Rethinking Indefinite Leave to Remain: A Route to Settlement?

In this report, Civitas research intern and recent International Relations graduate Edward Worman examines the UK’s asylum and settlement system, arguing that the route from asylum status to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) should be replaced with renewable temporary protection determined by genuine need. He argues that ILR has become an almost automatic pathway from asylum to permanent settlement and citizenship, raising questions of fairness and the purpose of refugee protection.

While current debates tend to focus on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Worman argues that another crucial element in the UK’s loss of control over asylum is how the 1951 Refugee Convention has been interpreted. In particular, he highlights the Convention’s largely overlooked cessation clauses, which allow refugee protection to end when conditions in a person’s home country improve. The report argues that temporary protection, rather than permanent settlement, is closer to the Convention’s original intent, and advocates replacing the asylum route to ILR with renewable protected status alongside reforms to returns agreements, deportation rules and asylum eligibility. Ultimately, Worman argues that asylum law must provide protection where danger persists whilst also guarding against potential abuses.