Ticket Inspections and Home Visits
- Some ticket inspections on public transportation in Belgium are conducted in collaboration with agents from the Immigration and Foreigners’ Office (IBZ).
- Over the past year, it has been observed that raids have been organized in certain neighborhoods of Brussels in particular. These intimidation tactics are outrageous, and solidarity groups exist in Brussels to keep people informed about the issue. You are not alone; there is a large solidarity network in Belgium.
- In early November 2026, the bill on home visits was finally passed: it allows the police to forcibly enter homes to arrest people without residence permits with the aim of deporting them (whether it is their own home or that of the people hosting them). You can find information on this topic on the “Stop Home Raids” campaign website.
Detention Centers / Closed Centers
As of October 2026, there are 6 closed centers in Belgium: the Bruges closed center, the 127bis (which opened a wing for families in 2019), the Caricole, the Holsbeek center, the Merkplas center, and the Vottem center. These centers are managed by the Office of Foreigners.
Belgium plans to increase the number of beds in these detention centers by creating new centers or expanding existing ones. There are also return centers, open centers, and transit zones at airports.
In all Belgian closed detention centers, there is total impunity for numerous violations of regulations, conventions, or other laws: detainees suffer from hunger, isolation, the administration of sedatives, a lack of medical care, and a racist and violent atmosphere.
There is little information available about detention centers, but you can find guides titled “In Case of Arrest in Belgium” in various languages on the collective’s website: https://www.gettingthevoiceout.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Flyer-francais-2025-1.pdf
It is very important that you contact a lawyer you trust.
If you are detained in a detention center in Belgium, contact a loved one immediately, as well as a lawyer you trust. You can also contact the Getting The Voice Out collective: +32 465 24 24 30. Members of the collective can help you share your accounts of what is happening inside the center, send you phone credit, or help you find contacts for lawyers or doctors.
Expulsions and Deportations
While in a detention center, you will likely face pressure to agree to leave Belgium. Removals can be particularly violent—whether during transport to the airport, at the airport (where it has been reported that police engage in torture, threats, and intimidation with impunity), or on the plane itself—where restraint, silencing, or suffocation techniques are used to try to silence the person, whatever the cost.
When a detained person receives a “ticket,” it means that the person will be taken to the airport.
It is possible to fight a deportation: you can find all the information about these options on the website of the Getting the Voice Out collective.