Entitlements

Permission to work

Asylum seekers

Technically, a main asylum applicant (the person in whose name the application is made) can apply at any time for permission to work. However, the Home Office will only grant it to the main asylum applicant and not to dependents if the following criteria apply:

• The applicant has waited for more than 12 months for an initial Home Office decision on his/her asylum application
• The delay in the Home Office’s decision is not the applicant’s fault
• The asylum application is ongoing after 12 months.

If an application is initially refused before the 12 months have elapsed, the applicant will not be able to apply for permission to work, even if his/her application is ongoing after 12 months due to an appeal.

The Home Office will only accept applications for permission to work from the primary applicant. If there are exceptional circumstances preventing the primary applicant from working, such as illness or disability, the dependants of the main applicant (such as the spouse or children who are of age to legally work) can be granted permission to work instead.

Asylum seekers whose applications are being processed under the New Asylum Model (NAM) should contact their case owner if they wish to apply for permission to work. Applications not being processed under NAM should send an application for permission to work, by post, to the Asylum Casework Directorate at the following address: Lunar House, 40 Wellesley Road, Croydon, Surrey CR9 2BY. In the letter applicants must state:

• Their Home Office reference number
• That they are requesting permission to work on the basis that their application for asylum is or was outstanding for over 12 months without a decision.

If the application for permission to work is successful, the applicant’s application registration card (ARC) will be endorsed with the words ‘work permitted’ unless s/he has existing leave in another capacity which allows him/her to take up work. This permission to work will remain valid until the asylum claim has been finally determined (including all appeals), the claim has been withdrawn, or the applicant has departed from the UK. See the Refugee Council's website for further details on applying for permission to work.

Refugees and others granted leave

Refugees and people with ILR, HP or DL, may show their entitlement to work through different documents. For detailed guidance, go to the Home Office’s website or contact the Employers Helpline on 0845 010 6677.

EU nationals

On 01 May 2004, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic (Slovakia) and Slovenia joined the EU. The Accession Treaty gives nationals from the ten new member states the right to take up employment in the EU.

This means that asylum seekers from any of the ten countries can work in the UK while they wait for a decision on their application. However, people from all but two of the ten countries (Malta and Cyprus) will have to register on the Home Office Workers Registration Scheme in order to take up work unless exempt. They are required to register within 28 days of starting work. Self employment does not need to be registered. For further information on who is exempt from registration visit the Home Office's website.

Nationals from Romania and Bulgaria, which joined the EU in 2007, will have to meet either the temporary quota scheme for low-skilled workers or the criteria for the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme.

Voluntary work

Asylum seekers can undertake voluntary work while they wait for a decision on their asylum application subject to the following conditions:

• There must be no payment other than the reasonable travel and meal expenditure actually incurred (not an allowance for the same or a flat rate)
• There must be no contractual obligation on the volunteer
• The volunteer should be providing a service for a voluntary or charitable organisation, or an organisation that raises funds for either
• The work must be genuinely voluntary, and not a substitute for employment (in other words not fulfilling a role that a salaried worker would normally fulfil).

Voluntary work provides asylum seekers with a purposeful activity while they await a decision on their application. It provides both asylum seekers and refugees an opportunity to broaden their experience and build up their confidence as well as to gain contacts and references. These will be particularly useful for those who eventually settle in the UK and need to find work.

Volunteering England has an on-line resource for volunteers and those who involve volunteers. The resource contains useful information on recruiting refugees and asylum seekers as volunteers. For more details visit the Volunteering England website.

The Volunteering and Asylum Project based in Leeds aims to share good practice and encourage the recruitment of asylum seekers as volunteers. Visit their website for more details.

Starting a business

Many refugees of working age would have been self-employed or run their own businesses before coming to the UK. People who manage to flee their country and negotiate the journey to the UK are often those with an entrepreneurial spirit.

People with refugee status, ILR, HP or DL are allowed to set up their own businesses in the UK. Asylum seekers are not allowed to set up a business or be self employed in the UK, even if they have been granted permission to work.

The Refugee Enterprise Project was set up to support refugee enterprise. As part of the project, it delivered a website which included toolkits for business advisers and refugee community organisations and a self-help guide for refugees considering starting up their own business. Although the project is now over, the toolkits are still available on the website.

Government training schemes

Government training schemes are training programmes designed to help unemployed people find employment, particularly those who have been unemployed for a considerable length of time. These training programmes are government-funded and include the New Deal programme, the Work Based Learning for Adults scheme, and a training programme for unemployed people under the age of 18.

