Victims of trafficking may be able to stay in the UK for longer following a recent Court of Appeal ruling.

A 40 year old man from Ghana who was trafficked to the UK and exploited in forced labour brought a case to court when he was refused permission to stay in the UK after being formally recognised as a victim of trafficking.

Victims of trafficking can be given permission to stay in the UK for between 12 and 30 months if they are assisting with police investigations, if they are making a claim for compensation against their traffickers, or if there are compelling personal circumstances which mean the victim needs to stay in the UK.

In this case, the victim’s lawyers argued that the Home Office guidance governing the granting of leave to remain to victims of trafficking did not meet the requirements of an international treaty.

Under Article 14 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings countries must provide victims of trafficking with a residence permit if it is necessary for them to stay in the country due to the victim’s personal circumstances or in order for them to continue helping with police investigations.

Although the Home Office guidance allows for discretionary leave to be granted to victims due to their personal circumstances it gives little information about the things that immigration officers should consider in making the decision, or what sort of circumstances would result in a victim being given permission to stay in the UK.

In its judgment of 8 February the Court of Appeal ruled that the Convention “requires an assessment of whether it is necessary for the purposes of protection and assistance of the victim of trafficking (or one of the other objectives of the Convention) to allow him to remain in the country. In this case, the Secretary of State's guidance neither requires nor prompts any such engagement. As a result, in my view, it does not reflect the requirements of Article 14(1)(a), and is unlawful.”

The Home Office will need to amend its guidance and its practice which could result in more victims who need to stay in the UK for their protection and assistance being allowed to do so.

One way that the Home Office could do this is to adopt Lord McColl of Dulwich’s Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill that proposes all recognised victims of trafficking receive 12 months leave to remain with support and assistance. CARE is supporting Lord McColl’s Bill and we urge the Government, in the light of this judgment, to gives its support to the Bill.

You can show your support for Lord McColl’s Bill by writing to your MP through the freeforgood.org.uk website.

You can read more about this story on the Guardian and the BBC news websites.