DURATION OF DETENTION As noted earlier, as of 30 June 2021, nearly half of all migrants in detention had been detained for more than six months. The duration of detention differs depending on whether it refers to asylum seekers or to migrants with no asylum status. In the case of asylum seekers, recent Greek legislation outlines a 50-day detention period. 9 There may be consecutive decisions that prolong the detention for another 50 days at a time (any extension has to be justified on the same grounds as the initial decision). The maximum time limit for this potential series of extensions is 18 months. Recent law explicitly exempts the time that a person may have been detained on the grounds of a previous deportation or return decision. Given that detention under the legal provisions on deportation and return (L.3907/2011 and L.3386/2005) may also be prolonged for up to 18 months, theoretically it is possible that people can be detained for up to 36 months – simply for being a migrant. 10 There is controversy about from what point in time detention starts to count for asylum seekers who apply for asylum while in detention. Although a fair interpretation of the law would be that the time limit starts from the first day of detention, in practice, the authorities consider it to begin at the time the asylum application is forwarded to the local Regional Asylum Office. Yet there are often considerable delays – of up to five months – in registering receipt of asylum applications from those in detention. 11 The result is an extension of detention, which can exceed the maximum time limit, through no fault of the person submitting the application. This also a clear violation of the law, which states that ‘delays in administrative procedures [which] cannot be attributed to the applicant shall not justify the prolongation of detention’. 12 In practice, the legislative reform of 2019 has extended the actual time during which asylum seekers remain in detention. 13 For migrants with no legal status of residence (whether individuals that have not applied for asylum or asylum applicants whose application was rejected in the second instance), legislation states a possible detention period of six months that may be prolonged up to 18 months. 14 In practice, detention often lasts longer than six months. 7