The asylum, or substantive, interview is when the Home Office interviewer will ask you in detail about your reasons for claiming asylum. The interview may last several hours and you will be asked lots of questions. You may be asked the same questions several times in different ways.
It can be a very long, difficult and traumatic interview, and could be the most important part of your asylum application.
It is very important that you tell your reasons for seeking asylum in as much detail as possible. For survivors of violence and persecution, this can be very difficult. You are entitled to request breaks during the interview.
You are going to be asked questions about things that may be very difficult to talk about. Be prepared for not being believed. It is common for the Home Office interviewer to explicitly say they do not believe you.
You need to be very clear, give as much detail as possible, and try to remember to include all the important information.
If you are an adult, your lawyer will not be in the interview with you. You are also in general not allowed to take anyone else, such as a friend, into the interview with you.
Have friends, neighbours and supporters on hand to talk to before and after the interview.
See the Asylum Interview section of the Right to Remain Toolkit for more information.
Due to the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis, face-to-face substantive asylum interviews are not happening at the moment. Find out more at our Covid-19 updates page.
Now read the problem cards below. Discuss with a friend (or have a think if you’re doing this on your own) what you might be able to do in this situation. When you have finished discussing/thinking, click to reveal a suggested action.
⚠️ Problem card
You are worried about sharing the details of your story in front of a male interviewer and interpreter.
Make sure you have a copy of your screening interview record, and read it carefully before your asylum substantive interview.
You can request a copy of your screening interview record from the Home Office if you were not given one or have lost it. Your lawyer can help you to do this, and even your MP if the Home Office are not responding or refusing to provide a copy.
⚠️ Problem card
You are worried that there may be mistakes in interpretation or how your answers are written down during the interview, and that it will be your word against the Home Office’s.
It is now Home Office policy to automatically audio record substantive interviews. You should be given a copy of the audio recording after the interview.
If the Home Office refuse your asylum claim on the basis of something that was misinterpreted or written down wrong, your lawyer can listen to the audio recording and write a statement about this (which may be used in an appeal).
You can request a copy of your screening interview record from the Home Office if you were not given one or have lost it. Your lawyer can help you to do this, and even your MP if the Home Office are not responding or refusing to provide a copy.
⚠️ Problem card
You have documentary evidence about your case but you don’t know if you should give it to the Home Office when you go for your interview.
Speak to your lawyer and show them the documents – they will advise whether to give the Home Office the evidence, and when is the best time to do it.
⚠️ Problem card
You are worried about explaining what has happened to you – and what might happen to you if you are returned – to a stranger, in a position of authority, who may be hostile and unfriendly.
Before the interview, practice explaining what you want to say with a friend (see the Right to Remain Toolkit section on the Substantive Interview) for more information about the types of questions asked in the interview).
You could even do a mock (practice) interview.
⚠️ Problem card
You don’t know how to get where your asylum interview will be held.
Before the interview (maybe a day or two before) use the address on your interview appointment letter to find out where the interview will be, what transport you need to use to get there, and how long it takes. You don’t want to be late and lost on the day of your interview!
It can also help to be able to visualise what the building looks like if you are feeling nervous about going on the day of your interview.
Some towns/cities have transport schemes run by local support groups to get to asylum interviews – find out if there’s one in your area.
⚠️ Problem card
You are worried about getting dates wrong when you are asked questions about your story, because some of the events happened a long time ago and you were very distressed by what happened.
If you cannot remember a date in the interview, say you cannot remember, and why you can’t remember. You may not be able to remember an event by a day or month but by the weather, the season or a family occurrence. You can explain these instead if you are sure of them. If there are ways of marking time that make more sense to you than an official calendar, such as an important church service or jobs you do as a farmer at a similar time every year, use these. For example, you may remember that something happened during Ramadan, or after the harvest. Or that it was winter, because the nights were cold.
If you guess a date, and then say a different date at a different point in the interview or a later stage of your application, this will be used to doubt your story.
⚠️ Problem card
You did not disclose that you identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or intersex (LGBTQI) in your initial interview, but fear persecution based on this.
It is important that you disclose this information at the substantive interview stage and inform the interviewer why you did not say so before (for example, if you had not been confident or comfortable enough to discuss it before). Speak to your lawyer about this before the interview.
You may be asked to provide evidence – this should never be in the form of explicit details or photographs. If this is ever requested of you, contact your local LGBTQI support organisation and request intervention or support.
