Immigrationboards.com

I came to the uk as a refugee in 2008. I'm originally from Congo but my family and I left Congo, moved to Zambia and then came here. I've heard about voluntarily return so I contacted the home office and they just emailed me the voluntarily return form. I'm in a difficult situation as I do not want to go back to my home country (Congo) I have no family there but I want to go to Zambia as I have family there.

So my questions are:
1. Does the voluntarily return also apply to refugees who have ILR or is there any programme who help refugees return back

2. Would they consider the reason why I want to go back to Zambia?

Do you have ILR? If so, you are no longer under Immigration control and can travel to whichever country you choose. Unless I'm missing something here, isn't it a case where you are hoping the HO will pay for your plane ticket?

Thanks for your reply. Yes I do have ILR and yes I was hoping that they would pay for my plane ticket. But would the voluntarily return apply to me?

No, the HO won't pay for your travel expenses, whether this is to return to your home country or to another destination.
https://www.gov.uk/return-home-voluntarily

Note the following regarding Assisted Return:
You can’t apply for this if you:
are currently being investigated by the police or detained by the Home Office
have been given a prison sentence that’s 12 months or longer
have been convicted of an immigration offence and given a deportation order
have already been given humanitarian protection, indefinite leave to remain or refugee status
have been told by UKVI that you are a ‘third country case’
are a European Economic Area (EEA) or Swiss national (unless you have a letter from UKVI confirming you are a victim of trafficking)


You might want to consider the fact that if you are outside of the UK for 2 years or more, ILR will be lost.