Asylum seekers: the permission to work policy

Asylum seekers are not initially allowed to work while waiting for a decision on their claim. There has been recurring debate about making the rules more liberal.

Permission to work, in skilled jobs only, can be granted after 12 months

People who have claimed asylum in the UK can apply for permission to work if they have been waiting 12 months for a decision, and they are not considered responsible for the delay.

If permission is granted, the person is allowed to seek employment in jobs that the Home Office considers to be ‘higher skilled’. The list of permitted jobs includes professional roles such as engineering, medicine, teaching and architecture. Lower-skilled work is not allowed.

The Home Office does not publish data on the number of asylum seekers granted permission to work or actually in employment.

The policy has evolved over the past 20 years

Until 2002, asylum seekers could apply for permission to work if they had been waiting six months for an initial decision on their asylum claim. The Labour government removed that concession, saying it was necessary to distinguish asylum from economic migration.

A right to apply for permission to work after 12 months was introduced in 2005 to comply with EU law. The Labour party said in 2022 that this should be reduced back to six months, but in government has retained the 12-month waiting period.

The coalition government restricted work rights to a limited list of shortage jobs in 2010. The list was replaced with a shorter version in 2024.

In March 2026, the Starmer government abolished the principle that asylum seekers could only work in shortage occupations, allowing employment in any higher skilled job if granted permission to work after 12 months. Such jobs include, but are not limited to, healthcare roles such as doctors and nurses.

The government says restrictions are necessary to prevent a “pull factor”

Successive governments have maintained that easing work restrictions could draw asylum seekers to the UK because they believe reception conditions are more favourable. They point to a potential increase in applications from ‘economic migrants’ whose primary motivation for coming to the UK is to work rather than seek safety.

The stated purpose of the policy is to create a “clear distinction between economic migration and asylum”.

Campaigners argue work rights would help refugee integration and public finances

Various charities, think tanks, business groups and parliamentarians have argued for a more liberal work policy. Arguments commonly advanced for allowing asylum seekers to work include lower poverty rates, improved integration, better mental health and higher tax revenues.

Parliament has shown consistent interest in the issue, with amendments to reduce the waiting period to three months debated during passage of the Border Security Bill in 2025. The subject has also been raised in several private members’ bills and Westminster Hall debates in recent years.

Other countries have more relaxed rules on asylum seekers working

UK policy is more restrictive than many comparable countries due to the 12-month waiting period for eligibility to work and the restriction to roles classed as higher skilled.

EU law requires member states to allow asylum seekers to work after they have been waiting for nine months for a decision on their claim. A recent change will reduce this to six months by June 2026. EU countries can have more liberal rules if they want: Ireland already allowed asylum seekers to work after six months, for example.

Canada allows asylum seekers to work immediately, whilst in the USA they are eligible to work after six months.