How to find a job in the UK as a refugee

Not normally while the claim is being considered. You can apply for permission to work once your asylum claim, or further submissions after a refusal, has been outstanding for more than 12 months and the Home Office accepts the delay was not your fault. There is no fee: you send form PTW1 with a copy of your Application Registration Card.

Permission is narrow. For applications made on or after 26 March 2026, you may only take jobs on the Home Office’s Appendix Skilled Occupations list at RQF level 6 or above, broadly graduate-level roles; earlier grants were limited to the Immigration Salary List. You cannot be self-employed or run a business. Permission ends if your claim is refused and your appeal rights are exhausted. If you already had a work visa when you claimed asylum, different rules may apply, so check the guidance.

Volunteering is open to you at any stage, without asking the Home Office, as long as it is unpaid work for a charity or public body, with only reasonable travel and meal expenses reimbursed. Use it: a UK volunteer role gives you a reference, English practice and a line on your CV that a recruiter can check.

Everything about work. Refugee status and humanitarian protection come with immediate and unrestricted access to the labour market: any job, any hours, self-employment included. You also have recourse to public funds and can apply for a refugee integration loan, which can cover a rent deposit, household items, or education and training for work.

For claims lodged on or after 2 March 2026, protection is granted for 30 months and reviewed at the end, instead of the five years given before; unaccompanied children still receive 5 years. The government has said refugees under this model will wait 20 years for settlement unless they move to a work or study route. A stable job therefore matters for your long-term status as well as your income. The Home Office decides every case; check GOV.UK for the rules on your own grant.

Your main public support is the Jobcentre. When you claim Universal Credit you are given a work coach who offers personalised advice and agrees a claimant commitment with you, the job-search activities you will do. Tell your coach about your qualifications, your English level and the work you did before; ask what training they can refer you to.

England’s Refugee Employability Programme ended in June 2025, so there is no longer a national refugee-specific scheme there. GOV.UK points people in Wales to Working Wales and the Welsh Refugee Council, and people in Scotland and Northern Ireland to local organisations. The Refugee Employment Network runs a job board for refugees and connects member organisations and employers across the UK; its directory is a good way to find a local employment project.

You can work. Homes for Ukraine is still open, is free, and gives permission for up to 18 months to live, work and study and access public funds. The Ukraine Family Scheme closed in February 2024 and the Ukraine Extension Scheme in May 2024 for most new applicants.

When your permission is running out, the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme lets you stay a further 18 months, and people on their first UPE grant can then apply for another 24 months. Since 8 April 2026 you can apply 90 days before your current permission expires, and it is free. You keep the right to work while you hold permission. Because your status is temporary, build skills and references you can use wherever you eventually live.

For most jobs, a UK ENIC Statement of Comparability is enough: it shows how your overseas qualification compares to the UK education system, and employers understand it. It costs £69.60 with an e-Statement and can take 15 working days once your documents and payment are in. UK ENIC also says it can compare some incomplete or partially documented qualifications. The Refugee Employment Network suggests asking support agencies and the Jobcentre whether they can help with the cost.

Doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers and other regulated professions also need registration with the relevant UK regulator before practising. That takes longer, so find a related role in the same sector while you work towards it. Our qualification recognition guide explains how.

Use the standard UK format: two pages, no photo, no date of birth, marital status or nationality. The National Careers Service advises leaving those out. Our UK CV guide covers the layout. Then solve the four problems that are specific to your situation.

• Right to work: you don’t need to say you are a refugee. “Full right to work in the UK” is accurate and enough; the employer confirms it with your share code.
• Experience from home: give the nearest UK job title, then one line on the employer (sector, size, what it did). A recruiter in Birmingham does not know a ministry in Kabul or a hospital in Khartoum. Keep bullets to results: what you did, for how many, with what outcome.
• Gaps from flight and waiting: one factual line is enough, such as “2022–2025: Relocated to the UK; volunteer, British Red Cross; English (ESOL) Level 2”. How much of your story you share is your choice. Our career gap guide has more wording.
• Missing certificates: list the qualification with institution and year, add “Statement of Comparability: UK bachelor’s degree standard” once you have it, and never claim a qualification you cannot explain in interview.

Start with your Jobcentre work coach and your local council, which the government’s refugee guide points you to for benefits and housing. The Refugee Employment Network’s job board and member directory lead to free employment projects across the UK. Ask your work coach which local refugee organisations run free CV and interview sessions near you.

For immigration questions about your own case, use a regulated adviser, not a job agency or a social media contact. Nobody can sell you a faster decision or a guaranteed job. Government guidance is clear that a recruitment agency should never ask you to pay a fee for finding you work in the UK.