The National Referral Mechanism is the system that identifies potential victims of modern slavery in the UK. The Home Office published the 2025 figures on 19 February 2026. There were 23,411 referrals.
The summary says: 'the most common nationalities referred this year were UK (22%; 5,110), Eritrean (13%; 3,083) and Vietnamese (9%; 1,998)'.
Vietnamese nationals were third, behind British and Eritrean. 1,998 referrals in one year, down 7% on 2024, when it was 2,150.
Labour exploitation
The largest Vietnamese group reported separately is male adults referred for labour exploitation. 556 of them, 28% of all Vietnamese referrals.
Exploitation by sector
The published tables break exploitation down by type: labour, sexual, criminal, domestic servitude, and combinations. They do not break labour exploitation down by sector. There is no line for nail bars. There is none for car washes, restaurants, farms or building sites either.
So the number of those 1,998 referrals that came out of a nail bar is not published anywhere.
A referral is not a finding
A referral is not a finding. The NRM records potential victims, and a person referred has not been proved to be a victim of anything. The referral starts a process.
The Other Lotus Girl
The Other Lotus Girl follows two sisters, Vân and Mai, from a nail training course in Hanoi to the back of a shipping container to a salon in England. Paperback, ISBN 106847632X, £11.95. Hardback 1068476338, £17.99. Ebook £3.99.
There is a full-cast audio drama of it on YouTube, free, ten episodes in so far. Episode seven is called The Crossing and episode nine is called The Border.
Sources: Home Office, Modern Slavery National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify statistics, UK end of year summary 2025, and the accompanying nationality annex, both published 19 February 2026 at gov.uk.
