Name: Puya
Background: After leaving Iran when he was 15 years old, Puya travelled solo across Europe before claiming asylum in the UK.
14 years after arriving in the UK from Iran, Puya now works as a hairdresser in the upmarket London suburb of Chelsea. His journey in the UK up until this point has been far from easy though.
Growing up in Iran with his family there was a turning point in his life at age 15 when it was no longer safe for him to stay in his home country. His uncle supported his mother financially to get him moved safely to Turkey and from there he travelled overland to enter the UK via ferry. This was not only a difficult journey for a young boy to undertake on his own, but he then landed in a country where he knew no one, had no money, and could not speak the language. But he was now safe.
He took himself to the nearest police station on arrival, which thankfully had an Iranian interpreter who could relay his story for him. Puya was able to claim asylum, was settled into accommodation in South London, and was enrolled in Year 11 at a local school, an experience which he admits didn’t help him learn the subjects taught in class but did help him on his path to begin to learn English.
Once he was 18, he could no longer stay in his accommodation so he had to leave, working as many jobs as he could to have enough money to live and survive.
A change in his fortunes occurred a few years into his new life in the UK when he met a Dutch woman who helped him secure an apprenticeship to train on the job to become a hairdresser. A career he continues to love today.
Puya’s asylum status allowed him to eventually apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) but he had his plans to apply for citizenship put on hold because of the Covid-19 pandemic. He came to take his B1 Secure English Language Test (SELT) at Trinity SELT as part of his UK citizenship application, an experience that he thought was excellent.
“I felt prepared when I went into the exam and the whole experience was relaxed. I would advise future candidates not to rush when they speak during the test and to be confident in their ability to speak English.”
“I felt prepared when I went into the exam and the whole experience was relaxed. I would advise future candidates not to rush when they speak during the test and to be confident in their ability to speak English.”
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