UK university · pre-CAS interview

Before the CAS, the interview. Rehearse it.

Enter your real offer — the course, the university, why the UK, who pays, your plans — and the university's compliance officer interviews you on it, following up on anything vague. Then you see whether they would issue your CAS, and the answers that decided it.

Five minutes free, then the outcome. You need an account, not a card.

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How it can end
Pass
The university is satisfied you are a genuine student and issues your CAS.
Resit
Borderline: you are asked to interview again, in whole or on the weak topics.
Fail
The university is not satisfied and does not issue the CAS for this application.

The report tells you which of these the interviewer would reach, and the moment that decided it.

It turns on three questions

However they are worded. Answer in your own words: a memorised answer, even a true one, is what they are trained to notice.

Why this course, this university, and the UK?

Something specific: two modules, a lecturer's research, a placement — and how it follows from what you studied or did before. Rankings and 'good reputation' are what everyone says.

How will you pay for it?

Who is paying, where the money comes from, and how living costs are covered as well as fees. It has to match the finances you submitted.

What will you do afterwards, and do you know the rules?

A concrete plan after the course, and that you understand the Student visa: you are coming to study, work is limited during term, and attendance is monitored.

Built from your own offer

Not a sample applicant. You enter what is in your application, and the interviewer asks about it — and notices when what you say does not match.

Your course
University, course, level, start date, and your own reason for choosing it.
Why the UK
Why the UK over your own country or elsewhere, and where you will live.
The money
Fees and living costs, who is paying each part, and where the money comes from.
Your background and plans
What you did before, any gap, a previous refusal, and what you will do after the course.
Enter my offer

How pre-CAS interviews work

As published by UK universities, October 2026. Your university's own instructions are the ones that count; check them before your interview.

  • Universities interview offer holders from a list of countries — commonly India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Ghana and Kenya — before issuing a CAS. Each university keeps its own list and format: a live video call, or a recorded interview on a platform such as CAS Shield, often 15 to 30 minutes.
  • You show your passport to the camera, then answer without notes, websites or scripts. Universities say prepared answers are easy to spot.
  • Your spoken English is assessed through the interview itself.
  • The outcome is usually a pass (the CAS is issued), a resit or second interview if the answers were borderline, or a fail, in which case the university does not issue the CAS.
What this will not do

It will not teach you what an officer wants to hear. The report marks you down for an answer that contradicts your file, and never rewards one that is not true. Telling the truth briefly and consistently is the whole skill.

This is practice, not immigration advice, and not affiliated with any university or UKVI. If your case has a complication, ask your university's international admissions team or a regulated immigration adviser.

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10 visa interviews — UK pre-CAS, or US student and visitor — each with the outcome and the reasons, to use within 90 days. Nothing renews. Your first five minutes are free.