Refugee Rights: Work and Education
What rights refugees have to work and access education, and the gap between law and practice.
The Right to Work
The 1951 Refugee Convention guarantees refugees the right to engage in wage-earning employment (Article 17) and self-employment (Article 18), with treatment no less favorable than that given to other foreign nationals. Article 24 provides for equal treatment with nationals regarding labor legislation and social security. These are strong legal guarantees on paper.
In practice, the majority of the world's refugees cannot legally work. Many host countries, particularly in the Global South, restrict refugees to camps or designated areas and prohibit employment. Even where the right to work exists legally, bureaucratic barriers, non-recognition of qualifications, language barriers, and discrimination prevent refugees from accessing the labor market. A 2023 World Bank study found that refugees earn 25-50 percent less than comparable nationals in most host countries.