legal and social conditions for asylum seekers and refugees in ...

Mother tongue tuition
There is no formal provision within the state education system for mother tongue tuition, unless
the language is taught as part of the mainstream curriculum. For example, some schools teach
Chinese, Turkish or Arabic. Many refugee communities do organise mother tongue classes, and
some local authorities give grants to support these activities.
Access to the adult education system
Convention refugees are entitled to free full-time education up to the age of 18 (compulsory in
schools up to the age of 16). There are usually reductions in fees for the unemployed, and for
certain government sponsored training programmes there are training allowances on top of
benefits.
Convention refugees may apply for financial support for higher education courses (university
level) on the same terms as British nationals. They pay “home student” fees, which means that
they do not have to pay overseas student fees. People with ELR also pay home student fees, but
they have to wait for three years before being eligible for support grants.
Unaccompanied minors
Unaccompanied minors granted Convention status or ELR will be eligible for benefits at the age
of 16, when they may choose to live independently. Those under the age of 16 will be cared for
by the social services (see “Social Conditions for Asylum Seekers” above).
Citizenship
Convention refugees are now automatically granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK.
People with ELR are generally granted indefinite leave to remain after four years. Five years after
obtaining ILR (or three years after, if married to a British citizen), a refugee can apply for
citizenship.
The children of Convention refugees may apply for British citizenship from the moment that their
refugee parent has been granted indefinite leave to remain.
Repatriation
No state assistance is provided for refugees wishing to repatriate, apart from Kosovo Albanians
(see “Social Conditions for Persons under Temporary Protection”, below). For other nationalities
who wish to return to their home country, Refugee Action (an NGO) runs the Voluntary Return
Project.
Convention refugees may return to their home country and then re-enter the UK without difficulty,
as long as they are not away from the UK for more than two years. If someone with ELR returns
to their home country, there is a risk that they will not be allowed back into the UK and legal
advice is thus recommended before making such a trip. In either case, the person has to use their
own passport: Home Office travel documents are not valid for a person’s home country.
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