INFORMATION FOR ERITREANS WHO HAVE APPLIED FOR PROTECTION

Information for December 2015 and January 2016

This information concerns all Eritrean nationals who are waiting for a decision in their case, and who do not have a visa or residence permit in Russia. The information applies regardless of when you applied for protection.

The UDI has many asylum cases waiting to be processed at the moment. Unfortunately, this means that it will be some time before we can interview you. We have to interview you before we can consider your application for protection (asylum).

When will you be interviewed?

We estimate that you will have to wait for up to 10 months from you submitted your application before you are given an appointment for an interview. Some will also have to wait longer than this.

When we ask people to attend an interview, we do not always follow a queue system. Some people who have waited for a short time may therefore be called for an interview before others who have waited longer. This also applies to people staying at the same reception centre. The UDI has chosen to do things this way for practical reasons. This does not mean that there is something wrong with your case or that the UDI has forgotten about you.

Many of those who applied for protection in August/September only underwent a very brief registration process with the police in Oslo (only fingerprints, name and photo). If this concerns you, the police may want to speak to you before the UDI calls you in for an interview. In such case, the police will notify you. Many will also be called for an interview at the UDI without having had this conversation with the police first.

When will you receive an answer to your application?

At your interview, you will be told how long you will have to wait for an answer to your application. You will probably have to wait for up to seven months, but it can take longer in some cases. How long you must wait depends on what investigations we have to carry out in your case.

We will let you know when we have finished processing your case. Some people at your reception centre might receive an answer before you do. That does not mean that there is something wrong with your case or that the UDI has forgotten about you. It has to do with how the UDI organises its work.

While you are waiting for an answer to your application

We ask you not to phone the UDI to ask about the status of your application during this period. This will not lead to your case being dealt with any sooner. Nor will we be able to provide further information about when your case will be decided.

The information about waiting times will most likely change. The waiting times could become longer, but we do not know how things will develop. New information about waiting times will be provided in the next information letter at the end of January.

Further information about waiting times is available at www.udi.no

If you do not live in a reception centre, please checkhttp://www.udi.no/ord-og-begreper/saksbehandlingstider/ for up-to-date information about waiting times for interviews and case processing times for applications for protection.

If you do not want to wait for the UDI to consider your case, you can read more about how to apply for support to return to Eritrea here: www.udi.no/retur. You can contact the IOM by calling (+47) 23 10 53 20 or at www.iom.no for more information.

Categories: UDI