Voluntarily Return

[riae]

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?

[Casa]

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?

[riae]

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?

[Casa]

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.