The applicant's own information and account of his or her fear of persecution must, however, be based on reality. The UDI will therefore compare the applicant's account with facts about conditions in the country of origin and other information which will throw light upon the actual situation in the applicant's country of origin. In this connection the Directorate of Immigration uses information prepared by Norwegian foreign service missions, other countries, the UNHCR, Amnesty International, other NGOs. Where there is a special need, the Directorate of Immigration may also undertake journeys to particular regions, both in order to obtain general information and to verify the information supplied in individual cases.

If the application is insufficiently detailed and/or the Directorate is in doubt about the validity of the applicant's account, including the question of correct nationality and identity, an additional interview of the applicant may be undertaken to clarify these points. For the same reason a language test of the applicant may also be undertaken, and attempts may be made to verify in the country of origin information supplied by the applicant.