According to German law, minors and members of other vulnerable groups must not be detained while they have the status of asylum applicants. However, asylum seekers may lose this status as a result of a Dublin procedure and may hence be detained for the purpose of a Dublin transfer (see section on Grounds for detention).
Section 62(1) of the Residence Act contains the following provision regarding the detention of children and families:
‘Minors and families with minor children are not to be taken into custody awaiting deportation.’[1]
In 2025, 3,628 children (under 18 years) were deported to third countries or transferred to another state under the Dublin Regulation.[2] These measures usually involve that children are taken into custody for a few hours on the day the transfer takes place. Furthermore, 298 minors were returned to neighbouring countries after being refused entry to the territory, out of which were unaccompanied by parents or legal guardians.[3] The immediate returns (Zurückweisungen) or removals (Zurückschiebungen) are usually preceded by an arrest and a short-term apprehension.
With the exception of these short-term apprehensions, detention of minors ordered by a court seems to be exceptional. In practice, however, detention of (possible) minors may occur in cases in which the age of the persons concerned is uncertain or disputed. The Jesuit Refugee Service and the local NGO Hilfe für Menschen in Abschiebehaft Hof e. V. reported to ECRE a few cases in 2024 of minors who were briefly detained in the facilities in Hof and Eichstätt. In addition, Abschiebehaftberatung Nord refers to the case of a minor who was briefly held at the Glückstadt detention facility in 2023.
A few Federal States have regulations in place for the detention of other vulnerable groups (such as elderly persons, persons with disabilities, nursing mothers, single parents),[4] but most do not have any special provisions for these groups and detain them in practice. The same applies to de facto detention at airport detention facilities, which is applied inter alia to pregnant women, victims of torture and persons with medical conditions. Civil society organisations supporting people detained in the German facilities report about elderly persons, persons with disabilities and persons with illnesses being detained.[5] According to the local Amnesty university student group, one pregnant person and one trans woman were detained in Darmstadt-Eberstadt in 2024. The trans woman was held in the men’s section, as there is no clear regulation governing the placement of transgender individuals in detention. Additionally, all interview partners highlighted the extremely high number of detained persons suffering from mental health problems.
Of the few people who come to us for counselling, around 90% are psychologically unstable – whether due to the detention itself, the circumstances of their arrest, or the fears they had to live with beforehand. An estimated 10–20% are given sedatives. Some individuals show clear psychological abnormalities that would actually require treatment – but this would also need to involve securing their living conditions, and that is not ensured in Germany. Women often suffer prolonged nervous breakdowns, crying for hours or even days. When young women are deported to countries like Romania, Bulgaria, or Croatia, even though their families have already been granted protection in Germany, they know exactly what awaits them: violence, threats, rape, homelessness. Women who are forced to return to their home countries have justified fears – but these are not recognised as grounds for asylum, for instance in the case of family feuds. All individuals undergo visible changes during detention: they lose weight, neglect themselves, self-harm, or develop health problems, including dental issues.[6]
While some Federal States provide for separate detention of women, others use the facilities of other Federal States – notably the detention facility of Ingelheim in Rhineland-Palatinate – and only detain men in their own detention facilities.[7] The local Amnesty university student group states usually only few women are detained in Darmstadt-Eberstadt and raises awareness for the issue that at times when there is only one women held in the facility, this leads to solitary confinement by default.[8]
In the context of the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), adopted at EU level in June 2024 and to be applied as of June 2026, the German Federal Government adopted a cabinet draft of the GEAS-Anpassungsgesetz (CEAS Adaptation Act) on 3 September 2025, initiating the parliamentary procedure.[9] This draft introduces several significant changes with direct implications for the detention of vulnerable persons, including minors. The Act was passed by both bodies of parliament in early 2026 and will enter into force on 12 June 2026.
