Looking for Work

If you are looking for work, you should visit the local job centre run by the Employment Service. These are the main source of information about job vacancies in your area. Refugee advice agencies, local newspapers, the Internet and private recruitment agencies are also good places to look. Agencies specializing in employment advice for refugees such as the Welsh Refugee Council, DPIA, MEWN Cymru and the Citizen Advice Bureau will be the ideal place to seek advice if you have any doubt in taking up a job.

.: Permission to work

People with refugee status and ELR have the right to work in the UK. You do not need to ask for permission from the Home Office to take up employment or training. Employers have the right to check that the people who work for them have the right to work in the UK. There is no single "permission to work" document.

Your Home Office documents, GEN 23 or IS KOS EX, can be showing as proof that you have the right to work. Once you have been given a job, you have the same employment right as UK resident. You have also the right to set up your own business if you can meet the terms and conditions.

.: Voluntary work.

Voluntary work is a work that is unpaid. People become volunteers to gain experience, or to help other people or to support their communities. People with refugee status or ELR are entitled to do voluntary work.