Asylum seekers who do not have permission to work are not eligible for government training schemes or European Social Fund (ESF) funded vocational training. Asylum seekers who are granted refugee status, HP or DL can benefit from government training schemes. Some may be eligible for ‘early entry’ immediately after receiving a positive decision on their asylum application, provided they are claiming job seekers’ allowance.

Eligibility for government training

The table above sets out eligibility for government training schemes in terms of immigration status.

Further education

The main statutory financial support system for further education (FE) is called Discretionary Learner Support funds. They cover both part-time and full-time courses, but are only available to students in need. Entitlement also depends on a person’s immigration status. Costs towards childcare and transport can be claimed from these funds.

For further details, see the Direct.gov website.

Colleges also administer hardship funds or loans, which are available to students experiencing major financial problems. Each college has different eligibility criteria, so students need to approach the individual college for details.

Any FE course consisting of more than 16 taught hours per week is considered a full-time course. Courses of 16 hours per week or less are part-time. The 16 hours exclude meal breaks and private study.

Higher education

The main source of financial support for studying at undergraduate level is through student loans. It is not available to post-graduate students, with some exceptions, such as the post-graduate certificate in education (PGCE). Each higher education (HE) institution sets its own fee rate and can charge up to £3,145. It is advisable to contact the HE institution as the criteria for full-time and part-time may vary.

New fees for home students can be up to £3,145 a year (2008/09). Full-time students can take out a loan to effectively defer payments until they are earning over £15,000 a year. Students in HE may also be able to fund their studies through a University’s hardship funds. A student loan will cover the cost of fees, but additional funding is hard to come by except in certain circumstances. Those with a disability, special needs, dependent children, or another adult dependent on them for financial support, may be entitled to a grant from their local authority.

Further details on financial support can be found here.

Spouses and children of people with ILR, HP, DL or refugee status in general have the same entitlements as their spouse or parent. Further details on eligibility can be found on the Refugee Council's website.

The situation for refugees and asylum seekers resident in Scotland and applying to Scottish universities is different. For further details, visit the Scottish Refugee Council's website.

Residency

Asylum seekers granted refugee status are eligible for student support. Those granted ILR, HP or DL have to be ‘ordinarily resident’. To be ‘ordinarily resident’, you must have been living in the UK legally for three years before the start of the course, and for purposes other than full-time education. Residency starts from the date of the asylum claim.

Tuition fee eligibility

When a person’s status changes during a course of study and, as a result, they are recognised as a home student for fee purposes, they only become eligible for home fees in the following academic year. For example, if a person is paying overseas student fees and is granted indefinite leave to remain half way through the first year of a three year degree, they would qualify as a home student in years two and three only.

Student support eligibility

If a person’s status changes within three months of the start of the current academic year, they are eligible for student support. If the change occurs after three months, they become eligible in the following academic year(s).

Income support while studying

Jobcentre Plus may allow some students to claim Income Support while studying full-time on courses that can improve their chances of finding work. If a person is claiming benefits, it is wise to seek advice from Job Centre Plus before entering full-time education.

Refugees studying English

Refugees who are studying English may be eligible for Income Support for up to nine months. The requirements are that:

• the refugee is on a course for more than 15 hours a week and for the purpose of learning English so that he/she may obtain employment
• on the date on which that course commenced, the refugee had been in Great Britain for not more than 12 months

For further information on Income Support visit the Jobcentre Plus website.

Additional funding

Other sources of funding for education available to particular groups include the following:

• Local authorities can provide Educational Maintenance Allowances for children from low-income families who stay on at school beyond the age of 16
• Banks offer career development loans to provide initial help to pay for vocational training or education. But applicants must meet their credit requirements. Student loans normally cover all or part of the cost of course fees. Most banks will require applicant’s to have ILR
• Research councils are non-governmental bodies that can provide financial support for research, study and training in particular fields. Contact the British Academy for details.
• Trusts and charities: some charitable trusts provide financial assistance for specific educational purposes in the form of small grants and loans. Applicants must meet the funder’s criteria which are often very specific. Contact the Educational Grants Advisory Service for a list of trusts.
• Internal bursaries: some institutions may offer bursaries to students on particular courses. Enquire at the institution during the application process
• Industrial sponsorship: some private companies provide sponsorship for certain types of courses. Details of companies offering sponsorship opportunities are available at local libraries
• Some universities and colleges receive additional funding from sources. These institutions may be able to offer reduced fees, grants or bursaries to students in need. Such grants may be called access or hardship funds, but they should not be confused with their statutory equivalents. Individual funding bodies and other grant providers have their own specific eligibility criteria.