The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (asylum ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, such as a second country or another entity which in medieval times could offer sanctuary. This right was recognized by the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Hebrews, from whom it was adopted into Western tradition. René Descartes fled to the Netherlands, Voltaire to England, and Thomas Hobbes to France, because each state offered protection to persecuted foreigners. Contemporary right of asylum is founded on the non-binding Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Right of asylum is enshrined by United Nations in the Article 14 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948:
The right of asylum is supported by the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of RefugeesConvention Relating to the Status of Refugees, UN, 1951 and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Before asylum is granted, an asylum seeker may be recognized as a refugee according to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which defines refugee as a person "who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion."
Contemporary political asylum
While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights itself is seen generally as non-binding,Henry J Steiner and Philip Alston, International Human Rights in Context: Law, Politics, Morals, (2nd ed), Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000., The universal declaration of human rights in National and International Law , p. 145 the right of asylum as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is referenced in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which most countries are parties of.States Parties to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Currently, in different countries there exist different legal statuses and legal definitions for asylum rights and refugees. Asylum is generally seen as a temporary form of refuge.Adelman, Howard. "Refuge or asylum-a philosophical perspective." J. Refugee Stud. 1 (1988): 7. The discretion due to the commonly encountered uncertainty about the credibility of the claims in the asylum application can be reduced with consistent local rules.
When asylum claims are rejected, non-refoulement applies according to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees Article 33, which forbids deporting asylum seekers to any country where "life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion" with exceptions due to security and crime.Gibney, Mark. "A" well-founded fear" of persecution." Hum. Rts. Q. 10 (1988): 109. The non-refoulement principle is generally seen as a customary international law.Coleman, Nils. "Non-Refoulement Revised-Renewed Review of the Status of the Principle of Non-Refoulement as Customary International Law." Eur. J. Migration & L. 5 (2003): 23.
Different jurisprudence can be used to interpret the right of asylum, including Critical legal studies and Constitutionalism.
Upon cessation of the right of asylum, such as when the condition in the country of origin have changed that there is no longer danger of persecution, voluntary expatriation according to non-refoulementVang, Jerry. "Limitations of the Customary International Principle of Non-Refoulement on Non-Party States: Thailand Repatriates the Remaining Hmong-Lao Regardless of International Norms." Wis. Int'l LJ 32 (2014): 355. or historically in some cases immediate deportationZetter, Roger, et al. "An assessment of the impact of asylum policies in Europe, 1990-2000." Home Office Online Report 17.03 (2003). can follow.
By country
China Paragraph 2 of Article 32 of the Constitution of China stipulates that China may grant asylum to foreigners who request it for political reasons.
In 1979, Hoàng Văn Hoan, the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam, was the last foreigner to be granted political asylum by China. From 1980 to the present, no foreigner has been granted political asylum by China. All foreigners who have been granted political asylum in China are foreign pro-communist political leaders.
European Union
Asylum in European Union member states formed over a half-century by application of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 on the Status of Refugees. Common policies appeared in the 1990s in connection with the Schengen Agreement (which suppressed internal borders) so that asylum seekers unsuccessful in one Member State would not reapply in another. The common policy began with the Dublin Convention in 1990. It continued with the implementation of Eurodac and the Dublin Regulation in 2003, and the October 2009 adoption of two proposals by the European Commission.A single asylum procedure and equitable to establish a uniform status valid throughout the European Union: the final building blocks of international protection are asked, Brussels, 21 October 2009 (press release Europa.eu) However, until today, the member states principally stay in charge for granting and organizing asylum. War refugees are protected under the subsidiary protection clause and the Temporary Protection Directive. The European Union (EU+) received over 1.1 million asylum applications with a rate of granting refugee status or subsidiary protection at 43%.EU received over 1.1 million asylum applications in 2023, European Union Agency for Asylum, February 2024.
In June 2026, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signaled plans to alter the terms of the Temporary Protection Directive in response to the ongoing Ukrainian conscription crisis, leading EU member states to debate the exclusion of newly arriving Ukrainian men aged 23 to 60 from automatic protection to avoid undermining Ukraine's mobilization capacity.
