Active review

This page explains how and when we will review the temporary permission we gave you to stay in the United Kingdom as a refugee, for humanitarian protection, or for other reasons. It also briefly describes the circumstances in which we may refuse to renew that permission.

For more information about permission to stay, and what it means, see Leave to remain.

How and when we may review your permission to stay depends on the type of permission we gave you, when we gave it to you, and whether any of your circumstances have changed significantly. The review will consider whether you still qualify for permission to stay in the United Kingdom.

When we conduct an in-depth review of your circumstances, we call this an active review. Not everyone has their case reviewed in this way. It is more likely to occur if we gave you humanitarian protection before 30 August 2005, or if we gave you discretionary leave to remain. (See Leave to remain for an explanation of discretionary leave, and Human rights applications for an explanation of humanitarian protection.)

An active review of your case will be carried out when you apply to us to renew your residence permit (leave to remain) or apply for permanent residence if you were given:

• your first permission to stay for humanitarian reasons before 30 August 2005;
• discretionary leave to remain; or
• were refused asylum but given special permission to stay (known as exceptional leave to remain) for less than four years before 1 April 2003.

To apply, you will need to complete the application form DL to renew your residence permit. You can find this form on the right side of this page.

In some cases, an active review will also be carried out if you were recognised as a refugee or given humanitarian protection on or after 30 August 2005, but only in special circumstances. These include if:

• you let your temporary permission to stay expire before you apply to renew it, or do not apply to renew it at all;
• there is a significant and non-temporary change in the conditions in the country you came from, so that you no longer qualify for refugee status;
• you do something that may result in you no longer qualifying for refugee status, such as returning to live in the country you came from;
• we discover that you deceived us in order to be recognised as a refugee;
• we discover that you committed certain serious crimes before applying for asylum; or
• we have reason to believe you are a danger to the security of the United Kingdom or you have been convicted of a particularly serious crime.

If we decide to actively review your case, we will write to tell you this, giving our reasons for it. You will then be able to explain the reasons why you believe you should be allowed to stay in the United Kingdom. We will consider each case individually, based on the circumstances that apply at the time of the review. If we ask you for information to support your reasons for being allowed to stay in the United Kingdom and you do not provide it, we will consider your case on the basis of the information we do have.

If we carry out an active review of your circumstances and decide you do not qualify for further permission to stay in the United Kingdom, you may have the right to appeal against that decision. If your appeal fails, you will be expected to leave the country, either voluntarily or by enforced removal.