Revista Temas de Derecho Constitucional

243 Asilo en el reino unido: un derecho restringido If it appears that the reasons for persecution are non-Convention reasons, claimants will not qualify for refugee status. Similarly, if persecution can be avoided by the claimant relocating to a different area in the country of origin, they will not qualify for international protection. Their claim will be rejected, and claimants will become liable to deportation. It is of note that as general rule, screening interviews are conducted by English- speaking interviewers on non-English speaking claimants. Interpretation services are made available but problems around translations are not unknown. Linguistic and dialectic variations may not be catered for, with the consequence that the information provided by a claimant may not be picked up correctly or accurately recorded. This will have consequences later, when the credibility and reliability of the claimant falls to be assessed by the Secretary of State or an immigration judge. b. Preliminary Information Questionnaires (PIQ) Since January this year the Secretary of State has issued new PIQs 31 , to be completed by claimants after the screening interview and prior to the substantive interview. Failure to complete the questionnaire may lead to the claim being treated as withdrawn and therefore not progressed. The form has to be completed in English. Similarly, all supporting documents, preferably originals, ought to be accompanied by a certified English translation. Claimants must provide general information about themselves, relatives or dependents, as well as specific information on the reasons they need protection by the UK. They need to be able to identify what Convention reason fits their claimand give reasons for leaving their country and to fear on return. Theymust provide details about the acts of persecution and the identity of the persecutors, together with dates and travel routes. Claimants are required to sign the form. They arewarnedabout the criminal implications of making a false statement. By signing the PIQ claimants are then committed to its content, a factor which and can be used later on to cross-examine the credibility and reliability of their account. Similarly, any contradiction and difference in detail (when compared with the screening interview or other documents and statements submitted later on) will be taken into account when the genuineness of the claim is being determined. c. The Substantive Interview (AIR) After the initial interview is concluded and the preliminary information questionnaire has been submitted, the claimant is called to attend a substantive interview. Here the authorities try to establish the factual substrate for the asylum claim. This implies a lengthier and more in-depth questioning of the claimant. Substantive interviews can take hours and sometimes even more than one day to complete. Claimants will be asked to provide a detailed account of all aspects of the claimed persecution. Claimants will be expected to tell what positive steps if any, they took to prevent or avoid said persecution. In this regard, it is not unusual for a claimant’s actions to be judged under 31 Preliminary information questionnaires. (2019). Retrieved 28 August 2019, from https://righttoremain.org . uk/preliminary-information-questionnaires/