Interview / Hearing

In the old asylum procedure, when no legal representation was provided, AsyLex used to accompany clients to their asylum interviews. Thanks to the mandated lawyers in the new asylum procedure, this support is no longer needed. It might happen though that for certain reasons a client asks you to accompany them - either since they still are in the old procedure, or since they want to go with the lawyer assigned to them. In the latter cases we normally reject to accompany them, since we do not want to interfere with the mandated lawyer. 

Whenever we accompany a client, we first meet them for an individual preparation. Please refer the client to our preparatory material before conducting the individual preparation. English, German, French, Farsi, Arabic, Tigrinya

At the preparation session, you should go through the slides of the handout with him or her. Evaluate before whether communication is possible, otherwise ask the Head Translations for a translator to help you. The meeting may take place, e.g., at our offices in Zurich (Gotthardstrasse 52), in a quiet restaurant, at a university, or any other suitable place.

Moreover, please inform yourself about the case law on the client's country of origin and focus on the points which are relevant based on this case law. The crucial point of the interview is the refugee definition: explain to the client what the definition of a refugee is and that it is crucial that s/he points out very clearly why s/he is subject of persecution which goes beyond the general persecution in his or her country of origin.

When going through the slides, please do not forget to mention the following points:

➢ Definition of a refugee: A person who is subject to serious disadvantages or has a well- founded fear for that for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or due to his/her political opinions.

o The threat needs to be present. If something happened a long time ago, this is not relevant for asylum. Therefore, it is essential that the asylum seeker can explain why s/he left exactly that day and not before or afterwards.

o The threat needs to have a certain degree of intensity, i.e. threat to life, physical integrity or freedom as well as measures that exert intolerable psychological pressure.

o Explain what happened to you (asylum seeker) in the past and why you think this will happen to you (again) in the future. Specify why you think it will happen (again) – for example because it happened to someone who is close to you, because someone threatened you to do it to you in the future, because you read about it in the newspaper, etc. Make them believe that you were really threatened and you had no other choice but leaving the country.

o The threat needs to come from the government or by private parties and the government is unable or not willing to prevent it (e.g. Taliban, IS, other extremist groups, clans, etc.).

o Explain these points in detail: Who, why, where, what time, who else was there, why did no one help you (police, military), etc.?

o Make them understand why it was particularly dangerous for you – much more than for anyone else. When you explain that, keep in mind that the interviewer is Swiss and often does not, or at least not fully, understand your culture. Therefore, explain the respective danger and/or threats as detailed as possible, always assuming that you talk to a person who has no idea about your country!

➢ Explain why you cannot return to your country. What would happen if you would get off the plane? Do not say “I don’t know” or “I will die”. Be specific – explain in detail what happens to people who return to your country of origin after fleeing.

➢ Explain why you could not just go to another place in your country where you would have been safe. In general, Switzerland requires that you might have gone to another, safer place in your country, e.g. the capital. Explain to them why you could not do that, e.g. because it is not safe there either or because you do not know anyone there.

➢ Please note that the interview is only about the threats in your country of origin. Therefore, if you lived in another country for a certain period of time and you were subject to persecution there, this is not part of the interview and therefore not relevant (unless a return to this country might be considered as well, e.g. because you have a second citizenship or a residence permit in such second country).

➢ Bring the following to the interview: N permit, any other identity documents, birth certifcate/marriage certificate or similar, evidence (pictures, certificates, letters, etc.).

➢ Please note that documents can also be submitted after the interview. It is important to submit also a translation (D/F/I/E); only translated documents are being considered. If there is a non-translated document during the interview, SEM can decide at its own discretion whether it thinks the document is worth being translated. It is, therefore, advisable to refer to it and to mention what is written in it during the interview, so that the translator at the interview might at least translate part of it.

➢ Do not bring USB sticks/CDs to the interview. They will, for the most part, not take it into your file. Only bring printed documents (for videos: printed screenshots with description).

➢ If there is a transcript of the first interview available, read it carefully again. Otherwise, try to remember the statements you made at the first interview – it is crucial that you state exactly the same in the second interview. If you remember that you said something which is not cor- rect, please clarify this circumstance at the very beginning of the interview: Say to the inter- viewer that you would like to say something about your previous statements and explain that you made a mistake. Try to explain to them why you did not say the truth in the beginning. Please note that any type of lying is reducing your chances for a positive decision.

➢ The purposes of the interview are to determine the asylum seeker’s identity and country of origin, validate the statements made in the first interview and therewith test the asylum seeker’s credibility, gain detailed information about the reasons for seeking asylum, and evaluate the current threat in the country of origin.

➢ The following persons are present at the interview: the interviewer, the interpreter, and the person typing the protocol. 

➢ Be prepared to answer questions regarding your life and your family first. Mention all your family members since this could be crucial for a later family reunification! Do not deny any marriage, long relationship and children – if you do, it will be close to impossible to bring your family members to Switzerland later on. You will then be asked to tell about your childhood and school time. Please note that focusing on a low life standard will not help you to get asylum therefore mention anything that goes beyond poor living conditions.

➢ If you still have family members in your country of origin, explain why it was for you more dangerous than for them and why you cannot return and live with them. Please note also here that not having a job or money will not be sufficient.

