Your interview: Reasons for your escape

You have got a white card. It will take some weeks and then you will be invited for an interview with the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum. Your legal representative will inform you about it.

Your interviewer/case owner will have already read all your papers. He will ask you again to explain. He wants to know details. Please answer and tell him everything. Then he will decide if you get asylum in Austria. Prepare yourself for the interview. Your legal representative will help you.

Do you want to be interviewed by a man? Do you want to be interviewed by a woman?
Please tell your legal representative beforehand.

The interview is kept secret. Nobody is allowed to tell somebody else what you said. Nobody in your home country will find out what you say.

Who will attend the interview?

  • You.
  • Your legal representative. He will help you. But he is not allowed to speak for you.
  • Case owner from the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum.
    He will do the interview. He will give you information. You can ask him all your questions.
  • A friend/care worker/person of trust. Do you know a person you trust? Do you feel safe with this person? You can ask this person to come with you. The person is not allowed to speak on your behalf.
  • Interpreter. Do you have problems understanding the interpreter? Please say so immediately. Doing so will not have any negative consequences.

If you don’t understand a word or a question, please ask for an explanation.

This is how the interview works

  1. All persons are welcomed and their roles are explained.
  2. Your rights and responsibilities are explained.
    For example: You have the right to ask for a break.
    For example: You have to tell the truth and as much as you can. You do not say everything you know? If the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum finds out, you will have problems in your asylum procedure.
  3. The interviewer will ask you simple questions.
    For example: Your name? Your family? Your parents? Your school/your job? Your documents?
  4. Your flight/escape. Now you can tell the authority why you had to leave your country and why you asked for asylum. The interviewer will ask a lot of questions: What happened? Why did you have to leave? Why can’t you go back?

Please say as much as you can. Please tell everything in detail. It is important for the decision of your asylum claim. Say everything you want to. You have enough time.
You may feel sad and scared when you tell your story? It may be difficult to talk about details, but please try. You can say that it is difficult for you.
You don’t know an answer? Then say “I don’t know”. Only say what you know for sure.
Please tell the truth. You know your story, you will tell it correctly. Trust your memories.

The case owner might ask questions you already answered before. The case owner has a list of questions and he has to ask all of them. Please answer them again.