ANALYSIS Access to Procedures in Detention Despite EU legislation and Greek law making a strong preference for applicants of international protection and third country nationals subject to return orders being detained separately, in practice, this does not happen. As such, the two legally defined groups are usually held together, creating no distinction or clarification regarding their status. This, compounded by the critical lack of information provided to detainees, deprives people of accessing relevant procedures thus denying their legal and human rights. Nevertheless, the two groups will be analysed in terms of access to procedures separately, due to the different legal structures that apply to each. Length of Detention Period Particularly since 2020, the use of detention for people on the move has become systematic in Greece, both for applicants of international protection and third country nationals subject to return orders. Administrative deprivation of liberty should only last for the time necessary for deportation and should never be indefinite; according to the Human Rights Committee, "detention should not continue beyond the period for which the State can provide appropriate justification".[176] Yet our research illustrated the arbitrariness of detention practices in Greece, regarding both the reason and length of time that people are held for. Third Country Nationals Detained in View of Removal: New Arrivals and Rejected Applicants According to EU legislation, third country nationals who are subject to return procedures should only be detained in order to prepare their return or carry out the removal process when there are no other sufficient and less coercive measures that can be effectively applied.[177] In particular, the RD specifies the risk of the detainee absconding, and any individual who hampers the preparation of return or removal process, as justification for detention measures. However, since the concerning amendment of Article 30 of Greek Law 3907/2011 in 2020, third country nationals who are subject to return procedures are no longer detained by exception, rather by status quo, unless there is a decision by the competent authority that the individual is not a risk of absconding, being uncooperative or a national security threat.[178] The reversal of this law has resulted in the detention of third country nationals subject to return becoming the norm, diverging considerably from European legislation. Nevertheless, the amendment to Article 30(1) of Law 3907/2011 still states that detention should only be imposed and maintained for the absolutely necessary period of time to process the removal process, which should be developed and executed with due diligence.[179] In addition, Article 30(4) of Law 3907/2011, as well as EU legislation[180] explicitly details that in the event that a reasonable prospect of removal no longer exists, detention ceases to be justified and the individual should be released immediately. Yet according to our research, these safeguards are not implemented in practice in Greece. The fundamental lack of official readmission procedures taking place from PRDCs contributes to concerns that the detention of many third country nationals is not legally justified. For example, the return of individuals 45