BURDEN OF PROOF AND SAFE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

The Minister may, by order, designate certain countries as safe countries of origin. If the Minister has made such an order in respect of your country you will be advised of this.

If it appears to the Commissioner that you are a national of, or have a right of residence in, a country designated by the Minister as a safe country of origin, or if it appears to the Commissioner that you had applied for asylum in another country party to the Geneva Convention, then you shall be presumed not to be a refugee unless you can show reasonable grounds for the contention that you are a refugee.

ABOUT YOUR INTERVIEW

You will be notified in writing of a time, a date and a place to attend for interview in connection with your application.

If you require an interpreter, every reasonable effort will be made to provide one. You should indicate the language you require when you are confirming your attendance for interview.

If, for some exceptional reason, you cannot attend for interview, you must contact the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner immediately and outline the reasons.

If you fail to attend for interview on a date and at a time fixed and you fail to provide the Refugee Applications Commissioner with an explanation not later than three working days from that date which in the opinion of the Commissioner is reasonable, your application shall be deemed to be withdrawn and the Minister shall refuse to give you a declaration.

The purpose of the interview is to establish the full details of your claim for declaration as a refugee.

You should explain clearly and precisely why you are seeking a declaration as a refugee and provide all the information and details relevant to your particular circumstances.

 It is your duty to co-operate fully and to be completely truthful. Failure to do so may result in your application receiving a negative recommendation.

You will be interviewed by an Authorised Officer on behalf of the Refugee Applications Commissioner who has received full training in interviewing persons seeking a declaration as a refugee and will have detailed information available on your country of origin.

A written record of the interview will be kept by the interviewer. You will have an opportunity to review the record and you will be asked to sign each page to confirm that it is an accurate account of your interview. If you feel anything written down is not accurate, you will be given an opportunity to have it rectified during the interview.

You may submit any documentary evidence or make other written submissions in support of your claim prior to, or at your interview.

The sole function of the interpreter (if present) is to interpret the interviewer's questions and your responses, accurately and literally. The interpreter will neither offer advice to you nor will he or she express any opinion on the merits of your case. The interpreter is aware of the confidential nature of the interview.

If you wish to bring a legal representative with you, he or she will normally be allowed to observe at the interview. Your legal representative, if any, will be given an opportunity at the end of the interview to make any points which are considered necessary.

You should make all information relevant to your application available to the Refugee Applications Commissioner. If you receive a negative recommendation and seek to bring forward additional information at appeal stage, this will be taken into account by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal in assessing your credibility.

CREDIBILITY

In assessing your credibility in connection with your application for refugee status, the Commissioner or the Refugee Appeals Tribunal shall consider the following:

• whether you have identity documents or give a reasonable explanation for not having them;
• whether you give a reasonable explanation for any claim that Ireland is the first safe country in which you arrived after leaving your own country;
• whether you have provided a full and true explanation of how you travelled to and arrived in Ireland;
• if you did not apply immediately on arriving at the port of entry into Ireland, whether you give reasonable explanation for that;
• if you have forged, destroyed or disposed of identity or other documents, whether you give reasonable explanation for that;
• whether you have given manifestly false evidence or have made false statements;
• whether, without reasonable cause, you reapply having previously withdrawn;
• whether you applied for asylum following commencement of the deportation process;
• whether you have complied with the duty to co-operate in the investigation of your case, to provide relevant information at the earliest possible opportunity, to not leave the State without the consent of the Minister, to keep the Commissioner informed of your address or to comply with any requirement to live at a particular place or to report regularly to a named person,
• whether on appeal you bring forward new information which could have been but was not given to the Commissioner.   

ASSESSMENT OF YOUR APPLICATION

When the investigation has been completed, a report will be completed in relation to your application. This report will refer to the matters raised by you in writing and orally at your interview, in accordance with sections 8 and 11 of the Act. The report will also take into account such other matters as considered appropriate, for example, information in relation to the situation in your country of origin, or representations (if any) made by the UNHCR in connection with your application. The report will also include a recommendation as to whether or not you should receive a declaration as a refugee. A copy of this report will be sent to you.

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