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Salvation by the Grace of State? Explaining Credibility Assessment in the Asylum Procedure
... Social scientific research further indicates that asylum decision-making can be significantly affected by both internal subjective dynamics (e.g. Noll 2005) or external pressures such as political events (Neumayer 2005). However, it is also an area where traditional legal research seemingly reaches its end point: a problem so intractable and of such scale and scope-one of many of international migration's 'ordinary' crises (Allen et al. 2018)-that makes it difficult to document and unpack through doctrinal and qualitative methods. ...
... In response, interdisciplinary research suggests that law is just but one factor explaining outcome variations. Socio-legal studies propose that rules and standards may be applied in an ad hoc fashion (Anker 1992) whilst others have argued that the process of refugee credibility assessments is innately intersubjective (Noll 2005). Some research suggests that asylum procedures are prone to forms of explicit and implicit bias (Marouf 2010) and subject to, e.g. ...
... Yet, existing research usually focuses on smaller case studies or specific national contexts, which makes it difficult to explain outcome variation between states. As Noll (2005) points out, research in this area is moreover fragmented along disciplinary divides, which can limit the generalizability of findings and thus further theorizing. In sum, as Gorlick (2005) notes, 'perhaps there is no standard answer for differential recognition rates among like-minded states'. ...
As refugee law practice enters the world of data, it is time to take stock as to what refugee law research can gain from technological developments. This article provides an outline for a computationally driven research agenda to tackle refugee status determination variations as a recalcitrant puzzle of refugee law. It firstly outlines how the growing field of computational law may be canvassed to conduct legal research in refugee studies at a greater empirical scale than traditional legal methods. It then turns to exemplify the empirical purchase of a data driven approach to refugee law through an analysis of the Danish Refugee Appeal Board’s asylum case law and outlines methods for comparison with datasets from Australia, Canada and the United States. The article concludes by addressing the data politics arising from a turn to digital methods, and how these can be confronted through insights from critical data studies and reflexive research practices.
... Social scientific research further indicates that asylum decision-making can be significantly affected by both internal subjective dynamics (e.g. Noll 2005) or external pressures such as political events (Neumayer 2005). However, it is also an area where traditional legal research seemingly reaches its end point: a problem so intractable and of such scale and scope-one of many of international migration's 'ordinary' crises (Allen et al. 2018)-that makes it difficult to document and unpack through doctrinal and qualitative methods. ...
... In response, interdisciplinary research suggests that law is just but one factor explaining outcome variations. Socio-legal studies propose that rules and standards may be applied in an ad hoc fashion (Anker 1992) whilst others have argued that the process of refugee credibility assessments is innately intersubjective (Noll 2005). Some research suggests that asylum procedures are prone to forms of explicit and implicit bias (Marouf 2010) and subject to, e.g. ...
... Yet, existing research usually focuses on smaller case studies or specific national contexts, which makes it difficult to explain outcome variation between states. As Noll (2005) points out, research in this area is moreover fragmented along disciplinary divides, which can limit the generalizability of findings and thus further theorizing. In sum, as Gorlick (2005) notes, 'perhaps there is no standard answer for differential recognition rates among like-minded states'. ...
As refugee law practice enters the world of data, it is time to take stock as to what refugee law research can gain from technological developments. This article provides an outline for a computationally driven research agenda to tackle refugee status determination variations as a recalcitrant puzzle of refugee law. It first outlines how the growing field of computational law may be canvassed to conduct legal research in refugee studies at a greater empirical scale than traditional legal methods. It then turns to exemplify the empirical purchase of a data-driven approach to refugee law through an analysis of the Danish Refugee Appeal Board’s asylum case law and outlines methods for comparison with datasets from Australia, Canada, and the United States. The article concludes by addressing the data politics arising from a turn to digital methods, and how these can be confronted through insights from critical data studies and reflexive research practices.
... In reality, corroborating evidence for asylum seekers' statements is more often lacking than present ( Doornbos, Koers, & Wijngaard, 2012;Goodman, 2013;Kagan, 2002;Noll, 2005aNoll, , 2005bSzypszak, 2000). Asylum seekers often do not possess identity documents, or their authenticity is ambiguous ( Doornbos et al., 2012;Kagan, 2002;). ...
