Asylum is a form of protection granted to individuals fleeing persecution in their home countries. The concept was formally established in international law by the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention, created in the aftermath of the Holocaust and World War II, which had displaced millions across Europe and beyond.
The right to seek asylum was first recognized in Article 14 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which affirms that people have the right to seek refuge from persecution in other countries. A few years later, the Refugee Convention was adopted to give legal weight to this principle. The United Kingdom was one of the original signatories and played a significant role in shaping the convention’s terms.
The terms asylum seeker and refugee describe people at different points in the process of obtaining international protection.
An asylum seeker is someone who has fled their home country due to dangerous conditions and is requesting protection under the Refugee Convention. They are waiting for their claim to be assessed. Asylum claims can be made in any country that is a signatory to the Convention.
A refugee, on the other hand, is someone whose asylum claim has been accepted. This means they have been officially recognised as needing protection under international law.
Countries that have signed the Refugee Convention are required to assess asylum applications submitted from within their territory. Each application is examined to determine whether the individual meets the Convention’s definition of a refugee.
In the UK, individuals must register their asylum claim after entering the country. This is typically done by informing a UK Border Force officer at the port of entry. Some people may arrive in the UK through other means such as on a visitor or student visa and later find that returning to their home country would put them at risk of persecution. In such cases, they should register their asylum claim as soon as their circumstances change. This involves calling to book an appointment at the Asylum Screening Unit (ASU) in Croydon.
In the UK, asylum claims are assessed by the Home Office, which oversees a two-stage interview process: the screening interview and the substantive interview.
The screening interview is a brief, initial meeting used to gather key information about the asylum seeker and their claim. During this interview, the Home Office will collect personal details, and Biometrics and ask questions about the individual’s background, family, and journey to the UK. This is an opportunity for the asylum seeker to outline the basic reasons for seeking protection.
The substantive interview is a more in-depth discussion, where the asylum seeker is asked detailed questions about their experiences and reasons for claiming asylum. The goal is to determine whether they meet the definition of a "refugee" and qualify for protection under UK and international law. This interview is audio recorded, and the information provided plays a crucial role in the decision-making process. Applicants are also encouraged to bring any supporting documents that may help verify their claim.
According to the Refugee Convention’s Article I, a refugee is someone who:
“...owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country.”
In simple terms, a refugee is a person who fears individual persecution based on specific grounds. This legal definition is made up of several elements, and an asylum seeker must meet all of them for their claim to be accepted.
Under the UK’s Immigration Rules, the responsibility lies with the claimant to provide evidence supporting their asylum claim. This evidence must be submitted as soon as possible and must meet a specific ‘standard of proof’—which has been adjusted for different parts of the definition under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.
Meeting this requirement is often difficult. Many applicants must build a legal case without professional help and may lack the documents to prove their claim either because they fled in a hurry, cannot safely contact people back home, or because their experiences of persecution were never formally recorded.
While decision makers are required to assess all available evidence holistically and to engage with the applicant in reaching a decision, in practice, asylum seekers must do their best to provide as much relevant information and evidence as possible to show that they meet each part of the refugee definition.
To qualify for refugee status, an individual must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country. This doesn’t mean they need to prove that persecution has already happened or that it will definitely happen if they return but rather, that there is a real and credible risk it could occur.
It’s essential for applicants to explain why they personally fear persecution. This is often a challenging part of the process. While general evidence such as human rights reports about conditions in a country can be helpful, it is usually not enough on its own. Applicants must link the risk to their own specific circumstances.
Personal fear may stem from past persecution, direct threats, or witnessing harm done to others—such as friends or family members. Explaining these experiences clearly helps build the case.
Where possible, applicants should also provide objective evidence to support their claims. This might include documents such as arrest warrants, court records, media reports, or written statements from people who can corroborate their story.
Persecution is defined as:
“serious, targeted mistreatment of an individual because of their identity related to one or more of the following grounds: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a particular social group.”
According to Home Office guidance, persecution:
“must be sufficiently serious—whether by its nature or through repetition—to amount to a severe violation of a fundamental human right, or be an accumulation of various acts, including human rights violations, that together seriously affect the individual.”
Similar to the ‘well-founded fear’ requirement, asylum seekers need to clearly and specifically describe the persecution they fear. They should explain not only why they personally fear persecution but also what form it might take, based on the definition above. Additionally, they must show how this persecution is connected to one or more of the protected grounds listed.
The decision maker evaluates the first two elements of the refugee definition through a two-stage process.
First, they must determine whether it is more likely than not that:
Next, the decision maker assesses whether there is a reasonable likelihood that:
In other words, the decision maker first makes an objective judgment to confirm that the claimant is who they say they are and that their asylum claim is based on fear of specific persecution, not for example for economic reasons. Then, a more subjective assessment follows to decide whether that fear is reasonable.
An asylum seeker must demonstrate why they cannot depend on their government for protection against the persecution they fear.
The Home Office will assess whether the asylum seeker could be safe by relocating to another city or region within their country, this is known as internal relocation.
To qualify as a refugee, the asylum seeker must explain why internal relocation would not offer them safety. For example, if they fear persecution by their country’s government or police, they may show that they would be at risk no matter where they go. Alternatively, even if they could avoid persecution by moving, they might face other serious risks or hardships.
The Home Office is also required to consider whether asking the asylum seeker to relocate would be unduly harsh or unreasonable.
Once someone is officially recognised as a refugee, the UK typically grants them protection and permission to stay. At this stage, the person is referred to as a refugee, having fulfilled the criteria set out by the Convention.
In the UK, this usually means being granted leave to remain for five years. After this period, the refugee can apply for permanent settlement (also known as indefinite leave to remain).
However, this process differs for refugees who are deemed not to have arrived directly from a country or territory where their life or freedom was at risk. These individuals receive temporary refugee permission, which does not lead to permanent settlement in the UK.
Refugee status is granted to individuals who fear targeted persecution because of a specific characteristic, such as their race, religion, or political opinion. This is different from a general fear of harm, for example, due to war or conflict. People fleeing widespread violence may not meet the criteria for refugee status.
However, if someone faces a serious and individual threat to their life or safety due to indiscriminate violence in a situation of international or internal armed conflict, their case may be considered under a different provision of international protection.
If an applicant meets this standard, they may be granted Humanitarian Protection instead. Like refugee status, this comes with 5 years of leave to remain in the UK, after which the person can apply for indefinite leave to remain (permanent settlement).
The asylum process in the UK is complex and often lengthy. In 2024, 47% of initial decisions resulted in a grant of asylum or humanitarian protection, significantly lower than the 67% in the preceding year. This shows that obtaining expert immigration advice is crucial to give you the best outcome for your asylum claim.
We can provide expert immigration advice for you to Claim Asylum for Refugee Status or Humanitarian Protection. Feel free to contact our expert UK immigration lawyers today on 0330 113 1316 or complete our enquiry form. We're here to guide you every step of the way.