Revista Temas de Derecho Constitucional

242 Revista Temas de Derecho Constitucional THE APPLICATION PROCESS According to Paragraph 328 of Part 11 of the Immigration Rules, it is for the Secretary of State for the Home Department (the Home Office or the Secretary of State) to receive and decide applications for asylum. On arrival, asylum seekers are expected to make a claim for international protection as soon as it is reasonably practically after they enter the territory. Not everyone may be aware of the requirement to make a claim as soon as viable however, as information may not readily accessible, especially for those for whom English is not their first language. Those seeking asylum may be under the mistaken belief that they need towait until they havemade it past border control tomake a claim, as occurs in the case of those entering the country with the help of an agent. Failing to claim asylum immediately or as soon as practicable however carries consequences and may risk a negative assessment being made on the credibility and genuineness of a claim. a. The Screening Interview Once a person makes and application for asylum they are taken for an initial contact or ‘screening’ interview (SCR), which takes place within 1 to 5 days of intimating a claim to the authorities. The purpose of the screening interview is to register a claim, yet statements provide to the authorities at that stage can be utilised to undermine the credibility of a claimant at a more advanced stage. The format is simple, and a standard form is used. The first set of questions asks for a claimant’s basic details such as name, nationality, religion or ethnicity. The second set of questions deals with the claimant’s health and level of education achieved. Questions regarding past exploitation, for the purposes of establishing whether the claimant has been the subject of human trafficking, are included in this set. The third set of questions deals with the details of the journey undertaken by the claimant in order to travel from their country of origin to the UK. In particular, questions are asked as to whether the claimant has arrived first at or travelled through another Member State. This, for the purposes of the Dublin Regulations (Regulation (EU) No 604/2013), which aim to determine the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application based primarily on the first point of entry. The fourth set of questions seeks to establish the basis for the asylum claim. Claimants are asked to express the reasons for fleeing their country of origin and to describe summarily the type of persecution they have been (or are likely to) be subjected to. They are also asked to briefly describe why they are unable to return. A fifth set of questions asks claimants whether they have ever been involved in political or religious activities, or in acts of terrorism, war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide or human rights violations. This, for the purposes of excluding a claim. A sixth set of questions has to do with the claimant’s suitability for detention. Justice and Courts Bill 2014, curtail the rights of asylum seekers to legal aid. An application made under the Dublin systemmay lead to challenges to potentially overly restrictive legal aid rules’.