Tips To Keep In Mind For Passing Your Student Visa Interview

Once you get selected for a degree course abroad, you have all the right to be exalted. But, you wouldn’t realize how quickly the most tiresome aspects of the pre-departure process emerge and require your attention. One such thing that will most likely give you stress is the student visa interview. To pursue education abroad, you will most likely require a student visa. But, it is not just a mere application process; you will have to present yourself before the officers and get yourself interviewed. That, my friend, is a very important step towards getting your visa application cleared.

A student visa interview may seem like a cakewalk but you will be surprised to know that there are tons of applications that get rejected because of poor interview performance. A visa interview is conducted to understand the motivations behind the travel. No country wants to admit immigrants with no authentic purpose for being on its land. So, essentially, an interview is part of the due diligence process and you cannot escape it. What you can, however, do is to prepare well for the interview. Let me help a bit!

1. Look presentable
   The first thing you need to take care of is, how you look. You are going to an embassy or consulate and that is no playground. You shouldn’t walk in with your hair unkempt and your hoodie on. Your objective is to deliver during a formal interview, not have a chat with one of your buddies. Come in proper formal outwear, kempt hair, and less make-up. Walk upright, speak politely, and show customary gestures which are prevalent in your country. Just think of the entire process as a job interview. Always remember, the first impression is the last impression.

2. Connection with your country
   If you have applied for a student visa, it is assumed that you intend to stay in the country of interest throughout the tenure of education. Afterward, you would plan to return to your home country. During the interview, you are expected to prove your ties to your home country; many ways show that such as jobs, family, inheritance, etc. You will be specifically asked about your intentions during your stay abroad and what you intend to do following the completion of your education. So, make sure you present a strong case of your ties with your home country.

3. Speak fluently and confidently
   Generally, you are allowed to choose the language in which you wish to have your interview conducted. Most embassies or consulates offer such options depending on the location. In India, for instance, US Consulate-Mumbai gives a number of language options such as Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi, and English. It is, however, recommended that you should give the interview in the language in which your courses at the university abroad will be conducted. This way you will be able to develop confidence in the mind of the interviewer that you are well-equipped to participate in the academic endeavor undertaken. Also, keep in mind the fluency of your speech. Be as confident as you can get so that there is no room for doubt.

4. Know The Programme Well
   As I said, you have to have a purpose for migrating to an alien country. You have applied for a student visa, and this means you intend to pursue Higher Education in a specific field of study. The interviewer, quite expectedly, will want you to display appropriate knowledge of the program you have been chosen and how it fits into your career plan. You have to prove the point that your decision to pursue the program in the country of interest will benefit you once you return to your home country. If you fail to convince the interviewer on this aspect, you will be perceived as someone who intends to immigrate and the whole thing about pursuing education is a smokescreen.

5. Keep it succinct
   If you thought that you will have ample time during the interview, you are very, very wrong. A consulate receives a sizeable number of visa applications every year which means they are time-bound in the conduct of interviews. The interviewers do not have all the time in the world to spend on you. So, be very specific and succinct in your responses. Do not resort to dramatic explanations because they won’t work. Just answer the question you have been asked and save everyone’s time!