Author
The maximum detention period that a person can stay in a CIE is 60 days, after which they must be released.[1] The maximum detention duration for an asylum seeker who has applied for asylum from the CIE is the 4-day admissibility phase. If they are admitted, they will continue their asylum claim outside detention.
Persons issued with detention orders upon arrival are detained in police stations for a maximum period of 72 hours. Where return has not been carried out within that time limit, they have been transferred to a CIE. In its 2024 annual report, the Jesuit Migrant Service indicated that in 2024, the average duration of detention was of 33.66 days, slightly higher than in 2023 and, in general, than before the Covid-19 pandemic.[2]
The maximum duration of persons’ de facto detention and their obligation to remain in border facilities is 8 days. When this time limit is not respected, the applicant is usually admitted to territory and will continue their asylum claim through the regular procedure.
[1] Article 62(2) Aliens Act.
[2] Servicio Jesuita a Migrantes, ‘RAÍCES TRAS LOS MUROS. Un modelo fallido de privación de libertad, falto de transparencia y garantías. Informe CIE 2024’, 30 September 2025, available here.