British Citizenship

People with refugee status or ELR do not have British citizenship automatically. You can apply to the Home Office to become a British Citizen after one year of ILR and five years residence in total in the UK or after one year of ILR and three years residence in the UK, if you are married to a British citizen. Children born in the UK do not have automatic British citizenship. They have the same status as their parents. A lawyer or the citizen Advice Bureau can give you more advice /information about how to apply for citizenship.

.: The right to vote in elections.

British citizens can vote in different kinds of elections. There are national election that elects the government, local election that elects the local councils and European election that elects representatives to the European Parliament. The names of people who can vote are recorded in a document called the electoral roll. Commonwealth citizens can vote in national, local and European election if they live in the UK and register on the electoral roll. Citizens of the European Union member countries (EU countries) can vote in local and European election if they live in the UK and register on the electoral roll. They cannot vote in national elections. People with refugee status and ELR cannot vote in elections unless they are in one of theses groups that is, unless they are British citizens, Commonwealth citizens or citizens of EU countries.

.: Travel.

People with refugee status and ELR can travel to other countries if they have the correct documents. If you have refugee status, you can apply for a UN Conventional travel document (which is blue). You should not travel to your home country. If you have ELR you can use a passport from your home country to travel. If you do not have a passport or if you are afraid to use your passport, you can apply for a Home Office travel document "which is brown". You do not need a travel document to travel inside the Common Travel Area, i.e. The British Isles, which includes: Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Iris Republic, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. You should be aware that some countries do not recognized the Home Office travel documents. Travel documents are available from:-

• The Travel Document Section
  Immigration and Nationality Directorate,
  Block C, Whitgift Centre,
  Wellesley Road, Croydon
  CR9 1AT

You should apply for a travel document well before the time that you want to travel because it will take a long time for you to get your document. Before traveling, you should check that the have visas to enter the countries you wish to visit and you should keep photocopies of you documents. If your document is out of date, the Travel Document Section can renew it. Make sure that your document will not be use out of date while you are out of the UK because this may cause you difficulty. If you want to apply for a British citizenship, you should consider doing this before you arrange to travel as you should find it easier to get visas.

.: Traveling to your home country.

UN and Home Office documents are not valid if you want to travel to your country. You will need to travel on your own passport. If you have ILR you can travel to your own country and re-enter the UK without difficulty, so long as you are away from the UK for less than two years. If you have ELR there is a risk that UK Immigration officials will consider that as you have returned to your own country, you no longer need leave to remain in the UK. If you have ELR and you want to visit your own country, you should seek legal advice.