Legal detention period
The initial period of detention in a detention centre is two months. The Minister or their delegate may extend this period by an additional two months, as provided by the law of 15/12/1980.After this two-month extension, may decide one further extension of one month. However, a foreign national must be released after a maximum of five months of detention. In cases where the protection of public order is required, the Minister may extend the foreign national's detention by one month (each time) up to a maximum of eight months.
Once the identification procedure is completed and the administration has obtained the required travel documents, if the irregular refuses to return, a new decision to detain them will be made based on this refusal. Each new refusal extends the period of detention for which the maximum time limit can be applied.