Resource

Long periods of uncertainty, limbo and instability can seriously harm people seeking asylum in the UK. These harms are made worse by short-term grants of protection, which can leave people feeling insecure about their future.

A new research study explores the impact of short-term grants of leave on former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. Conducted by University College London, Helen Bamber Foundation and Baobab Centre for Young Survivors in Exile, this research is the first to document the lived experience of receiving temporary status in the UK.  

The timing is significant. Labour’s 2025 asylum reforms shift away from permanent protection toward a system of “core protection” that is temporary and continuously reviewable and in March the government halved the leave granted to refugees to just two and half years. Refugees will now have to repeatedly re-prove their need for protection, and the government is considering quadrupling the length of time it could take to get settlement in the UK to 20 years. 

This study interviewed eight former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who experienced protracted immigration insecurity. Here are the key learnings:   

1.  “What I could have been’”– barriers to self-actualisation  

Short-term grants prevent young people from establishing a stable foundation. Researchers call this "developmental stuckness", when personal, economic, and educational progression is frozen. Participants expressed a profound mourning for the version of themselves they were never allowed to become. 

"I mean, it’s still my dream but the problem is as I said, because they (Home Office) wasted my time... Future? I don’t see any future." (Ali) 

"(Other people) build their life because of their status and without any hindrance, they were able to go to university, get a job... make best out of their life." (Romesh) 

Participants struggled to maintain jobs or finish studies, with their looming grant expiry creating constant barriers. 

“The time goes so fast … by the time you got an employment and settling in the job and then, if your visa is expired, they’re unable to keep you … it takes time to find a good job… So by the time you get a job, your visa will come to an end.” (Romesh) 

2.  “The trauma every day you relive”– Sustained instability impeding psychological healing and community integration 

All participants arrived in the UK carrying complex trauma. Instead of providing a sanctuary for healing, temporary leave acted as an ongoing stressor. 

“You don’t know exactly what the outcome might be … you’re just on the edge thinking, OK, what’s gonna happen next? … And then the mental health, the trauma every day you relive, you can’t sleep, you can’t eat... You don’t have that sort of freedom... you always have to look over your shoulder.” (Peter)  

“Every time it’s time (for renewal), the fear gets worse … I couldn’t sleep … I think about it more and more.” (Ying) 

Short-term leave limits young people’s ability to focus on other areas of their lives, to form relationships, socialise and build a community. 

“I was feeling lonely because I don’t have enough money for transportation, to go and join friends. When I was not able to do things that I would like to do, then the stress and anxiety comes”. (Hailu) 

“I couldn’t feel like I belonged to this country. Or when people asked me about your status that can be very embarrassing as well.” (Romesh)  

3.  “Why would I be lying to you?” – disbelief and short periods of leave 

The emotional impact of being disbelieved and having your life story cross-examined by the Home Office appeared in many accounts. 

“It’s like me telling you my story of things that I have went through. And then you look in my face and telling me that you’re lying, you know, I mean, that kind of hurt”. (Peter) 

Receiving 2.5-year leave offered brief relief but often signaled partial belief, especially compared with peers who received longer grants. 

What’s next? 

This research highlights the significant harm of temporary grants, which perpetuate marginalisation and instability among young people seeking asylum.  

Currently, unaccompanied children are exempt from the changes to refugee leave, and will still be granted five years’ leave, after which they can apply to settlement. Helen Bamber Foundation is calling on the government to keep this pathway for children, and ensure their best interests are a priority in all immigration and asylum decisions.  

We strongly oppose the new expansion of short-term leave to all refugees over 18, which risks creating permanent temporariness for young adults. These grants will act as a structural barrier, preventing young refugees from progressing at a critical stage in their lives.  

Under the proposed new system, refugees may need to renew their status eight times before they can live in the UK permanently. Young people who have already endured profound trauma and hardship should be provided with protection that offers the stability needed to recover and to build a stable, safe life.  

"If you give me 5 years, it’s like I’m started healing all my past experiences. But when you take that away from me… It’s kind of like you just open the wound again." (Peter) 

Click on the arrow below to read the full paper in the Psychiatry, Psychology and Law.