Does Telegram have a built-in way to auto-approve join requests?

No. With Request Admin Approval on, an admin must approve each person by hand from the list of requests. A bot with the right to add members can approve them for you.

Why did a new member get no welcome message?

The bot can write to a person only within 5 minutes of the request, it sends at most 20 welcome messages a minute for one chat, and an admin can switch the message off in /setup. In all three cases the request is still approved.

Does it work in a channel?

Yes. Make the bot an admin of the channel with the right to add members and turn on Request Admin Approval for the invite link. It works the same way in a group.

Yes. Approval and the default welcome message are free. Pro is optional, 150 Stars one time for one chat, and adds your own welcome text and button.

How to Auto-Approve Join Requests in a Telegram Channel or Group

When you turn on Request Admin Approval for an invite link, nobody joins your Telegram channel or group until an admin taps Approve. That is useful when you want to look at who comes in. It is a chore when you share the link widely and requests arrive all day, and a person who waits for hours often loses interest.

Telegram has no switch that approves requests for you. A bot can do it: @JoinApproveProBot is an admin of your channel or group, receives each join request from Telegram, approves it and sends the new member one welcome message in a private chat.

This guide shows the setup in order, what the welcome message can and cannot do, and the one thing to decide first: this bot approves everyone, so it saves you time but it does not screen anyone.

Keep reading

Steps

Turn on Request Admin Approval for your invite link. In the settings of your channel or group, open Invite Links and create a link, or edit one, and turn on Request Admin Approval. Telegram sends join requests only for links with this option on. People who join through a link without it join at once, and the bot never sees them.
Add the bot as an admin with the right to add members. Use the button on this page or add @JoinApproveProBot from its profile, then make it an admin. It needs one right: the right to add members. Without it Telegram refuses the approval.
Open the bot in a private chat and send /setup. The command lists the chats where you added the bot, up to 10. Each chat has a card with its mode, which should read auto-approve, and buttons for the welcome message, pause and Pro. If your chat is missing, check the admin right from step 2 and send /setup again.
Check the welcome message. Free chats send the default welcome text, a short line of the bot and one button of the bot. You can switch the welcome message off for a chat from the same card and keep only the approval. Your own text, up to 500 characters, and a button of your own are part of Pro.
Test it with a second account. Open your invite link from another Telegram account and send the request. It should be approved within seconds, and that account should get the welcome message in a private chat with the bot. If the message does not arrive but the account is in, see the limits below.
Pause when you want to read the requests yourself. The Pause button on the chat card stops the approvals. Requests then wait in Telegram for you to approve them by hand, exactly as before. Press Auto to turn the approvals back on.

Good to know

The bot approves every request. It does not check the account, so it will not keep spam accounts out. For a group, pair it with a check for new members, or pause it and review requests yourself.
The welcome message goes only to the person who sent the request, within 5 minutes of the request, and at most 20 welcome messages a minute for one chat. A request that misses these limits is still approved. The person is in, but gets no message.
Pro is per chat and optional: 150 Telegram Stars one time. It adds your own welcome text, your own button instead of the line of the bot, an approval delay of 1, 5, 15 or 60 minutes and stats for the last 7 days. Chats with 500 or more members are offered 300 Stars per 30 days instead.
After the bot has been in a chat for 24 hours, /setup offers one free 24-hour Pro trial for that chat. It ends by itself and nothing is charged.
The bot takes payments only in a private chat, never in the channel or group. It stores the requester's Telegram id and the result of each request, which it needs for the welcome message.
Join requests work for both channels and groups. The bot needs no right other than adding members.

Add to a group See JoinApproveProBot About the bot

FAQ

Does Telegram have a built-in way to auto-approve join requests?: No. With Request Admin Approval on, an admin must approve each person by hand from the list of requests. A bot with the right to add members can approve them for you.
Why did a new member get no welcome message?: The bot can write to a person only within 5 minutes of the request, it sends at most 20 welcome messages a minute for one chat, and an admin can switch the message off in /setup. In all three cases the request is still approved.
Does it work in a channel?: Yes. Make the bot an admin of the channel with the right to add members and turn on Request Admin Approval for the invite link. It works the same way in a group.
Is it free?: Yes. Approval and the default welcome message are free. Pro is optional, 150 Stars one time for one chat, and adds your own welcome text and button.

Related guides

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JoinApproveProBot — Approves every join request at once and sends each new member one welcome message.
AnonInboxProBot — A personal link where strangers write to you anonymously; you reply and can block.
AnonSayProBot — Post anonymously into a Telegram group through the bot.
BirthdayReminderProBot — Members save their birthday once; the bot greets them in the group and warns everyone else the day before.

Curious what the Pro features cost? See pricing.