The maximum duration of pre-removal detention (Abschiebungshaft) is 6 months, subject to a possibility of extension to a total of 18 months if the person hinders removal.[1]
The maximum time limit for the duration of custody pending departure (Ausreisegewahrsam) was previously limited to 10 days but has been extended to 28 days following the enactment of the Act on the Improvement of Removals (Rückführungsverbesserungsgesetz) on 27 February 2024.[2]
Between 2018 and the first quarter of 2021, the average duration of detention was 22.1 days (see table below for a breakdown by year and Federal State). Statistics made available by Federal States further show that detention for a period of less than six weeks seems to be the rule, while cases of detention lasting longer than 6 months seem to be exceptional with only a handful of cases reported every year overall.[3] More recent publicly available data was not found as of March 2025.
| Average duration in days of pre-removal detention: 2018 – Q 2021 | ||||
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Q1 2021 | |
| Baden-Württemberg | 33.8 | 29.7 | 22.3 | N/A |
| Bavaria | 33.3 | 30.1 | 19.5 | 19.2 |
| Berlin | 59 | 17 | 28 | 20 |
| Brandenburg | – | – | – | – |
| Bremen | 18.5 | 21.4 | 15.8 | 8 |
| Hamburg | 16 | 17 | 12 | 14 |
| Hesse | 22 | 23 | 22 | 16 |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | N/A | N/A | less than 2 weeks | 2-6 weeks |
| Lower Saxony | 20 | 22 | 21 | 19 |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 29 | 26 | 25 | 25 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 33.8 | 29.5 | 23.1 | 15.8 |
| Saarland | – | – | – | |
| Saxony | 8 | 22 | 16 | 17 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 24.6 | 23.5 | 13.42 | 9.57 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 23 | 26 | 22 | 23 |
| Thuringia | 30.7 | 19.1 | 22.2 | 20.3 |
| Overall average | 27.1 | 23.6 | 20.2 | 17.2 |
Source: Federal Government, Reply to parliamentary question by The Left, 19/31669, 4 August 2021, available in German at: https://bit.ly/4awfTGM, 67-68.
[1] Section 62(4) Residence Act.
[2] Section 62b (1) Residence Act.
[3] Federal Government, Reply to parliamentary question by The Left, 19/31669, 4 August 2021, available in German at: https://bit.ly/4awfTGM, 38 et seq.