Author
Between March 2020 and October 2023, detention of asylum applicants predominantly occurred when applicants for international protection were previously detained pending a removal procedure,[1] and in cases where precautionary measures/alerts regarding the person concerned are active.
The application of border procedures and of detention of asylum applicants subjected to border procedures was resumed by the beginning of November 2023, after being suspended for approximately 3 and a half years.
While the Asylum Act also provides for the possibility of placing other categories of asylum applicants in detention,[2] including those subjected to Dublin procedures, according to CPR’s experience, these are not used in practice.
The competent authority to place and review the detention of an asylum applicant in a CIT,[3] or in detention facilities at the border,[4] is the Criminal Court with territorial jurisdiction over the place where detention is imposed. In the case of detention at the border, PSP initially imposes detention, but is required to inform the Criminal Court of said detention measure within 48 hours of arrival at the border for the purpose of maintaining the asylum applicant in detention beyond that period.[5] For information on the preliminary checks at border points prior to detention, see: Preliminary checks of third country nationals upon arrival.
UNHCR, CPR, legal representatives, and other NGOs have effective access to asylum applicants in detention at the border in accordance with the law.[6] Nevertheless, access to legal information as well as assistance in detention has been hindered by factors such as shorter deadlines, and limited capacity of service providers.
In addition to the impacts of detention, shorter deadlines and reduced procedural guarantees are applicable in the context of procedures conducted while the applicants are detained. These reduced guarantees increase the risks of poorer quality decision-making.
Unidade Habitacional de Santo António (CIT–UHSA)[7] is the only temporary installation centre per se currently functioning in Portugal. The main detention facility at the border is located in the international area of Lisbon airport and has an overall capacity of 24 places. Airport detention facilities also exist at Porto and Faro airports with a capacity of 18 and 13 places respectively.[8]
It is publicly known that since late October/beginning of November 2023, asylum applicants and other migrants refused entry into national territory at Lisbon airport were frequently detained in the transit zone of the airport in appalling conditions due to the lack of capacity of the corresponding detention facility.[9]
As mentioned in Determining Authority the termination of the activity of SEF entailed that existing general police forces became responsible for border control and for executing expulsion decisions. As such:
- The National Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana, GNR) became responsible for the surveillance and control of maritime and land borders, and for executing expulsion decisions within its jurisdiction;[10]
- The Public Security Police (Polícia de Segurança Pública, PSP) became responsible for the surveillance and control of air borders, and for executing expulsion decisions within its jurisdiction.[11]
Consequently, PSP became responsible for the operation of CIT-UHSA and airport detention facilities since 29 October 2023. According to the information provided by PSP, this change posed operational and administrative challenges. PSP noted, for instance, the need to provide specific training to officials and to allocate them to the detention facilities, the limited capacity of the facilities, and the transition of service provision contracts previously concluded by SEF to PSP.
PSP reported that a total of 533 foreign nationals were subject to administrative detention during 2024, of which 392 were asylum applicants.[12]
CPR is aware that in some cases in 2024 the release from detention was delayed due to the lack of reception responses on national territory. For more information, see: The right to reception and sufficient resources.
IOM and UNHCR reported having provided training covering, inter alia, human rights, international protection, interviewing techniques, the protection of specific vulnerable groups, and the identification and referral of asylum applicants and refugees with specific needs, to PSP within the framework of PSP’s official training programmes.
[1] Article 35-A(3)(b) Asylum Act.
[2] Article 35-A(3) Asylum Act.
[3] Article 35-A(5) Asylum Act.
[4] Article 35-A(6) Asylum Act.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Article 49(6) Asylum Act.
[7] Decree-Law 44/2006 provides for the creation and functioning of CIT – UHSA in Porto.
[8] While pre-removal facilities also exist in the airports of Ponta Delgada and Madeira, CPR is unaware of its use for detention of applicants for international protection.
[9] See, for instance: Diário de Notícias, Requerentes de asilo “dormem em bancos” no aeroporto. Sindicato da PSP denuncia situação “caótica”, 3 December 2023, available here.
[10] Article 2(a) Act n. 73/2021 of 12 November 2021 approving the restructure of the Portuguese system of border control, reshaping the regime of the forces and services responsible for internal security and establishing other rules for the redistribution of competences and resources of the Immigration and Borders Service, last amended by Act n. 53/2023, of 31 August 2023, available here.
[11] Ibid, article 2(b).
[12] Note that the statistics provided by PSP to this report only cover the period between 29/10/2023 and 31/12/2023. Data regarding SEF’s tenure is not available.