Refugee & Humanitarian Protection

Being granted refugee status or humanitarian protection is an important step towards rebuilding a safe life in the UK. It also brings new questions: how long the permission lasts, what happens when it ends, whether family members can join you and how settlement works. The rules in this area changed significantly in 2025 and 2026, and further reforms have been announced, so it is important to understand which rules apply to you.

Refugee status and humanitarian protection

Refugee status is granted to people who meet the definition in the Refugee Convention. Humanitarian protection is granted to people who do not meet that definition but would face a real risk of serious harm if returned. Both give permission to stay in the UK. Your grant letter and residence documents will say which status you have been given.

How long your permission lasts depends on when you claimed

The key date is the date your asylum claim (or further submissions) was made, not the date of the decision:

Claim or further submissions made	Permission usually granted
On or before 1 March 2026	5 years, with the option to apply for settlement after 5 years
On or after 2 March 2026 (adults, families and accompanied children)	At least 30 months
On or after 2 March 2026 by an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child	At least 5 years

People who receive 30 months can apply to renew their permission within the last 28 days of their current grant if they still need protection. Dependants of these claimants usually receive 30 months as well.

Settlement

If your claim was made on or before 1 March 2026 and you were granted 5 years, you remain eligible to apply for settlement (indefinite leave to remain) after 5 years under the protection settlement rules, provided the requirements are met. At the time of writing, there is no Home Office fee for a settlement application by a protection status holder.

For those granted 30 months on claims made from 2 March 2026, the Government has not yet set out in the Immigration Rules when and how settlement will be available. Renewal after 30 months is stated to be subject to wider reforms. Anyone in this position should take advice before their permission is due to end. See also our indefinite leave to remain page.

Family members

Refugee family reunion has been closed to new applications since 4 September 2025. Applications made before that date are decided under the previous rules. The Government has said family reunion remains paused while new rules are designed.

At present, a partner or child of a person with protection status may instead be able to apply under Appendix FM, the family route in the Immigration Rules. This route has its own requirements, which can include financial and English language requirements, and Home Office fees (a fee waiver may be possible in some cases). Since 3 August 2026, a partner of a sponsor who holds 30 months' protection permission is usually granted permission ending on the same date as the sponsor's. Child relatives of people with protection are dealt with under a separate route, which we can advise on. See our spouse visa and dependant visa pages.

Announced reforms (proposals only)

In November 2025 the Government published an asylum policy statement setting out further changes. These are proposals and are not yet law:

• A single "core protection" status to replace refugee status and humanitarian protection, as part of the Immigration and Asylum Bill currently before Parliament.
• A much longer wait for settlement on core protection, described as 20 years. Settlement requirements were part of the earned settlement consultation, and the outcome has not yet been published.
• A new Protection Work and Study route, offering a quicker path for those who meet its requirements, alongside proposed community-sponsored and study routes for refugees.
• No automatic right to family reunion under core protection.

We will update our advice as the detail is confirmed. Until then, the rules in force are those described above.

Common questions we help with

• Confirming which leave length and settlement rules apply to your grant.
• Renewing 30 months' protection permission on time.
• Applying for settlement after 5 years where eligible.
• Bringing a partner or child to the UK now that family reunion is closed.
• Responding if the Home Office reviews or proposes to revoke protection status.

How Stonebridge can help

We review your grant and circumstances, explain which rules apply, prepare renewal and settlement applications, advise on family applications under Appendix FM and represent you in correspondence with the Home Office. If protection status is revoked, there is usually a right of appeal, and we can advise on an appeal.

If you have protection status and are unsure what comes next, please book a confidential consultation.