... Because supporting evidence is rare, the credibility assessment is often the key aspect of examination for asylum (e.g., Gyulai, 2013b;Noll, 2005b). Judge Fura summarized this concisely in his dissenting opinion in the case of R.C. v. Sweden ( §5, p. 19) "In examining the case before them the domestic authorities must assess facts that are presented by the parties. ...
... Thereby, the credibility of the asylum seeker's story becomes the main focus of attention during the asylum procedure (e.g., Byrne, 2007;Doornbos, 2004; IND-Werkinstructie nr. 2010/14; Kagan, 2002;Noll, 2005b;Sweeney, 2009). One of the few tools that asylum officials can use in the process is asking questions to the asylum seeker. ...
In the EU assessment for asylum, documental evidence is often lacking. As such, the assessment is substantially reliant on the asylum official’s judgment about the credibility of the asylum seeker’s statements elicited in asylum interviews. The question of concern in this thesis therefore is to what extent the methods used to assess credibility in the European asylum procedure are valid, in the sense that they can discriminate between truthful and fabricated asylum claims. Based on four studies in which current policy and practice are evaluated, the current thesis calls the validity of the asylum assessment system into question. The questions typically asked in asylum interviews do not seem to facilitate honest applicants to provide a credible statement or effectively hinder liars to appear credible. A set of direct and fact-checking questions about the claimed country, area and town of origin, is insufficient to effectively distinguish between truthful and fabricated origin claims. Nonetheless, with more effective questioning strategies that promote elaborate and accurate answering and with a deliberate and open-minded evaluation of asylum seekers’ statements, the validity of credibility assessment can be increased.
The studies presented in this thesis are the first to systematically examine the validity of interviewing techniques employed in the asylum procedure. The findings reveal opportunities for increasing the amount of accurate and diagnostic information elicited in asylum interviews.
... Thus, 'North' refers to the geographical location of the countries, while 'West' is understood historically (hence including, e.g., Finland but not the Baltic countries). 2 Abiri (2000) argues that the generosity of the Swedish system has in fact fluctuated considerably over the years. Others such as Brekke (2004), Noll (2005), , and Joormann (2019) provide evidence that problematise the notion of generosity showing the inhumanity and arbitrariness of the Swedish refugee regime. 3 Abram and associates use the term 'forced-displaced people' to refer to those people who are 'categorised and labelled as refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, and stateless people' (Abram et al., 2017: 8). ...
... These policies, however, are bound to fail, and Traub argues that Sweden has to pay 'for its unshared idealism'. That Sweden had a generous refugee policy (see also chapter 5) is a component of Swedish identity, both as viewed by most Swedes themselves and as viewed by others, despite the variety of academic arguments challenging that image. 1 To name a few examples: researchers have documented the negative experiences of asylum seekers awaiting a decision (Brekke, 2004); the inhumane conditions at detention centres ); the process of credibility assessment that assumes fraudulence on part of asylum seekers (Noll, 2005); the institutionalised power imbalance between asylum claimants and the authorities that challenge these claims in the legal process ; see also chapter 2); and the inhumane views of the Other that shape different levels of the migration bureaucracy Schoultz, 2013; see also chapter 9). It is, therefore, logical to wonder how Sweden's image as generous, humane and righteous has persisted despite such evidence. ...
Given the significant similarities and differences between the welfare states of Northern Europe and their reactions to the perceived 'refugee crisis' of 2015, the book focuses primarily on the three main cases of Denmark, Sweden and Germany. Placed in a wider Northern European context – and illustrated by those chapters that also discuss refugee experiences in Norway and the UK – the Danish, Swedish and German cases are the largest case studies of this edited volume. Thus, the book contributes to debates on the governance of non-citizens and the meaning of displacement, mobility and seeking asylum by providing interdisciplinary analyses of a largely overlooked region of the world, with two specific aims. First, we scrutinize the construction of the 2015 crisis as a response to the large influx of refugees, paying particular attention to the disciplinary discourses and bureaucratic structures that are associated with it. Second, we investigate refugees’ encounters with these bureaucratic structures and consider how these encounters shape hopes for building a new life after displacement. This allows us to show that the mobility of specific segments of the world’s population continues to be seen as a threat and a risk that has to be governed and controlled. Focusing on the Northern European context, our volume interrogates emerging policies and discourses as well as the lived experiences of bureaucratization from the perspective of individuals who find themselves the very objects of bureaucracies.
