3 minsIs there any soul who never gets nervous during a student visa interview? No, yet it is better if you are not obvious about your nervousness. Moreover, during the interview, the interviewing official is going to ask questions whose answers you already know. Besides, the people at the Embassy are always friendly and understanding; so just relax and go with the flow and ensure that you have all the required documents in hand including your visa application payment receipt and medical certificate.
The Interview
In some cases, applicants (students) may be asked to attend a visa interview in-person or attend a telephonic interview. When asked to attend an interview, an online appointment should be considered and students should be intimated about it.
According to the British High Commission’s service standards for processing of non-settlement applications, 90% applications are processed in 3 weeks, 98% are processed in 6 weeks and 100% are processed in 12 weeks of the application date. When you attend your appointment, you will:
- Have to be present no earlier than 15 minutes before your visa interview and if late you will have to reschedule,
- Submit your visa application and supporting documents,
- Pay the application fee if you have not already paid and
- Provide your biometric information.
What Should be Brought for the Student Visa Interview?
When interviewing for the Tier 4 (General) student visa, you need to be present on time and carry following documents:
- A valid passport and previously issued passports, if any
- Latest passport size photo (45mm x 35mm)
- Signed application printout
- GWF reference application number
- Demand draft (if fee paid at a bank)
- Official financial sponsorship documents, if any
- Original and photocopies of education, identity and address proofs
- Test report for Tuberculosis from a British High Commission-approved clinic or hospital and
- Provide biometric information at the nearest visa application centre
It is crucial that your passport should contain at least one blank page on both sides so that your visa vignette can be appended. If you have not paid your visa fee, you can pay at the visa application centre and get a receipt.
A student visa will be rejected:
- When discrepancy is discovered in information provided
- When submitted documents are discovered to be fake
- When important information is not divulged to the interviewing officer
- When questions are answered inappropriately
- When not dressed fittingly (dress code: formals and business casuals) and if you exhibit a lack of personal hygiene
- When failing to fund education and living costs abroad
- When academic scores are poor
- When students don’t know enough about the institution they are accepted at
- When students don’t meet the required English standards and
- When students fail the TB test.
Related: Need help with filing visas. Our counsellors can help you!
When will the Passport be Returned?
Your passport will be retained until the Embassy has made a decision on your application, and you should keep this in mind when you make your travel arrangements, particularly if you plan to visit other countries before going to the UK.
If you want to collect your passport from the Embassy before a visa decision has been made, your application will be withdrawn. Note that the application fee is non-refundable, and when you reapply for a visa you will have to lodge another application, submit your biometric information and pay the visa fee once again.
Urgent and Compassionate Cases
Your visa application will be considered for immediate processing due to urgent and compassionate reasons. You should inform the staff at the application centre if the situation is urgent and there are valid reasons for travel. The Embassy accepts urgent and compassionate cases under certain conditions and you must provide proof for the following circumstances:
- Terminal illness or death of an immediate family member i.e. the applicant's mother, father, brother, sister, husband, wife, son or daughter; or
- Emergency medical treatment which includes people travelling with a carer.
What is the Visa Processing Time?
The Embassies usually process 90% of non-settlement applications in 3 weeks, 98% in 6 weeks and 100% in 12 weeks of the application date. If the visa processing gets delayed, the Embassy will publish about it on its website to explain what is happening.
If the Embassy takes more than 15 working days to process a non-settlement visa and if nothing is published on the website, you can email the VFS call centre who will forward your email to the Embassy. The Embassy never responds to enquiries if they are contacted beyond a stipulated time.
The Embassies’ guide to visa processing times contains up-to-date data on the time taken to process visa applications in every visa application centre, by visa category. The information is updated each month and you can find out the recent processing times from ‘Track you application’ widget.
The processing time begins when VFS Global receives your complete application form, application fee, passport and supporting documents and your biometric information and ends when the staff decides on your application and when your passport is available for collection.
Track your Application
You can use the 'track your application' service on VFS Global to monitor the progress of your application. You can also subscribe to the VFS Global SMS text service (fee payable) to receive texts about your application progress.
Also, you can read The UK Student Visa Procedure -
- Documents to be Submitted
- Tests and Examinations
- Payment of Application Fee
- The Visa Application Centre
- Collecting your Visa and Supporting Documents
- Refusal of Visa
- Making an Appeal
- VFS Additional Services
- While in the UK
All the Best.
Image Source: www.dyc.edu
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