Join Request Pending: How Long It Takes and Why It Gets Declined

When you tap "Request to Join" on a Telegram group and see that your request is pending, it means the group's admins approve new members by hand, and nobody has acted on your request yet. There is no fixed waiting time: it depends entirely on how active the admins are, and it can take minutes, days, or never happen. You cannot speed it up by paying anyone, and anyone who offers to approve you for money is running a scam.

This guide explains how join requests work from a member's side, what affects how long they take, the common reasons requests are declined, and what you can usefully do while you wait.

What a join request is

Telegram lets group admins choose how people join. Some groups are open: anyone with the link or the public name can join instantly. Others turn on a setting that makes new people request to join, and an admin then approves or declines each request.

From your side, it looks like this:

1. You open the group's link or find it in search.
2. Instead of "Join Group", the button says "Request to Join" (wording varies slightly between iPhone, Android and desktop).
3. You tap it. Telegram tells you the request has been sent to the admins.
4. You wait. If an admin approves it, you are added to the group and it appears in your chat list.

Admins see a list of pending requests with each person's name, username and profile, and they approve or dismiss them one by one or in bulk. Some groups use a bot to help: it may send you a short message after you request, asking a question or asking you to confirm you read the rules, and then an admin or the bot approves you.

How long does approval take?

There is no standard time. Telegram does not set a deadline for admins to respond, and nothing happens automatically if they do not. How long you wait depends on things you cannot see:

• How many admins the group has, and how often they check requests.
• How many requests they receive. A popular group may have a long queue.
• Time zones. Your request may arrive while the admins are asleep.
• Whether the group screens carefully. Some admins look at every profile and check answers to a bot's questions before approving.
• Whether the group is still maintained. Some groups are effectively abandoned, and requests simply sit there.

In practice, an active group with attentive admins often handles requests reasonably quickly. A group with a single busy admin may take days. A group nobody manages any more may never answer.

How you find out the result

In current versions, an approved request is usually easy to notice: the group appears in your chat list and you can open it, read it and post. Some groups also greet you with a welcome message from a bot.

A declined request is quieter. In many cases there is no detailed message; the request simply stops being pending, and when you open the link again you may see the option to request again. Telegram does not tell you which admin declined you or why. If a group uses a bot, the bot may explain, but many do not.

Common reasons a request is declined

Admins have their own reasons, and they do not have to share them. These are the most common ones.

Your profile looks like a spam account

Admins of busy groups see a lot of spam requests. Accounts that look automated are often declined on sight. Things that can make a real person look like spam:

• No username. Many admins prefer people who have set a username.
• No profile photo, or a stock image.
• A name that looks random, or one stuffed with emojis or links.
• A brand new account. Admins cannot see your account's age directly, but a bare profile reads as new.

You do not have to share anything personal to look like a real person. A username and a simple profile picture of anything you like (a drawing, a landscape, a pet) often helps.

You did not answer the bot

If the group uses a bot that messages you after your request, you may need to reply to it or tap a button within a set time. If you missed that message, or never opened the bot's chat, the request may be declined automatically or skipped by the admins.

The group is for a specific audience

Some groups are for a particular school, company, course, city or membership. Admins may decline anyone they cannot match to that audience. The group's description usually says who it is for. If you do belong, the group's description or website may explain how to show it.

The group is full or closed to new members

Admins sometimes stop accepting people temporarily, for example during a spam wave or while they reorganize. Requests sent during that time may be cleared all at once.

The group's rules mention requirements you missed

Some groups list requirements in their description: a username, an answer to a question, joining from a particular page. If you skipped one, the request may be declined.

The admins cleared old requests

When a queue gets long, some admins dismiss everything older than a certain point. Being declined this way is not personal.

What you can do while you wait

Read the group's description

Open the group's preview and read the description carefully. It often says what the admins expect, how long approval takes, or where to ask if you are stuck.

Check your profile

Set a username in Settings if you do not have one, and add a profile photo if you are comfortable doing so. You do not need to show your real face, and you should not show your phone number. In Settings, under Privacy and Security, you can choose who sees your phone number; many people set it to Nobody.

Watch for a message from the group's bot

If the group uses a bot that checks requests, it may have messaged you. Look in your chat list for a new chat from a bot (bot usernames always end in "bot"). Answer simple questions or tap a confirmation button. Never share your phone number, login code, password or wallet with it; Group Wall's guide to join captchas covers what a legitimate check asks for.

Look at the group's linked channel or website

Some groups are attached to a channel or website run by the same people. Those sometimes post updates like "requests are paused this week".

Try other groups in the meantime

Waiting is easier when you are not relying on one group. For most topics there are several groups. On Group Wall you can search by topic or check the most active groups right now; many of them let you join instantly.

What not to do

Do not pay anyone to approve you

This is the most important point in this guide. Anyone who messages you offering to approve your request, speed up your request, or get you into a "private" or "VIP" version of a group for a fee is running a scam. Real admins approve requests for free. Paying gets you nothing, and often leads to further demands.

Do not send your login code or password to "verify"

No admin, bot or "support" account needs your Telegram login code, two-step verification password, or a wallet seed phrase to approve a join request. Anyone asking for them is trying to take over your account or your money.

Be wary of strangers who message you about your request

Real admins rarely message people first. If someone you do not know writes "I saw your join request, I can approve you if...", treat it as a scam. Check the group's admin list from its preview or info page if you can see it, and remember that scammers copy admins' names and photos. Group Wall's guide on fake admins explains how to tell them apart.

Do not spam the admins

Sending repeated private messages to admins asking to be approved is more likely to get you declined or blocked than approved. If the group's description lists a contact for questions, one polite message is enough.

Do not keep requesting over and over

If your request was declined, sending a new one immediately is unlikely to change the result. Fix anything obvious, such as missing a username or not answering the bot, then try once more later.

If you never get approved

Sometimes nothing happens, however long you wait. That usually means the group is no longer actively managed, or the admins are not accepting people like you. It is not a judgment about you.

At that point, the best move is to find another group. Use Group Wall to search groups or browse categories, and look at members online on each group page to judge whether a group is actually active. Groups with visible admins and recent messages are more likely to process requests promptly.

Frequently asked questions

Can I see how many people are waiting ahead of me?

No. Only admins see the list of pending requests. Members who are waiting do not see a queue position or an estimated time.

Will the admins see my phone number when I request to join?

Admins see your name, username and profile photo as your privacy settings allow. Whether they can see your phone number depends on your privacy setting for phone numbers. Setting it to Nobody keeps it hidden from people who do not already have it.

Can I cancel a join request?

This depends on the app version. Some versions let you withdraw a pending request from the group's preview. If yours does not show that option, the request simply stays pending until an admin acts on it, and it does no harm.

Someone offered to approve my request for a small fee. Is that real?

No. Approving join requests is free for admins, and real admins do not sell approval. Do not pay, do not share codes or wallet details, and report the account to Telegram.

Does being declined affect my Telegram account?

No. A declined request is a decision by that group's admins only. It does not get reported to Telegram or affect your ability to join other groups.

Why do some groups use join requests at all?

Mostly to keep out spam accounts and to make sure members fit the group's purpose. In a large public group, manual approval or a bot-assisted check is one of the main ways admins keep the chat readable.