see the Gateway Protection Programme page.

If we do not recognise you as a refugee or a person who qualifies for humanitarian protection, we may give you another type of temporary permission to stay in the United Kingdom. We call this 'discretionary leave to remain'. The length of time you are allowed to stay will depend on your circumstances, but it is unlikely to be more than three years initially. Discretionary leave to remain is given only in limited circumstances.

During the period when you have temporary permission to stay, we may review your status because of something you have done or significant changes in the country you came from. We may also review your status when your temporary permission to stay is about to end, or if you apply for further permission to stay (either temporarily or permanently). See Active review for more details.

If you have been recognised as a refugee or given humanitarian protection and you do not have any travel documents, you can apply to us for new travel documents. You will be able to leave and enter the United Kingdom with these documents, but you will not be allowed to travel to your country of origin.

After you have been given permission to stay in the United Kingdom as a refugee or for humanitarian reasons, your case owner will help you to start building your new life in this country. We call this integration.

If we refuse your application, details of what you can expect are in Unsuccessful applications.