Rights upon arrest and deportation

1. What are my rights if the police stop me on the street for control?

You first have the right to ask the police officer to show you his / her police ID to make sure that the check is actually done by a police officer.

If you are a woman you can refuse the physical examination if there is no female police officer who will perform this examination.

If you are rudely addressed by the police or you are being treated violently, you have the right to report it, in which case it would be good to observe the special number that all the police officers bring in their uniform.

2. Does the police officer have the right to ask me to show him my legal documents?

Yes, the police officer has the right to request the passport and the legal title (residence permit, asylum seeker card, etc.) in order to identify your details and check the legality of your stay in Greece.

In case we are stopped while driving in addition to the passport and the title of legal residence we will be asked for the driver’s license, vehicle registration and security covered by the specific vehicle.

3. What if I am stopped while we are deprived of legal documents (I am illegal)?

Even if you are legally resident in Greece, the police have the right to take you to the nearest police station for a search of your person. (f.e. arrest warrants, pending criminal decisions, etc.)

However, if the police finds that you deprive legal documents and reside illegally in Greece, then it is obliged to take you to the nearest police station in order for the department in turn to inform the competent department of foreigners about their own detention and deportation actions.

4. What can I do if I have been arrested and I am in the police station without legal documents?

All police departments after the arrest of a foreigner, inform the competent department of foreigners and from that moment on any issue related to your detention or deportation you fall under the responsibilities of the department of foreigners.

From the Detention Police Department You have the right to contact either your lawyer or your relatives.

You have the right to apply for political asylum or to object to detention within 48 hours.

If your deportation is issued, you have the right to appeal against the deportation to the courts.

Finally, if the objections against detention are rejected, you have the right to apply to the courts with the same request.

5. My objections were accepted. What can I do to avoid leaving, but also to avoid future arrest?

When the objections are accepted by the police or by a court, you are released on the condition that you leave Greece voluntarily within a period of 30 days.

If you do not leave within the deadline you are given, you remain illegally in the country, having the deportation not carried out, which means that in case of a second arrest it will be very difficult to accept the objections again, either to the foreigners or to the court.

One way to temporarily protect yourself from possible future deportation is to go to court during an existing deportation so that your deportation cannot take place until the courts are completed.

For more information you can contact our office from Monday to Friday 09:00 to 19:00 by phone 00 2103008939 or send us a personal message inbox