Most Tier 4 applicants are required to attend an interview with UK Visas & Immigration.

What is the credibility interview, and why do we have it?

Interviews take place when you attend a visa application center to give your biometric information. A Home Office member of staff will ask you about your course, where you want to study and your reasons for studying in the UK. A copy of the interview will be sent to the Entry Clearance Officer who makes the decision on your Tier 4 application. The Entry Clearance Officer must be satisfied that you are a genuine student, and that your English language ability is at the correct level, otherwise you might be called for a further interview and/or your entry clearance application may be refused.

Your interview will be conducted in English and via a secure video conference, or in some cases by telephone. Poor connections and accents can make for a difficult environment so practices mock interview with your agent or mock test videos.

The questions

Think carefully about how you would answer questions on all the following topics but note that this is not an exact or exhaustive list – be prepared to answer whatever questions you are asked thoughtfully. Although some answers may be natural, try to be specific and detailed but to the point. vague answers will lead to more questions, but long drawn out answers could be confusing for both parties, so keep them short and to the point. Always make use of the P E E technique.

Research, Research, Research

We recommend that when writing Your personal statement, you consider some of the questions presented in the interview, it will help you create a good personal statement, and that in turn will help you prepare for your interview. Remember your personal statement is your story, your action plan, its your WHY, WHERE and HOW.

You will be asked questions on the actual course and university that you have been accepted for and about any alternatives you considered, you must have considered alternatives in your plans? Find out everything you can about your university and course.

And of course, you could be asked questions on the next step……. How are you going to support yourself, where are you going to live and how are you going to get to and from university?

Remember you will have been asked to show evidence of all the above, so any answers you give should correspond with any documentation you send with your application.

Planning and preparation

Planning and preparation are key, we don’t just mean for your visa interview, we mean for coming to study in the UK because if your properly prepared for that, then you are also prepared for your interview.

Create an action plan starting with your personal statement, then list all the key points and then fill in all the details.