Home Office U-turns Over Immigration Status of Trafficking Victims after Legal Challenge (7 January 2026)

Duncan Lewis has secured a significant success against the Home Office in a judicial review challenge concerning the refusal of immigration status to a confirmed victim of trafficking and modern slavery.

The case, brought on behalf of our client YX, was the most advanced of several ongoing challenges by Duncan Lewis to the Home Office’s refusal to grant Victim of Trafficking or Slavery (VTS) leave.

The claim challenged the lawfulness of the Home Office’s decision-making, including failures 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.

Permission to proceed was granted on all grounds by Upper Tribunal Judge Kamara, and the case was listed for a substantive hearing on 12 December 2025—understood to be the first judicial review of a VTS refusal to reach that stage. Despite having defended its position throughout, the Home Office reversed its decision shortly before the hearing and agreed, by consent order, to make a fresh VTS decision that properly addresses the legal flaws identified by the Court.

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, as recorded in the agreed consent order. It will now make a new VTS decision for YX that takes into account our grounds of challenge and the permission decision of Judge Kamara.

As part of this challenge, we 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.

Solicitor Angelo Monni said:

“This represents a significant victory for both our client and other victims of trafficking.

This case is not a one-off. I have reviewed several dozen VTS decisions for clients across our firm, over the past year. It is clear that the Home Office is routinely adopting an unlawfully narrow approach to deciding when to grant VTS. Home Office caseworkers simply do not understand the statutory criteria, and this is leading to large numbers of survivors of trafficking being denied the leave they are legally entitled to. The Home Office should amend their policy and approach, in light of YX’s successful judicial review.

YX’s case sets an important precedent and we will continue to fight for other survivors who have been unlawfully refused VTS leave.”

In addition to YX, Duncan Lewis represents multiple other clients in current or anticipated judicial review challenges regarding Home Office failures to grant VTS.

These cases follow the group challenge we brought in 2024 (HHH&ors v SSHD (JR-2024-LON-001182)), on behalf of 12 clients refused VTS. Those proceedings ended in late July 2024, after the Home Office agreed to review their policy in light of the concerns we had raised. The Home Office also agreed to reconsider the claimants’ negative VTS decisions, in addition to giving assurances regarding a large number of other Duncan Lewis clients who had not yet issued proceedings.

The Guardian previously reported on the successful outcome of this case, in an article, which featured a quote from the Duncan Lewis team, which can be read here:  Trafficking victims may be able to recover in UK in Home Office U-turn | The Guardian

The Duncan Lewis VTS challenges are managed by solicitors Angelo Monni and Lily Parrott, with assistance from solicitors Thomas Munns and Rhiannon Croker, and caseworkers Beth Scott, Freya Wainstein and Elena Daria Dobos. On YX’s case, we instructed Catherine Meredith, of Doughty Street Chambers.

Duncan Lewis Solicitors

Duncan Lewis Solicitors, an award-winning law firm, is renowned for its exceptional legal services and commitment to justice. The company employs a team of highly skilled solicitors offering top-tier representation in 25 fields of law, and ranked as top tier by the Chambers and the Legal 500 legal guides, and as one of the top 250 law firms in the country by the Times. Duncan Lewis was crowned Law Firm of the Year at the Modern Law Awards 2023, further establishing its credentials as one of the leading law firms in the UK.

The firm’s Immigration and Public Law team is particularly renowned for handling complex and high profile cases involving human rights and asylum seekers. With landmark successes in cases such as Brook House, the Rwanda Challenge, and Manston House, Duncan Lewis continues to provide unparalleled legal representation, ensuring justice for the most vulnerable