Detention pending deportation

If a foreigner is obliged to leave the Federal Republic of Germany and is to be deported, the foreigners authority can obtain a detention order from the local court under certain conditions.

For example, the court can order detention if

• the foreigner did not appear at an announced deportation date
• there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the foreign national intends to evade deportation

The formal requirements for an application for detention are quite high, so that an order may have been issued unlawfully.

Detention pending deportation is permitted for a maximum of 6 months and can be extended to 18 months if the deportation cannot take place for reasons for which the foreigner is responsible.

If the immigration authorities plan to arrest a person, they are generally obliged to apply for a court order beforehand. After arrest, the person concerned must be brought before the judge as soon as possible, who will decide on further detention.

In addition to the question of whether detention pending deportation is permissible, it is often a question of whether deportation to the home country can be prevented. Parallel to the detention proceedings, an attempt would have to be made to obtain toleration from the administrative court. In individual cases, this may result in the detention period being extended.

If there is no prospect of toleration, an attempt can be made either to have a detention order revoked, e.g. in appeal proceedings, or to negotiate release from detention on presentation of a ticket home in order to shorten the period of detention. Which route makes sense depends on the individual circumstances.

Our specialist lawyer for migration law and administrative law Sven Hasse will advise and represent you in this area.