After applying for asylum in Ter Apel or in Schiphol, an interview with the AVIM staff will be held as well as a so-called reporting interview with the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS).

In the case of the General asylum procedure, which is also referred to as the track 4 procedure, an attorney will be appointed to you so the attorney can prepare the asylum seeker for the actual start of the procedure. The attorney will be sent a copy of the report of the interview with AVIM and a copy of the report of the reporting interview. Two more interviews will take place after the reporting interview, namely a so-called initial hearing and a so-called detailed interview. This procedure is intended to last 8 days in total. The initial hearing will take place on day 1.

The initial interview

The initial interview is about who the asylum seeker is. Questions are asked about the identity, nationality and travel route. For example, the asylum seeker will be asked where he/she was born, where he/she has lived, who his/her family members are, what education they received, where someone worked et cetera. If an asylum seeker has no prove where he/she comes from, the INS will also ask questions about his/her origin, as well as their daily routine, like the route from home to work, and if the INS questions the truthfulness of the answers provided by the asylum seeker the answers will be verified via Google Earth.

The day after the initial interview, the attorney will visit the application centre to discuss the report of the initial interview with the asylum seeker. If necessary, the attorney will pass on the errors and additions to the INS. On that day, the attorney will also prepare his client(s) for the second interview, called the "detailed interview".

The detailed interview

The purpose of the detailed interview is to give the asylum seeker the opportunity to explain why he/she has fled his/her country of origin and why he/she cannot go back. The detailed interview therefore starts with an open question so the asylum seeker can explain the situation. Based on the information provided by the asylum seeker, the INS staff member will start asking question. If the asylum seeker's story does not correspond with what the INS staff member knows about the asylum seeker's country of origin, the IND staff member will inform the asylum seeker about this. 

The day after the detailed interview, the attorney visits the application centre once again. This time to discuss the report of the detailed interview with the asylum seeker. If necessary, the attorney will pass on errors and additions to the INS.

An additional interview

In principle, the INS takes a (preliminary) decision after the attorney passed on the errors and additions to the INS. It can also occur that the the INS still has some questions after they studied the case file they have so far. If this is the case, the asylum application will further be dealt with in the Extended Asylum Procedure and an additional interview will take place. It usually takes weeks and sometimes even months after the detailed interview before the additional interview takes place. Not only if the INS has still questions, but also if, for example, some research results are not ready, the asylum seeker may enter the Extended Asylum Procedure.

Preliminary decision or positive decision

If the case file is complete, the INS will take a decision. This can be a positive decision, which means that the asylum permit will be granted. If the INS staff member wants to reject the asylum application, an preliminary decision will be taken. This gives your attorney the opportunity to respond before the final decision will be taken. The attorney will discuss the preliminary decision with the asylum seeker and will inform the INS on behalf the asylum seeker why the residence permit should be granted in a so-called zienswijze. It is still quite common that after the INS received the zienswijze the INS changes her mind and grants the residence permit. More often, however, the INS does not change her mind and a negative decision will follow. It is, of course, of great importance that a competent attorney draws up the zienswijze now that this can make the difference between a positive and negative decision. Two attorneys at Berte advocaten have many years of experience in the field of asylum law and they can make the difference for you! If you would like more information, please register your case for free or contact us by telephone.

Appeal procedure in court

With the help of his or her attorney, the asylum seeker can lodge an appeal to object the negative decision of the INS. The grounds for appeal shall state the reasons why the asylum seeker does not agree with the negative decision of the INS. In principle, the INS staff member should submit a statement of opposition. After that a court hearing will be held. Depending on the case, the case is dealt with by one or three judges. Sometimes the decision of the court is taken right after the court hearing but most of the time the decision is sent to the attorney a few weeks later.

Appeal and ECHR

If the asylum seeker does not agree with the decision of the court, again an appeal can be lodged. This time the so-called Afdeling Bestuursrechtspraak van de Raad van State (ABRvS) will review the case. Also the INS can lodge an appeal if she does not agree with the decision of the court. In the majority of the cases that are brought before the ABRvS, a written, unsubstantiated judgment follows. The ABRvS only has to respond in substance if, according to the ABRvS, questions are raised in appeal that need to be answered in the context of legal uniformity, legal certainty and development of the law. If the asylum seeker does not agree with the decision of the ABRvS, the case could be referred to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).