# Council Directive 2004/81/EC of 29 April 2004 on the residence permit issued to third-country nationals who are victims of trafficking in human beings or who have been the subject of an action to facilitate illegal immigration, who cooperate with the competent authorities, Article 6: Reflection period

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

1. Member States shall ensure that the third-country nationals concerned are granted a reflection period allowing them to recover and escape the influence of the perpetrators of the offences so that they can take an informed decision as to whether to cooperate with the competent authorities.
The duration and starting point of the period referred to in the first subparagraph shall be determined according to national law.
2. During the reflection period and while awaiting the decision of the competent authorities, the third-country nationals concerned shall have access to the treatment referred to in Article 7 and it shall not be possible to enforce any expulsion order against them.
3. The reflection period shall not create any entitlement to residence under this Directive.
4. The Member State may at any time terminate the reflection period if the competent authorities have established that the person concerned has actively, voluntarily and on his/her own initiative renewed contact with the perpetrators of the offences referred to in Article 2(b) and (c) or for reasons relating to public policy and to the protection of national security.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudr/2004/81/article/6 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-directive-2004-81/article-6
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.