... This article states that "at all stages of the procedure related to the submission and examination of the application, the applicant is guaranteed, if necessary, the assistance of an interpreter in his/her language or another language he/she understands", and lists the accepted vehicular languages, namely English, French, Spanish and Arabic. (border control) -makes it very complex (Noll 2015), which also affects the interpreter's job. ...
... Several researchers (e.g., Elsrud 2020; Djampour 2018; Khosravi 2009Khosravi , 2016 describe an increasing negativity in the public opinion towards asylum seekers and refugees, reinforcing and legitimizing a growing number of deterrence practices to migration and residence permits. To be fair, the Swedish migration system had already been criticized in earlier academic studies (e.g., Brekke 2004;Joormann 2018;Noll 2005;Khosravi 2009Khosravi , 2016Skodo 2020;Abdelhady et al. 2020). Based on the negative experiences reported by adult asylum seekers in Sweden, researchers described the painfully lengthy administrative procedures (Brekke 2004) and the inhumane conditions endured in Swedish detention centers (Khosravi 2009). ...
This article examines the strategies of resistance enacted by an informal network of solidarity comprised of Afghan youths on the move in Europe and their Swedish allies. In 2015, thousands of Afghan children fleeing from the Taliban regime arrived in Europe as unaccompanied minors. Many have been hosted in Sweden and lived there for several years, until coming of age. Reaching 18 years prompted a series of consecutive losses, as the Swedish state limited their opportunities to remain in the country or even illegalized them. Subjected to threats of detention, deportation, and ill treatment, many Afghan youths re-escaped into other European countries, crafting networks of informal solidarity to help them resist border violence. This article is based on an ethnographic study that delves into the lived experiences of four Afghan youths who lived in Lisbon between February 2019 and February 2020, particularly focusing on the journey of Ahmed, a young man of Hazara ethnicity. The empirical data shed light on the solidarity enactments that enhanced the youths’ resistance in hostile environments, inviting reflection on the impacts of the European border regime and the importance of agency, care, and political contestation.
... Since documentary evidence (e.g. an identity document or an arrest warrant) is often absent, decisions in these cases are typically based solely on the applicant's own statement in an asylum interview (e.g. Gyulai et al., 2013;Herlihy et al., 2012;Noll, 2005aNoll, , 2005b. Their assessed credibility depends on their ability to provide detailed and consistent statements about their identity, origin and past experiences, for which they are required to use and communicate their autobiographical memory (Cameron, 2010;Herlihy et al., 2012;UNHCR, 2013;Van Veldhuizen et al., 2018). ...
... Thus, 'North' refers to the geographical location of the countries, while 'West' is understood historically (hence including, e.g., Finland but not the Baltic countries). 2 Abiri (2000) argues that the generosity of the Swedish system has in fact fluctuated considerably over the years. Others such as Brekke (2004), Noll (2005), Barker (2012), and Joormann (2019) provide evidence that problematise the notion of generosity showing the inhumanity and arbitrariness of the Swedish refugee regime. 3 Abram and associates use the term 'forced-displaced people' to refer to those people who are 'categorised and labelled as refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, and stateless people' (Abram et al., 2017: 8). ...
Summer 2015. While the beaches of Greek islands received boat after boat
of refugees, a large part of the space of the central station in Copenhagen
was occupied by young Danish volunteers who distributed sandwiches,
drinks, blankets, and second-hand clothes to crowds of people on the
move, most fleeing wars in Syria and Afghanistan. Locals bought train
and bus tickets so the travellers could continue their journey onwards to
Sweden and beyond. Across the strait forming the Swedish–Danish border,
the Sound (hereafter Öresund), in Malmö, Swedish volunteers were doing
the same as their Danish counterparts. Only a few weeks later did Malmö
municipality and the local branch of the Swedish Migration Agency send
some of their employees to meet those who were on the move. The asylum
seekers were slowly registered and accommodated by different authorities.
