Interpreters in the asylum procedure: process and rights

The asylum procedure begins with an initial questioning by the police, in Vienna usually by officers of the Landespolizeidirektion. It covers identity, travel route and a brief statement of the reasons for fleeing. Then follows the detailed interview at the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum, the BFA. This is the most important appointment in the whole procedure, because here the reasons for flight are described in detail and recorded. If the application is rejected, an appeal can be lodged with the Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht), which frequently holds an oral hearing.

At all three stages the authority or the court provides the interpreter, and the state bears the cost. Applicants therefore do not need to bring anyone, and for the interview itself they usually cannot. In addition, the procedure involves many situations outside official premises where interpreting is needed: legal counselling, meetings with lawyers, NGOs, accommodation, doctors. There, language support is often not organised, and that is exactly where misunderstandings arise.

The BFA works with interpreters it commissions itself. Some of them are court sworn and certified, some are not, because for many languages and dialects there are not enough sworn interpreters available. Before the interview they are usually instructed on their duties and must confirm their impartiality. At the Federal Administrative Court, sworn court interpreters are generally appointed.

The task is the same in both cases: to render everything that is said, completely and in both directions, without omitting, smoothing or adding anything. Interpreters are not advisers, representatives or decision makers. They may neither ask questions that were not asked nor shorten answers that seem unimportant to them. If a word is ambiguous, they should ask, not guess.

For Arabic speaking applicants, dialect is decisive. An interpreter who commands only Modern Standard Arabic may understand an account in rural Syrian, Iraqi or Sudanese Arabic only in part. Conversely, many applicants notice only late that the interpreter understood a term differently. It is worth clarifying at the very beginning which region the interpreter comes from and whether you understand each other well.

The interview must be conducted in a language the applicant understands sufficiently. This is usually the mother tongue, but it can be another language the person speaks well. Several practical rights follow from this, and they often go unused simply because applicants do not know them or do not dare to use them.

At the end of the interview the written protocol is usually read back to you, paragraph by paragraph, in your language. This is the most important moment for correcting mistakes, and many applicants underestimate it because they are exhausted after several hours. Listen carefully anyway. What you sign counts later as what you said. Differences between the protocol and later statements are often treated as contradictions in the procedure.

If something is wrong, say so. You have the right to demand corrections and additions, and they must be included in the protocol. This applies to names, dates, places and sequences as much as to phrasing that gives a different meaning. The remark that you did not understand the interpreter at a certain point also belongs in the protocol. Sign only when everything is correct.

After the appointment you are entitled to a copy of the protocol. Have it translated calmly by a neutral person, for example as part of legal counselling or by a privately booked interpreter. If an error then becomes apparent, the legal adviser can submit a written statement.

We do not interpret at the BFA or in court, that is done by the interpreters appointed there. Our work sits alongside, and it is often just as important: meetings with lawyers, counselling appointments at NGOs, preparation for the interview, going through a decision afterwards, medical appointments for psychological reports, appointments with child and youth welfare services. Organisations such as Caritas are among our clients, and we know the processes.

The second area is documents. Evidence supporting the claim must as a rule be submitted with a certified German translation. These translations are produced by court sworn and certified translators and are recognised by Austrian authorities and courts.

Whether appointed by the authority or booked privately, interpreters are bound to neutrality and confidentiality. They take no side, they give no assessment of the chances of success, and they do not pass on anything they have heard. For applicants this is a relief: you can speak freely, including about things that nobody in your own community should learn.

Neutrality also means that we do not embellish anything. If a statement is unclear, it is rendered unclear, and we ask. If a legal adviser delivers a difficult assessment, it arrives the way it was meant. This is sometimes uncomfortable, but it is the only basis on which good counselling is possible.

What you can expect from us: confidentiality in line with the GDPR, a written non-disclosure agreement on request, interpreting in the appropriate dialect and a calm, respectful manner, even when the subject is distressing. People in the asylum procedure have often been through enough conversations in which they were not understood. That should not happen with us.