Your first meeting

This page explains what you can expect the first time you meet your case owner or his/her representative.

Your first meeting with your case owner or his/her representative is very important. It will occur within a few days of you making your application for asylum. At this meeting, he/she will:

• explain the asylum process to you;
• invite you to the interview at which you will provide full details of your asylum application;
• tell you how we expect you to stay in contact with us;
• offer you help in finding legal representation; and
• give you a form that confirms your address and any requirements you must follow, such as for reporting to us regularly.

It is also your opportunity to tell him/her if you have any special needs. If you need an interpreter and there are reasons why you would prefer to have a specifically male or female interpreter, you should explain this at the first meeting.

If you hold a passport or travel documents, and were not able to produce them at your screening interview, you will be expected to produce them at this first meeting. We will retain them while we make a decision on your application.