What do I do if I do not understand a question from the Board member?
Short answer
In Canada, the materials prepared for refugee claimants say that if you do not understand a question from the member, you should say so and ask for it to be rephrased, rather than guessing at an answer or making something up.
In detail
The point is consistent across hearing-preparation materials: do not try to answer a question you have not understood, tell the member, and ask for it to be put another way.
The same logic applies to interpretation. If you cannot understand the interpreter, or a translation seems inaccurate, you are expected to raise it during the hearing rather than afterwards.
These points are not about strategy; they are about how the hearing works. A hearing rests on testimony, and testimony given in answer to a misunderstood question does not reflect what the person meant to say.
What to document
After the hearing, write down the same day the moments when you did not understand, when you asked for a question to be rephrased, or when interpretation was a problem — with the approximate time. If a recording or transcript exists, those notes help locate the passage.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
Open the application Up to 3 files, no card · see the plans
Official sources
Related questions
- How many days do I have to spend in Canada to keep my permanent residence?
- Does time spent abroad with my Canadian spouse count?
- I work abroad for a Canadian company does that count toward my permanent residence?
- I went over my days outside Canada do I automatically lose my permanent residence?
- How do I prove my days of presence in Canada?
See all the answers · the full guide collection · Lire en français
What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.