Detention | Fedasil info - informatieplatform voor asielzoekers in België

Who can be detained?

Foreign nationals without legal residency

The Immigration Office may detain foreign nationals who do not have legal residency.

Persons who were given a negative decision regarding their stay and who received an order to leave the territory (OQT/BGV).
Applicants for whom a different country is responsible for their procedure (Dublin procedure).
Foreign nationals who do not have permission to enter Belgium.

If you do not comply with the order to leave the territory, you may be forcibly removed from Belgium. As a result, the Immigration Office will transfer you to a detention centre or residential unit.

Detention during procedure

2. During the procedure

During the asylum procedure, a foreign national may be detained:

so that their identity or nationality can be ascertained,
in the event of a risk of absconding (you evade the Immigration Office).
if the applicant has already been detained for a scheduled forced return and makes a new application in the detention centre with the sole aim of delaying the forced return,
if the protection of national security or public order so requires.

For how long can a foreign national be detained?

The detention lasts 2 months.
These two months may be extended to 5 months, under certain conditions and if the forced return could not take place within two months.
If there is a danger to national security or public order, the period may be extended to 8 months.
For special procedures (Dublin, detention at the border, etc.) the duration of the detention is different.