France
France was the first country to establish a constitutional right to asylum, in Article 120 of the Constitution of 1793, for "foreigners banished from their fatherland for the cause of liberty". This constitution, however, never entered into force. The Preamble of the Constitution of 1946 similarly guaranteed the right of asylum to "anyone persecuted because of his activities in the cause of freedom". The modern French right of asylum is secured by the Preamble of the Constitution of 1958, via a reference to the Preamble of the 1946 Constitution.
In addition to the constitutional right to asylum, the modern French right to asylum (droit d'asile) is enshrined on a legal and regulatory basis in the Code of Entry and Residence of Foreigners and of the Right to Asylum.
France also adheres to international agreements which provide for application modalities for the right of asylum, such as the 1951 United Nations (UN) Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (ratified in 1952), the additional 1967 protocol; articles K1 and K2 of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty as well as the 1985 Schengen Agreement, which defined EU immigration policy. Finally, the right of asylum is defined by article 18 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Some of the criteria for which an asylum application can be rejected include: i) Passage via “safe" third country, ii) Safe Country of Origin (An asylum seeker can be a prior refused asylum if they are a national of a country considered to be "safe" by the French asylum authority OFPRA), iii) Safety Threat (serious threat to the public order), or iv) Fraudulent Application (abuse of the asylum procedure for other reasons).
The 10 December 2003, law limited political asylum through two main restrictions: The notion of "internal asylum": the request may be rejected if the foreigner may benefit from political asylum on a portion of the territory of their home country. The OFPRA (Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides – French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons) now makes a list of allegedly "safe countries" which respect political rights and principles of liberty. If the demander of asylum comes from such a country, the request is processed in 15 days, and receives no social assistance protection. They may contest the decision, but this does not suspend any deportation order. The first list, enacted in July 2005, included as "safe countries" Benin, Cape Verde, Ghana, Mali, Mauritius Island, India, Senegal, Mongolia, Georgia, Ukraine, Bosnia and Croatia. It reduced in six months by about 80% the number of applicants from these countries. The second list, passed in July 2006, included Tanzania, Madagascar, Niger, Albania and Macedonia.Asile politique: la France ajoute cinq Etats à sa liste de pays «sûrs», Le Figaro, 27 April 2006
While restricted, the right of political asylum has been conserved in France amid various anti-immigration laws. Some people claim that, apart from the purely judicial path, the bureaucratic process is used to slow down and ultimately reject what might be considered as valid requests. According to Le Figaro, France granted 7,000 people the status of political refugee in 2006, out of a total of 35,000 requests; in 2005, the OFPRA in charge of examining the legitimacy of such requests granted less than 10,000 from a total of 50,000 requests."La porte étroite de l'asile politique", Le Figaro, 13 February 2007, p.20 Numerous exiles from South American dictatorships, particularly from Augusto Pinochet's Chile and the Dirty War in Argentina, were received in the 1970s-80s. During the war in Afghanistan (2001–2021), tens of thousands of Afghan refugees were granted asylum in France.
Estonia In September 2022, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas announced that Estonia would not grant asylum to Russians fleeing war mobilization, saying that "Every citizen is responsible for the actions of their state, and citizens of Russia are no exception. Therefore, we do not give asylum to Russian men who flee their country. They should oppose the war."
Latvia In April 2023, after an initial denial by an executive body, a Latvian court approved the asylum application of a Russian citizen, who was facing a forced draft into the special military operation. He had previously been harassed by authorities for his support of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny and for his public stand against the Russian war against Ukraine.
Poland In February 2025, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk informed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that Poland would refuse to implement the EU Asylum and Migration Pact, specifically rejecting the mandatory relocation of 30,000 asylum seekers or the alternative €600 million financial penalty, citing the large number of Ukrainian refugees Poland had already accepted.
In March 2025, Poland suspended the right to apply for asylum at the Belarus-Poland border, with the European Commission supporting Poland's move.
United Kingdom In the 19th century, the United Kingdom accorded political asylum to various persecuted people, among whom were many members of the socialist movement (including Karl Marx). With the 1845 attempted bombing of the Greenwich Royal Observatory and the 1911 Siege of Sidney Street in the context of the propaganda of the deed (anarchist) actions, political asylum was restricted.
United States
The United States recognizes the right of asylum of individuals as specified by international and federal law. In accordance with international law, the United States considers asylum candidates on the basis of persecution or fear they will be persecuted on account of race, religion, nationality, and/or membership in a particular social group or political opinion.