This case was brought by Duncan Lewis Solicitors on behalf of YX. It included several challenges to the Home Office’s refusal to grant Temporary permission to stay for victims of human trafficking and slavery (VTS) leave to victims of trafficking.
The case challenged the lawfulness of the Home Office’s decision-making, which included the failure to properly assess relevant evidence, to comply with its investigative duties, and to correctly apply the statutory criteria under section 65 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.
The facts of the case
The claimant, YX, is a vulnerable victim of human trafficking and modern slavery. They received a positive conclusive grounds decision as a result of their experiences of kidnap for ransom and forced labour in Libya. YX was diagnosed with mental health issues arising from their period of exploitation and would be unable to access the required treatment and support in his country of origin, Ethiopia, even if it was available there.
YX first submitted an application for VTS leave in early 2024. They were then caught in a cycle of refusals and reconsideration requests, where the Home Office continually made refusal decisions which failed to properly consider the evidence put forward. YX challenged these decisions, the Home Office agreed to reconsider and then ultimately refused to grant leave again.
Following 06 February 2025 refusal, YX issued judicial review proceedings to challenge the Home Office’s decision to refuse to grant him VTS. Permission to proceed was granted on all grounds by Upper Tribunal, and the case was heard on 12 December 2025.
At all stages, the Home Office had upheld its refusal and defended its position. However, shortly before the final hearing, the Home Office abruptly changed its position and agreed, by consent order, to reconsider whether to grant YX VTS in light of the grounds of challenge that had been raised in the judicial review.
Legal framework
VTS leave is designed to offer confirmed victims of modern slavery and trafficking a period of stay to recover from any physical or psychological harm arising from their exploitation. It can also be granted on the basis that the individual is required to remain the UK to seek compensation or co-operate with a public authority, for example with a police investigation into their trafficking.
Section 65 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (NABA 2022) sets out the criteria that need to be applied when deciding whether to grant a person VTS leave. Both the wording of the statute and the Home Office’s guidance make clear that decision-makers should adopt a broad, holistic and “victim-centred” approach to deciding whether a person might need a grant of leave to assist their recovery from exploitation.
Submissions
The following grounds:
- The decision was irrational and/or failed to have regard to relevant considerations;
- The decision-maker failed to discharge their Tameside duty of ensuring that they had sufficient relevant material to make the Section 65(4)-(5) NABA 2022 assessment; and
- The decision-maker misapplied the test in Section 65(2)(a) NABA 2022 by adopting an overly narrow approach.
It was argued that despite the broad wording used in Section 65(2)(a) NABA 2022, the decision – maker failed to consider the request VTS leave holistically. They did not give appropriate weight to all relevant factors and all relevant evidence in this case.
This included the practical effect of YX remaining in the UK without visa, why having leave would improve their mental health and increase their ability to benefit from the required treatment, and why they would be at increased risk of re-trafficking if leave was not granted. These failures were the absence of any proper consideration of the wider barriers to YX accessing treatment in Ethiopia.
A prepared detailed witness statements with prominent anti-trafficking NGOs, support organisations, clinicians and academics, addressing the significant recovery needs of victims of trafficking, the importance of immigration status and the risk of re-trafficking.
The consent order states that the Home Office agrees to reconsider the refusal “in light of” these grounds of challenge and the permission decision. This case follows a previous group challenge brought by Duncan Lewis in 2024 (HHH & ors v SSHD (JR-2024-LON-001182)), on behalf of 12 clients refused VTS leave.
Those proceedings ended in July 2024, after the Home Office agreed to review their policy in light of the concerns the applicants had raised. The Home Office also agreed to reconsider the applicants’ refusals of VTS leave, in addition to giving assurances regarding a large number of other clients who had not yet issued proceedings.
Our thoughts
This case represented a victory for both YX and other victims of trafficking. The Home Office’s misapplication of the statutory criteria is resulting in large numbers of survivors of trafficking being denied the leave to remain they are legally entitled to. This is a concern, as it represents a failure by the Home Office to adequately uphold and follow their duties to vulnerable survivors of trafficking, as protected in domestic law and policy.
This case has set an important precedent which we at Lisa’s Law Solicitors hope will have far reaching impacts for other survivors seeking to recover from their exploitation.
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