Legal fictions under national law which consider persons physically staying in specially designated parts of Member State territory (for example transit areas or certain border areas) as not ‘staying in the territory’ are irrelevant in this context, since this would undermine the harmonious application of the EU return acquis.
Les États membres peuvent cependant décider de ne pas appliquer certaines dispositions de l'acquis en matière de retour à cette catégorie de personnes (voir point 2 ci-dessous).