The personal interview is an essential part of an effective and fair asylum procedure. In order to ensure an optimal environment for communication, in-person interviews should be given preference, with the conduct of remote interviews by video conference remaining the exception. Apart from public health considerations, there may be legitimate grounds for the determining authority to have recourse to remote interviews by video conference, for example where vulnerabilities preclude the possibility of travel of an asylum applicant or make it difficult due to health or family reasons, to conduct interviews with applicants in detention, in overseas territories or in situations where the remote participation of an interpreter with specialised interpretation skills is required. In the event of remote interviewing, the determining authority should be required to apply all procedural safeguards as when in-person interviews are held, ensuring privacy and confidentiality, and giving due consideration to data protection. The suitability of the use of the remote interviewing by video conference should be assessed individually before the interview, as remote interviews may not be suitable for all asylum applicants due to their young age, the existence of visual or hearing impairments, or the state of their mental health, with particular regard to certain vulnerable groups, such as victims of torture or traumatised applicants. The best interests of the child should be a primary consideration. Special concern should be given to potential technological difficulties which may have disruptive effects on the interview, result in an incomplete or unintelligible record of the interview or affect the storage and retrieval of the recording.