Most notably, the draft introduces a new form of detention during ongoing asylum proceedings (Asylverfahrenshaft, proposed § 69 AsylG), which – unlike pre-removal detention under § 62(1) of the Residence Act – is not subject to the existing prohibition on detaining minors and families with minor children.[10] Under the proposed § 70a(3) AsylG, minors may exceptionally be detained together with a detained parent or, in the case of unaccompanied minors, where detention is found to be in the child’s best interest. Germany’s National Implementation Plan reflects this framing, stating that minors will “in principle not be detained, except where this serves their best interests.” Civil society organisations, including PRO ASYL and the Flüchtlingsrat Baden-Württemberg, have sharply criticised these provisions as incompatible with Article 37 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which, according to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, prohibits all immigration detention of children without exception.[11] Neither the NIP nor the government’s legislative materials address this tension in substantive terms.
Furthermore, the draft foresees the creation of special reception facilities for secondary migration cases (Aufnahmeeinrichtungen zur Durchführung von Verfahren zur Sekundärmigration, proposed § 44(1a) AsylG), in which residents may be prohibited from leaving – including overnight curfews – amounting to de facto detention. For families with minor children these restrictions can be applied only during the night. According to media reports, the states of Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony have already announced their intention to establish such facilities.[12] The BAMF reiterates that these are not closed facilities as people are always at liberty to leave, especially to return to the Member State who is responsible for assessing their asylum application.[13]
The mandatory obligation under the new EU Reception Directive to ensure a standard of living in conformity with EU law and international obligations raises serious questions about the compatibility of these provisions with Union law, in particular regarding the withdrawal of benefits and access to healthcare for vulnerable persons.
[1] Federal Republic of Germany, Residence Act (AufenthG), available here.
[2] Federal Government, Reply to parliamentary question by The Left, 21/4103, 11 February 2026, available in German here.
[3] ibid.
[4] Regulations regarding vulnerable groups can be found in the law on removal detention for Bremen (available in German at: http://bit.ly/3wlsJVD). In Hesse, the law (available in German at: http://bit.ly/3XvPOkv) requires that special attention be paid to the healthcare of particularly vulnerable persons. In Schleswig-Holstein, the respective law (available in German at: https://bit.ly/3Hn50KS) contains a provision on the detention of minors, which must be in compliance with Art. 37 Un Convention on the Rights of the Child. HesseNo specific provisions could be found in the laws and regulations of Berlin (available in German at: http://bit.ly/3H69Efg), Baden-Württemberg (available in German at: https://bit.ly/3HkMOBE), Brandenburg (available in German at: http://bit.ly/3Hl9z8I), Hamburg (available in German at: http://bit.ly/3HmWaNi), North Rhine Westphalia (available in German at: http://bit.ly/3QZ55b0), and Saxony (available in German at: http://bit.ly/3ZUSDNl). Bavaria and Rhineland Palatinate do not have a specific law or regulation on detention.
[5] Information provided by Jesuit Refugee Service Germany, Hilfe für Menschen in Abschiebehaft Hof e. V., Support PiA, Abschiebehaftberatung Nord via email and phone on March 2025.
[6] Information provided by Hilfe für Menschen in Abschiebehaft Hof e. V. via email on March 2025.
[7] Federal Government, Reply to parliamentary question by The Left, 19/31669, 4 August 2021, available in German at: https://bit.ly/4awfTGM, 23-25.
[8] Information provided by Support PiA via phone on March 2025.
[9] PRO ASYL, GEAS-Umsetzung in Deutschland: Mit voller Härte, 16 September 2025, available in German here.
[10] Flüchtlingsrat Baden-Württemberg, Regierungsentwurf zur Umsetzung der GEAS-Reform ermöglicht Inhaftierung von Kindern, September 2025, available in German here.
[11] Ibid.
[12] PRO ASYL, GEAS-Umsetzung in Deutschland: Mit voller Härte, 16 September 2025, available in German here.
[13] Information provided by BAMF on 22 May 2026.