Legal basis in national law accommodating them in reception facilities equipped to cater for their specific needs.103 These Member States may nevertheless deprive asylum-seeking unaccompanied children of liberty for an initial period when they are held at entry points until they are transferred to appropriate facilities or their disputed age is clarified. In some instances, unaccompanied children may continue to be deprived of liberty when they lodge an application for international protection while in detention. In some Member States, in which detention of unaccompanied children is allowed, it rarely happens in practice, for example in Cyprus.104 Others, such as Austria, Finland or Hungary, do not permit detention below a certain age.105 Hungary prohibits detention of unaccompanied children in return procedures,106 but a reform introduced to the asylum law in March 2017 requires all undocumented persons who wish to lodge an application for international protection in Hungary, including unaccompanied children above 14 years of age, to be transferred to transit facilities at the border with Serbia to have their claim processed.107 Persons hosted in such facilities are de facto deprived of liberty as the only exit is on the Serbian side of the border. The detention of unaccompanied children pending removal is prohibited in nine EU Member States and allowed in 19 EU  Member States, as illustrated in Figure 6. 103 Germany, Asylum Act (Asylgesetz) Section 47 (provides for stay of applicants in reception centres); Portugal, Act on the conditions and procedures of asylum or subsidiary protection and the statuses of asylum, refugee and subsidary protection seekers (Lei que estabelece as condições e procedimentos de concessão de asilo ou proteção subsidiária e os estatutos de requerente de asilo, de refugiado e de proteção subsidiária), 30 June 2008, amended by Law 26/2014, 5 May 2014, Article 35B (6); Romania, Law No. 122/2006 regarding asylum in Romania, (Legea nr. 122/2006 privind azilul în România), 4 May 2006, Article. 195. 104 Asylum Information Database (AIDA), Country Report: Cyprus, March 2017, p. 75. 105 Austria, Aliens Police Act (Fremdenpolizeigesetz), 2005 as amended, Section 79(2) (for children below 16). Finland, Aliens Act (Ulkamaalaislaki, Utlänningslag), as amended on 26 June 2015, Article 122(3) (detention possible if there is an enforceable return decision). Hungary, Asylum Act (2007. évi LXXX. törvény a menedékjogról) as amended on 28 March 2017, Article 31 B (2)-(3), but Article 80/J (6) allows their deprivation of liberty in the transit zones (if they are older than 14 years) in case of mass migration state of emergency. 106 Hungary, Act No. 2 of 2007 on the Entry and Stay of Third-Country Nationals (2007. évi II. törvény a harmadik országbeli állampolgárok beutazásáról és tartózkodásáról), Article 56 (2). 107 Hungary, Act No. 80 of 2007 on Asylum (2007. évi LXXX. törvény a menedékjogról), Article 80/J (6). Promising practice Finding practical ways to avoid child detention Some EU Member States may allow deprivation of liberty in theory in exceptional cases, but viable alternatives exist so it does not occur in practice. • In Lithuania, the Order on Accommodation in the Foreigners Registration Centre (the only available facility) considers the centre unsuitable for unaccompanied children. Instead they are placed in the more suitable open refugee reception centre. • In Luxembourg, no unaccompanied child has been detained at the centre in Findel since it opened in August  2011 as this has not been deemed necessary. • Denmark permits detention of unaccompanied children in principle, although it should be avoided where possible according to a strategy issued by the Danish National Police. Pre-removal detention of unaccompanied children has been discontinued since September 2015, as the authorities considered the detention facility that would normally be used (Ellebaek) inadequate for detention of children, partly because the low number of potential child detainees would mean their de facto isolation. Other solutions are used instead, such as the placement of children in asylum centres, for example Gribskov. This not only avoids arbitrary deprivation of liberty of children, but also allows more efficient use of financial and human resources that would otherwise have to be invested in ensuring that the strict standards for the detention of children are met. Sources: Denmark, the Danish National Police (Rigspolitiet), ‘Strategi om varetægtsfængsling og frihedsberøvelse efter udlændingeloven’, 25 August 2009 (updated 12 October 2012), J.no.: 2009-5200-23; Lithuania, Order on Accommodation in the Foreigners Registration Centre (Dėl Laikinojo užsieniečių apgyvendinimo Užsieniečių registracijos centre sąlygų ir tvarkos aprašo patvirtinimo), Article 3; Luxembourg, information provided to FRANET by the management of the Detention Centre (Centre de rétention), 1 March 2016. See also amended Act of 28 May 2009 establishing and organising the Detention Centre (Loi du 28 mai 2009 portant création et organisation du Centre de rétention), 29 May 2009 37