Student Visa Interviews - An Overview
To explain, it is an interview that you have with the visa officer of the respective country. So, if you are applying to study in Canada, a Canadian visa officer will interview you. The visa officer will assess how genuine your candidature is and what the real intent is behind moving to Canada for higher studies.
Besides, they will scrutinize your finances to ensure you can support your education and living costs in Canada. Similar will be the case for any country you apply to. They want to see the genuineness of your academic inclinations, your financial backing and your intent to come back
So, basically, the common student visa interview questions will circle around your intent, finances, academic pursuits and long-term goals. If the visa officers are convinced that you have real academic ambitions and have the desired financial backing, they’ll oblige. However, if they have doubts about your finances, goals and intent to come back, they will flag it.
So, this is what a student visa interview essentially is and such is its importance for visa success. It is a crucial part of your study permit application and visa approval. Now the real question is, how do you ensure that you succeed in your student visa interview? What are the best approaches to student visa interview preparation and how to pass student visa interviews?
You will find reliable answers to all these questions in the subsequent sections. However, before we find answers to these questions, let us first have a quick look at commonly asked questions in student visa interviews.
Student Visa Interviews - Common Questions
Questions related to academics or the course of selection are listed below
The reason for you to choose the course under consideration
Why did you choose to apply to this country and the university under consideration?
How does the course in consideration correlate to your previous education or experience?
Have you done any research about the university and the course under consideration?
Questions related to financial background are listed below
- How will you fund both your education and the cost of living?
- Can you present the proofs of your family’s financial wellness?
- Who will sponsor your educational expenses?
Questions related to future plans are listed below
Elaborate on your plans after graduation
What kind of ties and relationships do you have in your home country?
Do you plan to come back to your home country or settle there permanently?
In a nutshell, these are all the questions that you are likely to encounter in your student visa interview. There may be a certain difference in the exact words or phrases these questions are asked with, but the essence remains the same. At the end of the day, the student visa success rate relies on how well the applicants answer the above questions.
Now that we know these questions, let’s talk about the right answers. In the next section, I will tell you how to prepare for your student visa interview and how to navigate it to acquire visa success.
Student Visa Interviews - The Correct Way to Go About Them
- Read About The Course
The odds are very high that the visa officers will assess how much you understand about the course. Hence, it is essential that you read about the course and the modules to have a comprehensive understanding of the course. Only then will you be able to link it to your previous education, interests or future goals.
The best way to do that would be to read about the course on the official website of the university you have applied to. Knowing the exact modules and how they interest you will certainly impress the visa officers and portray real intent. However, if you are still struggling to decide the best-fit course for you, reach out to us! Our expert career counsellors will guide you towards your unique path to success in the most effective way.
- Read About the University
Besides the course, you should also know about the University you have applied to. Again, the more you know about the university, the better you can relate it to your goals. For instance, let’s say you have applied to the University of Waterloo in Canada for a bachelor’s degree in computer science.
Now, if you know that the University of Waterloo is ranked 21st in the world for computer sciences, you can easily relate it to your ambitions. You can state that pursuing computer science at the University of Waterloo will be life-transforming for you. Hence, you aspire to study in Canada and the University of Waterloo specifically. This is one small yet important example of why knowing about the university matters.
- Practice Clarity on your Future Goals
As mentioned above, the visa officers will try to assess your future goals. Their purpose is to see if your goals are aligned with your idea of coming back to your home country or not. Also, they want to see how you will align your educational background, the choice of course and the choice of university to your future plans.
For instance, if you want to pursue a master’s in environmental engineering, you need to have clarity about your future goals. To explain, you first need to have clear answers to why you chose a master’s in environmental engineering.
You need to explain how it correlates to your previous education and how you wish to build a successful career in let’s say sustainability engineering. You can further add that you want to come to India to contribute to the country’s green economy.
When you have such clarity of thought and purpose, the visa officers will certainly be very content and impressed.
- Performing During the Interview
The previous section talked about what you should do before your student visa interview. In this section, we will discuss what you ought to do during the interview. We shall talk about the soft skills that matter and how to execute them. This section will also cover some confidence tips for visa interview to succeed in your study abroad goals.
Communicate with confidence such that your English proficiency, intellect and skills are pretty evident. Needless to say, most visa offers will be happy to give clearance to people who come across as vibrant and confident communicators.
Moreover, you know it for a fact that English proficiency is a key criterion for visa success. You might have a good IELTS score to back your application but how you interact with the visa officer is equally important.
Good communication skills will give them a sense of reassurance that you will be able to interact, work and live with the native people in your target country. So, the bottom line is, communicate with great confidence, poise and ability to sound compelling. Before the interview, practice for common questions and work on your communication skills.
I say this so often and I will say it again, communication isn’t just about the verbal aspect of it. Your body language, posture, gestures and eye contact have an equal or rather greater impact on the interview success. To substantiate, research indicates that around 80 percent of the first impressions are formed through nonverbal communication.
Hence, you need to be as considerate of your nonverbal communication as you would be of the verbal part of it. Maintain positive body language, sit straight and don’t showcase nervousness in your body language.
Moreover, maintain eye contact and some basic hand gestures to showcase confidence. You should never downplay the importance of body language during interviews, along with other nonverbal cues.
3. Listen Actively & Critically Analyze
Do not assume the context of the question. A question might sound similar to one of the questions you read or practised about. However, there may be some contextual difference or variation for which you need to pay attention. Listen actively and critically analyze all the questions that the visa officers are posing. Once you do that, then tailor a response to it. Otherwise, you might go off track with the answer and that can cost you the success of the interview.
4. Don’t Sound Like a Machine
One of the most common mistakes to avoid in visa interviews is to sound like you have memorized the answers. Sounding like a pre-trained robot can cost you the visa success you’re betting on.
Talk comfortably and give the answers your own perspectives and words. The more authentic and genuine you sound, the better the prospects for success. At the end of the day, no one would approve of an interview where the interviewee is just spitting out crammed answers.
Keep your answers and concise, to the point. Sometimes, being extra smart or giving longer answers than needed can go against you. For instance, if you are going to talk about permanent residency in your answers, the visa officers will know that your concern is the PR and not education. Be careful with what you speak and know where to end it.
So, that is all about student visa interviews. The blog started with an explanation of what is a visa success interview is. It then moved towards the common questions asked in visa success interviews. Further, we talked about how to prepare beforehand for the interview and eventually, the skills and best practices to navigate it.
I am sure the session gave you a lot of information and new perspectives on approaching a student visa interview. I wish you all the best for the same. One last thing, be wary of the common mistakes to avoid in visa interviews.
Author Bio : Silver Fern
silverfern@gmail.com
