Ongoing deportation

For many, it’s a shock: the police are there. There may be a lot of police officers and they may also be very unfriendly. They don’t understand how bad the situation is for you. They also don’t have any interpreters with them. It’s often difficult to talk to the police and you don’t understand what they want.

Even if it’s difficult, try to stay calm. The police officers could also use force, tie you up or separate families if they think you are aggressive.

Who is the police officer in charge? Talk to him calmly. The following is particularly important:

• Is a family member not at home? How will the police prevent the family from being separated?
• Is someone ill or pregnant? Is there any evidence of this? Ask the police to call a doctor again to check their ‘fitness to travel’.
• Does anyone in the family have a residence permit or a tolerated stay permit for education or employment? Is an asylum application still open?
• Is someone not feeling well, for example acute panic? Then ask for an emergency doctor to be called.

Try to gather information:

• Are you being deported by bus or, as is usually the case, by plane?
• Which airport do you fly from and when does the flight depart?
• Will you be taken to a police station beforehand?
• What is the destination of the deportation? In which city will you arrive?

You are allowed to pack 20kg per person. Don’t forget the most important things: medication, documents (children’s birth certificates, medical documents, passports etc.), clothes for the first few days …

The police may take cash from you.You are supposed to use it to pay part of the costs of your deportation yourself. They may also search your belongings for cash. If you are threatened with deportation, it is best to take your money to a trusted person. They can use it to pay a lawyer or send you the money after your deportation. The police must give you a receipt when they take something from you.With this receipt, a supporter or a lawyer can check whether the police were authorised to do so.

The police often take your phone away from you. It’s best if you can hide a second phone somewhere. If you can, secretly make audio or video recordings. Insist that you are allowed to make at least one phone call before they take the phone away: Call your trusted person or your lawyer. If possible, a supporter should come and help you with the deportation. Or they can make other calls for you, such as calling your lawyer. You can also call acquaintances or friends at your deportation destination so that they can pick you up and organise a place for you to sleep.

You or your supporter should also contact the Deportation Monitoring Centre . Inform them about your situation and ask how they can support you.

The police will then take the people to the police station. They are then taken to the airport or onto a bus to be deported. Deportation often takes several hours. Your supporters or your lawyer can use this time on your behalf to legally prevent your deportation. But they now have a lot to do, have to act quickly and be available on the phone! Perhaps they can submit a follow-up asylum application to the BAMF or an application for tolerated stay to the foreigners authority and an urgent application against the deportation to the administrative court.

If you don’t see any legal chances, you can also prevent the deportation in another way. But beware: the police often react harshly and violently!

• You can try to defend yourself and run away
• Friends can block the police for you
• You can refuse to sit down on the plane

Please report the deportation or the attempt to the deportation monitoring of the SFR e.V: