Step 2 · The first appointment
The screening interview: what they'll ask, what to bring, what to say
A short conversation with an immigration officer that starts your case. It's not the substantive interview: you don't tell your whole story here, but everything you say will be checked later. Below is what happens, what rights you have and which English phrases will come in handy.
Video · 30 minutes · in Russian
The screening interview: what it is really like
Timur Nygmetov, Executive Director of Qadam London, explains how screening works: who asks what, what to bring, what your rights are and which mistakes cost you later. This explains the system; it is not advice on your case.
After watching, you will know
- How screening differs from the substantive interview and why you do not tell your whole story here.
- Two routes: at the border or by phone — and why you may be turned away without an appointment.
- What to bring, what they keep (your passport, straight away), why phones are banned and why it takes the whole day.
- The key question and the two words that decide everything: “briefly” and “all”.
- Interpreter, an officer of your own gender, health — what to ask for and say right away.
- The record of your answers, five working days for corrections, your ARC card in about two weeks.
- Six mistakes that cost a lot.
Watch
Presented by Timur Nygmetov, Executive Director of Qadam London, who went through screening in Croydon himself. You can watch by chapter: below is a minute-by-minute contents list, and each line jumps to that point in the video.
Video contents by minute (36 chapters)
- 00:00 What this video is about
- 00:16 Who I am: Timur Nygmetov
- 01:26 What Qadam London is
- 02:02 What we do not do
- 02:45 What to use: the website, personal plan, bot, channel
- 06:15 Important: this is not legal advice
- 06:46 What screening is and how it differs from the substantive interview
- 07:49 Your claim counts as made only after screening
- 08:19 The Initial Contact document: case number and 12-digit code
- 09:11 Two routes to screening: border or phone call
- 09:42 Route 1 — screening right at the border
- 10:18 Route 2 — call and appointment, interpreter by phone
- 11:30 If you already work: duties and the right to work
- 12:39 What to bring
- 13:17 Officer of your own gender, interpreter, representative
- 14:07 Mention health issues straight away
- 14:42 My day in Croydon: 12 hours
- 16:16 How the day goes: six steps
- 16:25 Three things nobody warns you about
- 16:55 What they actually ask
- 17:56 The key question: “briefly” and “all”
- 18:47 Two questions you need to prepare for
- 19:17 How to answer and what breaks a case
- 19:51 The phrase that saves you: “I don’t remember the exact date”
- 20:14 Special situations: sexual orientation
- 21:14 Domestic violence
- 22:01 The exploitation question and the NRM
- 22:54 Children, family, dependants
- 23:43 What I did not know back then
- 24:24 After screening: take the record of your answers, 5 working days
- 25:04 ARC card in two weeks and what comes next
- 26:22 Six mistakes that cost a lot
- 27:20 Six areas and a personal plan
- 28:17 How to get a personal plan
- 28:56 Phone numbers worth writing down
- 29:19 Start with one step
Step 1. Understand how screening differs from the substantive interview
The screening interview is
- A short meeting with an immigration officer
- Biometrics: fingerprints and photo
- Basic details: who you are, where you're from, how you got here
- In general terms, why you're asking for protection
- No decision on your case is made here
- After it you get an ARC card
The substantive interview is a separate day
The main conversation with the officer who decides your case. You prepare for it with a lawyer. In detail: "Substantive interview".
The screening rule: keep it short and tell the truth. Don't invent, exaggerate or play things down. Everything recorded here will be checked against the substantive interview.
Step 2. What they usually ask
You can scroll the table sideways.
| Topic | What's worth knowing |
|---|---|
| Personal details | Name, date of birth, nationality, family. Answer exactly as in your documents, if you have them |
| How you got to the UK | Route, dates, which visas you had. Accuracy matters here: the dates get checked later |
| Why you're asking for protection | In general terms. One or two sentences about the reason is enough |
| Health | Say if you have chronic conditions, you're on treatment or you need help. It affects where you're housed |
| Language | Say which language you're comfortable in. The interpreter is free, and asking for one is your right |
| Where you'll live | If you have nowhere to live, say so plainly — then the support and accommodation process starts (section 98, then section 95) |
Step 3. Ready-made phrases for the appointment
Language and interpreter
“I need an interpreter. My language is Russian.” “I don’t understand the interpreter well. Could we have a different one, please?”
Instead of Russian: Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Turkmen. Speak up about poor interpreting during the conversation, not afterwards.
Health and safety
“I have a medical condition and I take medication every day. I need to continue my treatment.” “I don’t feel safe living with people from my country. Please take this into account for my accommodation.”
This affects where you're housed — say it straight away.
Housing and money
“I have nowhere to live and no money. I need asylum support and accommodation.”
If nothing has been set in motion after the appointment, call Migrant Help 0808 801 0503 (24/7, interpreters available) and say the same thing.
A copy of the record
“Could I have a copy of my screening interview record, please?”
You can look at your screening record later. Give the copy to your lawyer once you have one.
Step 4. What to bring
Every document you have
Passport, any papers, tickets, certificates, doctor's letters. Nothing at all is fine too — that's how it is for most people.
Your exact route
Say it the way it happened: dates, visas, connections. "Tidying up the story" at this stage is the most common cause of discrepancies later.
A list of your medication
Names and doses of what you take (HIV treatment, PrEP, anything chronic). If you need your treatment to continue, say so — see the phrase above.
Step 5. The ARC card: what it is and what to do with it
What it is
After screening you get an Application Registration Card (ARC), a plastic card the size of a bank card. It shows your name, nationality, age and whether you're allowed to work. Take it to every reporting appointment and Home Office meeting. Lost it — GOV.UK: the ARC card.
What it isn't
The Home Office says it plainly: the ARC is not an identity document and doesn't give you the right to study. Organisations don't have to accept it; some banks do. You don't need the ARC at all to register with a GP — you can go without a single document ("Seeing a doctor without status").
If you've been given reporting appointments
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to tell my whole story at screening?
Is an interpreter compulsory, or can I use my own English?
I'm on HIV treatment. Should I mention it?
I have nowhere to sleep after screening. Where do I go?
What happens next?
Official sources
Qadam London
How Qadam London can help
- We'll tell you how screening went for people from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan who came before you.
- We'll give you phrases about language, health and safety, so they get written down and taken into account for your accommodation.
- We'll give you contacts for legal aid lawyers and show you how to check their registration on the IAA / SRA register — before the substantive interview.
Phone numbers at this stage
Support, housing, ASPEN card
0808 801 0503Migrant Help. Applying for support, complaints about accommodation.
24 hours, interpreter available
Find a lawyer
0808 196 7272Refugee Council. Referral to a lawyer, helpline in several languages.
Free
Asylum and LGBTQI+
020 3752 5801Rainbow Migration. 18+, you're in the UK, you have your own lawyer.
Services are free
Struggling and no one to talk to
116 123Samaritans. You can call in any state.
24 hours, free
LGBTQ+ support line
0800 0119 100Switchboard. Coming out, loneliness, fear.
Daily 10:00–22:00
Personal plan · free · 24 hours
Screening in the next few days? Get your list
What to bring, what to say in English with a translation, which phone numbers to write down on paper — for your town and your situation.