Humanitarian protection is granted to people who do not meet the refugee definition but would face a real risk of serious harm if returned. It is considered automatically as part of every asylum claim, and it is the right outcome for some people whose fear is real but not connected to a Refugee Convention reason.

The test

You must show substantial grounds for believing that on return you would face a real risk of serious harm, meaning:

the death penalty or execution;
unlawful killing;
torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; or
a serious and individual threat to your life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence in an international or internal armed conflict.

Serious harm from a non-state actor counts where the state cannot or will not protect you, and internal relocation is considered as for asylum.

How it differs from asylum

Asylum requires persecution for a Convention reason: race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group. Humanitarian protection does not. A person fleeing generalised violence, a blood feud, or a risk of ill-treatment with no Convention link may qualify for humanitarian protection but not asylum.

What is granted

Five years' leave, with the right to work, access to public funds, and family reunion for a partner and children who were part of the family before you left. After five years you can apply for settlement. Since 2023 there is no longer a lesser "temporary" form of protection status.

Exclusion

People who have committed serious crimes or are a danger to the UK can be excluded from humanitarian protection even where the risk is real; in those cases Article 3 may still prevent removal without a grant of status.

What we do

We prepare the protection claim as a whole, so that humanitarian protection is argued properly alongside asylum, and we act in appeals where the Home Office refuses both. See asylum claims.

Legal aid

The firm holds a legal aid contract for immigration and asylum work. If you qualify financially, this work can be funded; we assess eligibility at the first call. See legal aid.