# Chat Join Requests & Auto-Approval

> Automatically approve or decline private channel and group join requests with instant welcome direct messages.

**Category:** Telegram Bot API (A-Z)  
**URL:** https://docs.botlify.cloud/?page=join-requests  
**Platform:** Botlify Cloud (https://botlify.cloud)  

---

## The chat_join_request Update

      

When users request to join private channels or invite-only groups, Telegram sends a `chat_join_request` update to your bot rather than a regular message.

      
```php
// Detect and Process Join Requests
if (isset($update['chat_join_request'])) {
    $req = $update['chat_join_request'];
    $chatId = $req['chat']['id'];
    $userId = $req['from']['id'];
    $userName = htmlspecialchars($req['from']['first_name'] ?? 'Friend', ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8');

    // 1. Instantly Approve the Join Request
    bot('approveChatJoinRequest', [
        'chat_id' => $chatId,
        'user_id' => $userId
    ]);

    // 2. Send Personalized Welcome Direct Message
    bot('sendMessage', [
        'chat_id'    => $userId,
        'text'       => "🎉 Welcome {$userName}!
Your request to join our channel has been automatically approved.",
        'parse_mode' => 'HTML',
        'reply_markup' => [
            'inline_keyboard' => [
                [['text' => '🚀 Launch Bot Dashboard', 'url' => 'https://t.me/' . BOT_USERNAME]]
            ]
        ]
    ]);

    exit('ok');
}
```

      

## Decline Join Requests

      

If a user is banned or does not meet membership conditions, you can call `declineChatJoinRequest`:

      
```php
bot('declineChatJoinRequest', [
    'chat_id' => $chatId,
    'user_id' => $userId
]);
```