The Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) held on 29 June 2026 that the Home Office's unwritten practice, operated until 17 December 2025, of granting 12 months' VTS leave in open-ended treatment cases was unlawful.
TK, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (VTS leave – unpublished policy) [2026] UKUT 316 (IAC), Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), judgment promulgated 29 June 2026 (hearing 31 March 2026), Upper Tribunal Judge Rastogi.
Recognised victims of trafficking or modern slavery (VTS) are considered for temporary permission to stay under section 65 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and Appendix VTS. Published policy supplements these. Appendix VTS 5.1 provides for permission "not exceeding 30 months" where leave is necessary to assist recovery.
The tribunal found that, until 17 December 2025, the Home Office also operated an unwritten practice. It granted 12 months' leave where a person needed to stay to assist their recovery but their treatment had no specified end date, or no evidence of its expected duration was given. The Home Office disclosed the practice during these proceedings on 27 October 2025. It accepted that the late disclosure breached its duty of candour.
The tribunal held the practice unlawful on two main grounds:
- It was an unpublished policy, because it did not allow meaningful representations about the duration of leave (R (Lumba) v SSHD [2011] UKSC 12 applies).
- It operated as a rigid practice. That was inconsistent with published policy, which requires a decision on the duration of leave to be based on "all the available information". It fettered the decision-maker's discretion and was therefore irrational.
The tribunal noted that some evidence may fall short of giving an end date but still allow a decision-maker to use discretion to set a period of leave under published policy. The unpublished practice did not permit that.
The practice has now been published on the Current Circumstances Questionnaire sent to all VTS before a decision is made. It says that 12 months' leave is "generally considered to be" the appropriate duration in such circumstances. The published policy has not been amended to refer to the practice, and still requires a decision on duration to be based on all the available information.
The applicant's challenge to his own decision was settled by consent order signed on 26 March 2026. On 10 March 2026 the Home Office made a new decision granting him 4 months' VTS leave, expiring 11 July 2026.
What this means for applicants
The published policy requires the length of VTS leave to be decided on all available information, including where treatment has no end date. The questionnaire now states that 12 months is generally considered appropriate in these cases. The policy tells decision-makers to consider the length of the course of treatment and any estimated time to access treatment that has not started, for example because of a waiting list. The Home Office's letter of 27 October 2025 also stated that a further VTS application can be made at any time before leave expires if new medical evidence shows a need for continued treatment.