Detention

DRC offers counselling to detained asylum seekers

According to section 37d (1) of the Danish Aliens Act, asylum seekers in detention have the right to receive personal legal advice from Danish Refugee Council (DRC). 

DRC is regularly contacted by people, who are detained in prisons or in immigration detention at the Ellebæk Centre for Foreigners. We counsel detained third country nationals about the possibility of applying for asylum and the asylum procedure in Denmark. 

You can arrange counselling with DRC by asking the police or the prison staff to arrange a meeting, or you can contact us directly. 

Contact DRC on phone number +45 3373 5020 or mail to [email protected]. 

It is not a crime to ask for asylum

Asking for international protection is a human right. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights art. 14 “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.”

Additionally, both written and unwritten international rules states that a State cannot remove a person to a country where the person will experience persecution. Of course, it is not a crime to ask for international protection or asylum in Denmark. As a general rule, asylum seekers should thus not be detained.

According to the Danish Aliens Act § 36 and the Danish Return Act § 16, asylum seekers can in some situations be detained. Grounds for detention could be immediate risk of absconding and that detention is necessary to ensure the presence of a person.

A third country national, who is detained according to the Danish Aliens Act § 36 or the Danish Return Act § 16, must be presented before a judge within 3 days for the judge to decide whether the detention is legal and should be upheld.

If a third country national commits a crime, or is suspected hereof, the person can of course be detained according to the Danish Criminal Act or other relevant law. However, there are special rules for people, who are asking for international protection, i.e. the Refugee Convention art. 31 states that refugees, who are trying to reach safety, should not be punished for using fake documents or travelling irregularly.