Your personal interview at the CGRS
During the personal interview you will explain why you left your country of origin and why you cannot or do not want to return.
The interview at the CGRS (CGRA/CGVS) is a very important stage in your procedure for international protection.The protection officer will ask many questions about who you are, where you come from, why you left your country and why you cannot return.
How to prepare well for this interview?
- Prepare for the interview together with your lawyer.
- Prepare yourself mentally.
- Collect documents and evidence.
- Tell your own story. The interview is completely confidential.
- The interview will last 3 to 4 hours, but it can also be longer or shorter.
An interpreter
If you said during your first interview at the Immigration Office that you need an interpreter, an interpreter will attend the interview at the CGRS. The interpreter will translate literally everything that is being said during the interview. The interpreter cannot tell anyone what you told during the interview. The interpreter has no influence on the decision.
Copy of the interview
You can ask for a written copy of the interview (in Dutch or French). You can review it with the help of your lawyer and/or an interpreter and make corrections or additions.