diff --git a/desktop/src/features/onboarding/communityOnboarding.test.mjs b/desktop/src/features/onboarding/communityOnboarding.test.mjs
index e9645b191e..d991f1ce13 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/onboarding/communityOnboarding.test.mjs
+++ b/desktop/src/features/onboarding/communityOnboarding.test.mjs
@@ -83,6 +83,32 @@ test("same-relay ingress resumes rather than replacing progress", () => {
   assert.equal(resumed.inviteCode, "new-code");
 });
 
+test("same-relay membership recovery restarts at invite claim", () => {
+  const storage = createMemoryStorage();
+  const deniedConnect = startCommunityOnboarding(
+    { source: "first-community", relayUrl: "wss://relay.example" },
+    storage,
+    new Date("2026-07-16T00:00:00Z"),
+  );
+  assert.equal(deniedConnect.stage, "connecting");
+
+  const recovered = startCommunityOnboarding(
+    {
+      source: "membership-recovery",
+      relayUrl: "wss://relay.example/",
+      inviteCode: "  same-relay-code  ",
+      policyReceipt: "policy-receipt",
+    },
+    storage,
+    new Date("2026-07-16T00:01:00Z"),
+  );
+
+  assert.equal(recovered.id, deniedConnect.id);
+  assert.equal(recovered.stage, "claiming");
+  assert.equal(recovered.inviteCode, "same-relay-code");
+  assert.equal(recovered.policyReceipt, "policy-receipt");
+});
+
 test("stale asynchronous updates cannot mutate a replacement transaction", () => {
   const storage = createMemoryStorage();
   const original = startCommunityOnboarding(
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/onboarding/communityOnboarding.tsx b/desktop/src/features/onboarding/communityOnboarding.tsx
index 99da68aa95..f339e3e56b 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/onboarding/communityOnboarding.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/features/onboarding/communityOnboarding.tsx
@@ -154,8 +154,16 @@ export function startCommunityOnboarding(
   const relayUrl = canonicalRelayUrl(input.relayUrl);
   const existing = loadCommunityOnboardingTransaction(storage);
   if (existing?.relayUrl === relayUrl) {
+    const isMembershipRecoveryClaim =
+      input.source === "membership-recovery" &&
+      Boolean(input.inviteCode?.trim());
     const updated = {
       ...existing,
+      // A same-relay membership recovery is not a passive resume: the relay
+      // already rejected the connect attempt, so the invite must restart the
+      // transaction at the claim stage. Other same-relay ingress still keeps
+      // in-progress profile/finalization work intact.
+      stage: isMembershipRecoveryClaim ? "claiming" : existing.stage,
       firstCommunityPage:
         input.firstCommunityPage ?? existing.firstCommunityPage,
       inviteCode: input.inviteCode?.trim() || existing.inviteCode,
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/onboarding/ui/CommunityOnboardingFlow.tsx b/desktop/src/features/onboarding/ui/CommunityOnboardingFlow.tsx
index 98210c57cd..9c83854669 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/onboarding/ui/CommunityOnboardingFlow.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/features/onboarding/ui/CommunityOnboardingFlow.tsx
@@ -371,6 +371,7 @@ export function CommunityOnboardingFlow({
             setIsMembershipDenied(false);
             update({ stage: "connecting", error: undefined });
           }}
+          onInviteRedeemStarted={() => setIsMembershipDenied(false)}
           onRetry={() => {
             setIsMembershipDenied(false);
             update({ stage: "connecting", error: undefined });
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/onboarding/ui/MembershipDenied.tsx b/desktop/src/features/onboarding/ui/MembershipDenied.tsx
index 3de6857d31..9f8e916d83 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/onboarding/ui/MembershipDenied.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/features/onboarding/ui/MembershipDenied.tsx
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ type MembershipDeniedProps = {
   onBack: () => void;
   onChangeCommunity: () => void;
   onImportKey: (nsec: string) => Promise<void>;
+  onInviteRedeemStarted?: () => void;
   onRetry: () => void;
   pubkey: string;
 };
@@ -26,6 +27,7 @@ export function MembershipDenied({
   onBack,
   onChangeCommunity,
   onImportKey,
+  onInviteRedeemStarted,
   onRetry,
   pubkey,
 }: MembershipDeniedProps) {
@@ -86,14 +88,15 @@ export function MembershipDenied({
 
   const handleInviteRedeem = React.useCallback(
     (relayWsUrl: string, code: string, policyReceipt?: string) => {
-      communityOnboarding.start({
+      const started = communityOnboarding.start({
         source: "membership-recovery",
         relayUrl: relayWsUrl,
         inviteCode: code,
         policyReceipt,
       });
+      if (started) onInviteRedeemStarted?.();
     },
-    [communityOnboarding],
+    [communityOnboarding, onInviteRedeemStarted],
   );
 
   return (
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/onboarding/ui/OnboardingFlow.tsx b/desktop/src/features/onboarding/ui/OnboardingFlow.tsx
index a3653f750f..930d46d738 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/onboarding/ui/OnboardingFlow.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/features/onboarding/ui/OnboardingFlow.tsx
@@ -435,6 +435,10 @@ export function OnboardingFlow({
           }}
           onChangeCommunity={() => setIsCommunityChangeOpen(true)}
           onImportKey={importExistingKey}
+          onInviteRedeemStarted={() => {
+            setTransitionDirection("forward");
+            setCurrentPage(deniedFromPage);
+          }}
           onRetry={() => {
             void saveProfileAndContinue(membershipRetryPage);
           }}