Preparing for the protection interview

Explain your own experiences, request suitable interpretation and check the interview record carefully.

Read the summons and arrange support

Check the date, place, case number and requested documents. Tell the Office early if health or another serious reason prevents attendance; request the appropriate arrangement and provide evidence. Ask about your representative and necessary procedural support, including breaks or support for trauma, disability or an unaccompanied child. Do not simply miss the appointment.

Prepare your own account

Make a timeline of events, threats, attempts to seek protection and reasons return would be unsafe. Distinguish what you experienced from information heard from others. Explain uncertainty, memory gaps and missing evidence honestly. A spouse or child may have distinct protection reasons. Do not memorise an invented account or ask AI to create facts for your claim.

Use interpretation and submit evidence

Ask for interpretation in a language you understand and immediately report misunderstanding. Provide relevant documents, explain their origin and identify what is missing. Ask how to add later evidence and access your file. The interview is confidential; discuss safe handling of sensitive information and any concern about contacting home-country authorities with your lawyer.

Check the interview record

Ask for the record or applicable recording/transcript and an explanation of the correction procedure. Point out interpretation errors or omissions promptly and ask that corrections be recorded; do not sign a statement you do not understand without clarification. Keep a copy and tell your representative about remaining errors. Follow any supplementary request by its deadline.

Editorial summary checked against official sources: 2026-10-26

• Applicant rights and obligations; multilingual official material
• EU procedural regulation: application-date transition, interviews and remedies