EB (Brazil) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department

Facts

The appellant, EB, is a Brazilian national born in 2002. He came to the United Kingdom in August 2024 on a visit visa, at the invitation of the Crown Prosecution Service, to give evidence at a criminal trial involving his stepfather. He did not take his return flight and overstayed. On 6 August 2025 he claimed asylum and humanitarian protection. His protection claim had two strands. First, he feared prosecution in Brazil after a company that his mother had registered in his name failed to meet its obligations to the authorities, leaving debts against his name. Second, he feared persecution as a gay man. He later added that his mixed race increased these risks. He also said that he had suffered discrimination in Brazil because he is HIV positive. Separately, he made a medical claim under Article 3 ECHR based on his HIV and on diagnoses of borderline personality disorder and complex PTSD, and he relied on his private life under Article 8. The Secretary of State accepted his sexuality but refused the claims on 23 October 2025. He appealed under the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. The Home Office sent no presenting officer, and the appeal was heard in person at Hatton Cross on 14 September 2026, with the appellant treated as a vulnerable witness.