➢ If you belong to any social group that has been discriminated, if you were active against the government, if your religion is being marginalized or if you belong to any other group that can- not benefit from full rights and protection in your country, please mention that.

➢ Do not hesitate to show your emotions and feelings. Make the authorities understand that you were horrified and threatened, do not play the “cool guy”. Explain in detail why you were scared and why you are still scared to return. Talk about your feelings!

➢ Be prepared to respond to questions that might seem strange to you: What color was the gate at your primary school? How long did it take by train to get to the next town? What is the denomination of bills and coins in your country of origin? And similar questions. This is not a test, but the authorities want to find out whether, in general, you are telling the truth or whether you are a person who is “not credible”. If you cannot respond to a question, just say that you do not remember, and tell them whatever you do remember in this regard. Show them that you were there and that you are telling the truth, but that there are certain issues which you do not remember, which is absolutely ok.

➢ The golden rule of the interview is not to lie. Whenever the authorities find out that you lie in one regard, they assume that your statements are not credible in all regards and they will reject your asylum application. Please note that the authorities use different ways to find out whether someone is lying. For example, they also check your Facebook account. Please con- sider, therefore, what you want to post on Facebook or check your confidentiality settings.

➢ Make sure that you respond to the questions with patience. Say everything you want to say, but focus on the relevant points – meaning the issues that are relevant for your asylum claim (i.e. the threats and persecution). Sometimes, you may find the questions ridiculous, but re- member that the interviewer is a Swiss person who does not or not fully understand the situa- tion in your country of origin, so explain it to him or her in detail and with patience.

➢ Whenever there is a sensitive topic about which you cannot talk, e.g. because it makes you angry or sad, please nevertheless try to mention it and say that you cannot talk about it. If you do not tell anything about it, they cannot consider it for the decision.

➢ In case of families or couples, please note that you will be interviewed individually. In these situations, it is crucial that all family members involved say exactly the same. Therefore, please prepare for the interview together and make sure that you all remember the dates, places and names.

➢ The whole interview will be translated by an interpreter. Please speak out as early as pos- sible if you do not understand him/her properly. Whenever you realize that s/he made a mis- take, mention it right away – just say “this is wrong, I said something else”.

➢ If you talk about sexual abuse during the interview, you have the right to ask that all persons present are of the same sex as you. If so, ideally inform SEM about that upfront.

➢ Whenever you need a break (toilet, drinking, health problems), feel free to ask for it.

➢ At the very end of the interview, you will have the possibility to read through the whole transcript, together with the interpreter. Even though you will be tired after such a long inter- view, please focus again for this task because what is written in the transcript will be the basis for your asylum decision. Therefore, it is pivotal that the content of the transcript is correct – you cannot change it again afterwards! As a consequence, you should intervene every time there is a mistake, even if you think it is only a small mistake. Just say “Stop! Here I said something else. I said….”.

➢ Please be honest and open towards the authorities. They are bound by professional secrecy and not allowed to tell your story to anyone else. Hence, do not hesitate to tell them everything.

➢ Most translators are brilliant. However, it happens that a translator does not translate appropriately or that s/he tries to influence the asylum seeker. If this happens to you, stand up against it! Try to make the interviewer understand that you are being influenced, that you cannot talk freely or that you are threatened. Instead, you can also explain that to the person accompanying you. Do that always and as early as possible, not only after the interview.

➢ Sometimes the authorities are in a hurry and do not want you to give long answers. Give short answers for the interpreter to translate, but feel free to continue afterwards. Know that it is your right to tell them everything you want; if you cannot finish at the date allocated, it is better to have a third interview scheduled than not being able to tell everything!

➢ In the end, you will get the transcript re-translated. Make sure you focus exactly on what's said and mention immediately if there is something wrong!

➢ At the end, they will ask whether there is anything else you would like to tell them. Feel free to add anything which you think is important and you could not mention yet. You can also make a statement about the procedure, e.g. that you did not have enough time to respond to questions, that the questions were too complicated, that you did not understand the translator very well, etc.

Help the client to prepare a personal statement (see www.asylex.ch → Templates → Personal Statement). This is mostly for the client’s own preparation. If s/he wants to, s/he may also hand it in to the authorities. Please note though that in this case everything has to be absolutely accurate and also that it has to be translated into D/F/I/E. If the statement should be handed in, make sure that it has been reviewed by an experienced AsyLex volunteer before.

If you realize that a client is traumatized, please try to go through the questions anyway. Even though it may be very tough for him or her, it might be helpful to go through the questions one first time with a person they trust, before they have to answer towards the authorities. If the situation is very bad, then try to involve a psychologist and arrange for a letter that shows the mental health issues and may explain certain gaps/discrepancies.

If you prepare husband and wife, try to talk to the wife alone for several minutes. During this time, try to find out whether there are any issues in terms of sexual violence or domestic violence. If so, encourage her to speak about it at the interview. Please be sensitive about this topic and make sure the security of the woman is always ensured.

If documents of evidence are available only after the interview, they may still be sent to the SEM. Also here, they need to be in D/F/I/E. Ideally, an explanation is being added stating why the documents are submitted only now and not before already.

In certain situations, also a third interview takes place. This may be the case if either the time for the second interview was not enough to tell everything or there were discrepancies between the first and second interview which they could not clarify during the second interview.