Interior
16.11.2011
The Belgian Approach:
the Family Units
Geert Verbauwhede, acting Advisor
Conference on Alternatives to Detention
History before and since alternative
• Until 1998: no detention of families with
children (exception: border cases)
• Until 15.05.2001: detention of one of the
parents; rest of the family free  problem:
rest of the family did not present themselves
at date of removal
• Until 01.10.2008: detention of families as a
whole
• From 01.10.2008: no detention of families with
children (exception: border cases)
• Since 01.10.2009: also border cases no longer
detained
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Why this change?
• Pressure of NGO’s and parliament to seek for
alternatives
• 2006-2007: report made by external study
agency with presentation of different
alternatives
• 2007: report presented to parliament
• March 2008: test with invitations to the
Immigration Office – unsuccessful (only 10 %
of invitees came)
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Creation of Family Identification and Return Unit
(FITT) 1 October 2008
• Return officers (coaches) of Immigration
Office
• Assist families in preparation of return, legal
questions, logistical matters, …
• Cooperation with IOM
• Sponsored by EU Return Fund
• Cooperation with local authorities and NGO’s
• Also looking for staying alternatives if asked
by families (depending on information given
by families)
• Now: 4 coaches + 1 coordinator + 2 technical
support + 1 logistical supervisor
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Family Units
• Alternative = individual houses or apartments
for families (former police force houses)
• 15 family units in use – 7 in preparation
• Completely equipped en furnished
• One family per unit because of privacy – in
bigger houses possibility to put 2 families
• Long term Plans : looking for bigger site and /
or extra locations  then of course necessity
for extra coaches
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Family units in detention Centre
• Recent ECHR decision: no detention of
families unless specific infrastructure
• Decision of State Secretary for Migration and
Asylum Policy: creation of specific family
units in the detention centre at the airport 
separated from rest of detention centre; 5
prefab vacation houses with necessary
infrastructure
• Who can be detained: specific border cases
(INAD), families who did not respect rules in
family units
• Timing: Spring 2012
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Legislative framework
• Royal Decree of 14 May 2009: rules for the
family units, rights and obligations for families
• Planned: Royal Decree stipulating which
categories of families with children can be
detained in future
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Evaluation
• Relatively positive evaluation by NGO’s and by
administration; international interest in system
(Council of Europe, EU, other EU member states)
• BUT: concerns about large number of absconding
(25 % - percentage of absconders within Dublin
scheme is even 53 %)
• Exhaustive internal evaluation on different
criteria, which can be used for future continuous
evaluation
• Family units are no longer Project but are
embedded return procedure
• Still necessity to develop cooperation with other
State Agencies (e.g. reception centres)
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Assessment on arrival of families at the Border
• Since opening of family units for border
cases: clear increase of families arriving at
border + new nationalities (Afghanistan, Iraq,
Iran, Sri Lanka) and new departure airports
(Moscow)  from 23 families in 2009 over 66
in 2010 to already 103 until 27.10.2011
• Families stayed already a long time in third
(transit) countries before arriving in Belgium
• Many recognized refugees + subsidiary
protection at the border
• Looking for balance – avoid that family units
become pull factor
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Statistics (up to 03.11.2011)
• 249 families with 452 minor children (80 irregular migrant
families, 51 Dublin families, 118 border families)
• 240 families have left the family units
- 102 families departed to country of origin or third country (23 IOM, 25
Dublin cases, 5 bilateral cases, 14 “forced” removals, 34 refoulments
at border, 1 voluntary departure without assistance)
- 60 families “escaped” (absconded)
- 78 families were freed (9 families temporarily or definitively regularized;
29 families recognised as refugee; 8 families subsidiary protection, 5
families pending asylum procedure; …)
- 1 family separated (child not related with “parent”)
• Average staying period: 23,7 days
• Top 5 nationalities: Iraq, Afghanistan, Brazil, Russian
Federation, Armenia
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Questions?
• geert.verbauwhede@ibz.fgov.be
• muriel.hulpiau@ibz.fgov.be
• www.dofi.fgov.be
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