Kok Stefan, ‘Bij gebrek aan bewijs: De beoordeling van de geloofwaardigheid van het asielrelaas onder Werkinstructie’, 2014/10, Universiteit Leiden/ VluchtelingenWerk Nederland, 2016

Abstract

In this report, entitled Bij gebrek aan bewijs (‘Where there is no evidence’), the decision-making process of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) in the period between July 20, 2015 and November 20, 2016 is described. The report is based on desk research, an indicative le research and interviews with IND decision-makers. For the research, 42 les were selected and six civil servants at the Application Centres (AC’s) were interviewed. The IND gave access to a large number of les and facilitated the interviews.

It can often not be expected of an asylum seeker that he submit evidence to substantiate his asylum application. The asylum seeker’s statements during the interviews with the asylum authorities are, therefore, an important source of information. The assessment of the credibility of the account can often be a complex matter.