The Danish Return Agency
About us
The return process

The task of The Danish Return Agency

The task of The Danish Return Agency is to ensure the departure of foreign nationals that do not have or no longer have legal stay in Denmark.

The Danish Return Agency does not decide if a foreign national is legally bound to leave the Danish territory.

Those return decisions are solely made by The Danish Immigration Service, The Danish Agency for Recruitment and Integration, Udlændingenævnet, The Immigration Appeals Board, The Refugee Appeals Board or the Danish court system. Once decided, the only task of The Danish Return Agency is to ensure the actual return/deportation in compliance with the return decision.

If the foreign national leaves of his own accord and within the deadline stipulated in the return decision, The Danish Return Agency does not initiate a return case as illustrated below. However, The Danish Return Agency oversees that every foreign national given a stipulated deadline, actually departs. The control is automatically initiated when a departure is not registered at a border crossing prior to the deadline expiration. The Danish Return Agency can therefore request the foreign national for documentation of departure allowing for the proper registration of departure.

The figure below illustrates the contents of our task, our tools and when a return or deportation is finished.

Further facts and elaborations can be found when interacting with the figure.

Elaborations and facts

Following the return decision the foreign national will be called for a first interview with The Danish Return Agency. The interview is conducted by a return counsellor and an interpreter will be present. The purpose is to establish whether the foreign national will cooperate on the planning of his return. Cooperating means actively contributing to The Danish Return Agency’s planning and execution of the return/deportation. Attending these interviews are legally required for the foreign national.

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During the initial interview the return counsellor will ask the foreign national whether he will cooperate in the planning of his return/deportation from Denmark. If he decides to cooperate, The Danish Return Agency will draft a return contract stipulating the foreign national’s rights and duties during the return process:

Participating in interviews with The Danish Return Agency

Assisting in aquiring travel document(s) and verifying his identity

The legal obligation to leave Denmark at first given opportunity

The possibility of being granted repatriation support

The possibilities of participating in activities and courses etc.

The possibility of extending the departure deadline allowing for the

foreign national to stay in Denmark during the return planning.

The possibility of having the flight ticket costs paid
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Following the first interview during which the foreign national has decided to cooperate in the planning of his return/deportation, a continuous cooperation with The Danish Return Agency is set up.

The cooperation is based on the return contract previously entered into with The Danish Return Agency. In the period leading up to the actual return/deportation, frequent interviews are held to evaluate the progress and assess any challenges or obstacles.

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At the departure centres The Danish Return Agency’s employees continuously strive to motivate cooperation. At any given point the foreign national can thus change his mind og choose to cooperate. Cooperating will always have a positive impact on the processing of the return7deportation case. Cooperation can allow for e.g. executing the return unassisted, being considered for repatriation support and generally having more influence in the return/deortation process. The timing of the change of mind about cooperation is however of importance, seeing that late cooperation may reduce the amount of the repatriation support for which he may now eligible.

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If unable on his own, The Danish Return Agency can help and assist the foreign national with practical matters necessary for the execution of the return/deportation. This applies to relevant embassy contact, medication, all types of luggage, transport and flight tickets. As a general rule, the foreign national must pay for the flight ticket, but in some instances The Danish Return Agency will pay.

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Repatriation support is composed of financial amounts designed to help the foreign national gaining a foothold in his country of origin. Not everyone is eligible for repatriation support, and the options vary depending on the foreign national’s particular situation

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The foreign national has been fully identified (name, nationality, date of birth), and all necessary ID-documents have been produced. Identifying the foreign national can be a lenghty process and prolong the actual case processing irrespective of cooperation or non-cooperation.

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Nearing the completion of the actual return/deportation, The Danish Return Agency ensures that the foreign national does not have an immigration case pending. A case pending may allow the foreign national to stay during the processesing thus postponing the return/deportation case.

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Generally, cooperation allows for the return/deportation being planned as supervised. When supervised a return officer meets with the foreign national at the airport and handles the luggage, travel documents and check-in.The foreign national is escorted through the airport and onboard the airplane after which the foreign national departs on his own.

If the foreign national is detained, the police accompany him during the complete return/deportation. The return officer leaves the airport on take-off.

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If the foreign national does not cooperate, the return/deportation will be planned as assisted entailing that a return officer from The Danish Return Agency and the police will accompany the foreign national on the entire flight to the end destination at which point he is handed over to the relevant authorities.

Assisted returns/deportations are also scheduled for e.g. vulnerable foreign nationals unable to make the flight on their own. Vulnerable groups may be families with children, chronically ill or disabled individuals or foreign nationals who have requested an assisted return making them feel safer during the return. These types of assisted returns seldom require police presence. The return officer from The Danish Return Agency accompanies the foreign national(s) all the way to the destination country.

While The Danish Return Agency is in charge of luggage, travel documents, airline ticket og the handing over of the foreign national to the destination authority, the police are in charge of ensuring that the return/deportation of a non-cooperating foreign national transpires peacefully even in instances where the use of force is deemed necessary. The police engagement in assisted returns is regulated by the rules of self-defence and defence of necessity stipulating that the police must ensure that the assisted foreign national(s) do not harm himself, the other passengers or causes damage to material.

An additional requirement is that the use and extent of force applied must be deemed necessary, proper and proportionate meaning that the scope of the force applied must be proportionate to the assisted individual’s sex, age, health condition and physical development.

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The destination may be the foreign national’s country of origin, an EU-member state (the foreign national is an EU-citizen or is a residing permit holder) or a receiving Dublin-member state (The foreign national is returned to the member state in which he originally claimed asylum).

If the foreign national does not depart within the deadline stipulated in the return decision, commits a crime or is expelled by judgment, the government authority deciding the return can impose an entry ban. This means that the foreign national included in the return decision will be registered as unwanted in either Denmark or the entire EU/Schengen area. Similarly, The Danish Return Agency can issue an entry ban foreign nationals who do not cooperate in the planning of their return/deportation.
If the foreign national does not depart within the deadline stipulated in the return decision, commits a crime or is expelled by judgment, the government authority deciding the return can impose an entry ban. This means that the foreign national included in the return decision will be registered as unwanted in either Denmark or the entire EU/Schengen area. Similarly, The Danish Return Agency can issue an entry ban foreign nationals who do not cooperate in the planning of their return/deportation.

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The Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman monitors The Danish Return Agency’s returns.

The purpose of the monitoring is to ensure that the returns/deportations are executed with respect for the individual and without unnecessary use of force. The monitoring activities include both supervised and assisted returns/deportations. A legal case officer from the Ombudsman’s office participates from the time the foreign national is picked up by the police and until he is handed over to the authorities at the destination. The Ombudsman’s legal case officer monitors the entirety of the return/deportation and can ask question, but is not allowed to intervene in any incident which may occur during the return/deportation.

Furthermore, the legal case officer can initiate an investigation of the case once completed.

The monitoring review of the return cases can be found in the Ombudsman’s annual report.

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The task of The Danish Return Agency

Elaborations and facts

The foreign national is called for an interview with The Return Agency

The foreign national cooperates

The foreign national does not cooperate

Cooperation on return/deportation

The legal consequences of non-cooperation

Practical assistance

Repatriation support

Knowing the foreign nationals residence and establishing cooperation or non-cooperation

Obtaining document and verifying identification

No new or pending cases

Supervised return/deportation

Assisted return/deportation

Destination

Entry ban

Monitoring the agency’s return work