After their encounters with police and border patrol agents, they met case-
workers from the Migration Agency, healthcare professionals for medical
check-ups, employees and managers from refugee camps, schoolteachers
for their children, and many more representatives of the welfare state.
Those encounters were to shape and form their experiences from that point
onwards.
... Thereby, the credibility of the asylum seeker's story becomes the main focus of attention during the asylum procedure (e.g., Byrne, 2007;Doornbos, 2004;Gyulai, 2013;IND-Werkinstructie nr. 2010/14;Kagan, 2002;Noll, 2005b;Sweeney, 2009). One of the few tools that asylum officials can use in the process is asking questions to the asylum seeker. ...
The aim of the current vignette study is to map the style, type, and themes of questions that are asked when assessing the credibility of asylum seekers’ claims. Sixty-five officials from the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket), were asked to respond to one out of four different vignettes that contained fictitious asylum narratives. Each vignette presented the types of problems often encountered by officials at the migration board. Two of the vignettes contained no evidence of the origin of the asylum seeker. The other two contained no evidence for the claim of persecution. The asylum officials were asked to formulate five questions that would help them to assess the veracity of the applicant’s claim. Our analyses showed that they mainly formulated open questions in an information gathering style. A thematic analysis of the questions revealed that when a claim about origin was assessed, asylum officials mostly asked questions about life in the country of origin, identity documents, and the flight to Europe. When the claim about persecution was assessed, in contrast, asylum officials mostly formulated case-specific questions (e.g., how the applicant was arrested). Hence, when the credibility of claims about origin is assessed there seems to be a typical set of questions that asylum officials use. The asylum officials seem to assume that if the applicant is truly originating from a specific country or area, he or she should have ample knowledge about that area, its customs, and frequently encountered objects.
This chapter argues that a distinct stock story of who refugees are and how they behave, which it describes as the ‘stock narrative of becoming a refugee’, featured throughout the hearings. This stock story is one version of how, when and why ‘genuine’ refugees decide to leave their home countries and seek refugee status in another state. The chapter analyses the extent to which this prescriptive narrative conforms with international and domestic definitions of refugee status, to show that the normative expectations embedded within the stock tale far exceed the legal basis for refugee protection. Nonetheless this story, with its distinct narrative form, was demanded of refugee applicants during oral hearings and structured how decision-makers tested and judged applicants’ evidence and credibility. While decision-makers frequently demanded evidence that conformed to the stock narrative of authentic refugeehood – or that applicants to account for deviations from this narrative – refugee applicants also implicitly or explicitly contested or resisted this demand when presenting their oral testimony.
The aim of the current research was to replicate Van Veldhuizen, Horselenberg, Landstrom, et al.’s (2017) vignette study among novice Estonian police cadets to map their interviewing skills. Sixty‐one police cadets from the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences were asked to respond to one of four vignettes that contained fictitious asylum narratives. Two of the vignettes contained no evidence for the origin of the asylum seeker, and the other two contained no evidence for the claim of persecution. The cadets were asked to formulate five questions that would help them to assess the credibility of the applicant's claim. We coded the style, type, and content of the questions. Our analyses showed that, in line with best practice, the cadets mainly formulated open questions in an information‐gathering style. A thematic analysis revealed that when a claim about origin was assessed, cadets typically formulated questions about life in the country of origin, identity documents, and the flight to Europe. When assessing a persecution claim, in contrast, they mostly formulated case‐specific questions.
Sweden’s reputation as one of the most encompassing welfare states in the world is maintained by means of a good self-image, not least in relation to refugee policies. At the same time, external authorities have been critical of Sweden’s handling of the process of seeking asylum. Drawing on Stanley Cohen’s concepts of denial and partial acknowledgment, the article explores how Swedish state officials respond to complaints regarding the process of seeking asylum and other forms of residence permit. The study analyzes judgments from the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Chancellor of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. The analysis suggests that even within the well-developed democratic state, denials constitute a form of account that may be utilized to maintain bureaucratic legitimacy. In addition, partial acknowledgments serve to present state actors as decent and self-correcting. At the same time these acknowledgements could be understood as constituting a means of avoiding moral censure.
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