Pre-CAS interview vs UK credibility interview: who asks, when, and what happens after

A pre-CAS interview and a UK credibility interview are two separate checks, run by two separate bodies. Your university may interview you before it issues your CAS (the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies), to satisfy itself that you are a genuine student it can sponsor. Kent, for example, holds its pre-CAS interview before a CAS is issued. UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) may then interview you during your visa application, and the Home Office caseworker guidance says a caseworker must not refuse you as not genuine without interviewing you first, apart from two narrow exceptions. The university decides whether to issue your CAS. The Home Office decides your visa. Passing the first does not guarantee the second, as Plymouth says about its own interview. Neither interview is given to every student, but Kent expects the questions to be similar, so one way of preparing serves both: know your own papers, and answer in your own words.

What is a CAS?

A CAS is a reference number your university sends once it has made you an unconditional offer. You enter it on your Student visa application, you need it before you can apply, and you must apply within 6 months of receiving it. UKCISA explains that a CAS is an electronic document stored on a database the Home Office can see. Under paragraph ST 7.5 of Appendix Student, it must state your fees and any payment you have already made, so that your money can be assessed.

That is why the pre-CAS interview matters: without a CAS, there is no visa application on that offer.

Why do universities interview you before they issue a CAS?

A university that sponsors international students holds a Home Office licence with duties attached. The sponsor guidance says a sponsor must do all it can to make sure the students it takes on are genuine students who can comply with the Immigration Rules.

Every 12 months, each student sponsor must also apply to the Home Office for a Basic Compliance Assessment. For assessments applied for on or after 1 June 2026, the compliance guidance requires a visa refusal rate below 5 per cent, down from below 10 per cent before that date, alongside enrolment and completion targets. Visa refusals on the CAS a university has issued count towards that rate. Aston's pre-CAS interview policy ties its interviews directly to these duties and to the compliance assessment.

What does a pre-CAS interview look like?

There is no single format. Each university sets its own, and three patterns show up on their published pages:

• Recorded. Questions appear on screen and you record your answers; no one watches live. LJMU uses a self-recorded video of about 20 to 25 minutes and asks for a working webcam and microphone. BCU asks you to book and finish its recorded interview within seven working days.
• Live. A member of staff talks to you on a video call. Lincoln says its interview usually lasts 30 to 40 minutes on Zoom or a similar platform.
• Two stages. Aston's policy starts with a recorded interview of 14 questions: 10 drawn at random, one from each category, 2 administrative questions and 2 random "wildcard" questions, none shown to you in advance. If the recording is not strong enough, a live Microsoft Teams interview with its visa compliance team follows. Assessors check that the person on screen matches the passport and that no one else is in the room.

LJMU's topic list is a useful guide: why the UK and why LJMU, your course, your plans after study, your finances, your accommodation and the Student visa rules.

Who has to take one?

It depends on the university, and often on where you apply from. Three published examples:

• LJMU requires it of applicants from 14 countries, including India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
• Lincoln requires it of applicants from 8 countries, including India and Nepal, adds Nigeria for the September 2026 intake, and may ask others case by case.
• Under Aston's policy, applicants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria, and from the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, are always asked to take one. Aston can also pick any student at random.

These lists change between intakes, so check your own university's page.

What is CAS Shield?

Despite the name, CAS Shield is not a kind of interview. It is an online portal, provided by a company called Enroly, that some universities use for the steps before a CAS: documents, money checks and, for some applicants, the recorded pre-CAS interview. Royal Holloway describes it as the applicant's central portal for CAS requirements, and Kent, BCU and Aston run their pre-CAS interviews through it.

When will you hear back, and can you try again?

Universities publish their own timings and rules:

• LJMU aims to give an outcome within three to four working days. The outcome is a pass, a fail, or, for a borderline interview, one chance to resit.
• Lincoln usually tells you within 5 working days, and issues a CAS only once the interview is successful, your CAS deposit is paid and its other checks are complete.
• Aston's policy says the recording is reviewed within 3 to 5 working days, and you are either approved or invited to the live interview. If you do not pass the live interview, you can appeal in writing within 48 hours, but Aston's page says you will not get a third attempt.

What is the UKVI credibility interview?

This is the Home Office's own check, held after you have your CAS and have applied for the visa. GOV.UK lists attending an interview as one reason UKVI may contact you after you apply. Plymouth explains that an Entry Clearance Officer conducts it, in person, by phone or by video call. The sponsor guidance adds that UKVI may also interview a student on arrival in the UK, for example at the airport (paragraph 5.9).

What the rules say, from the Student caseworker guidance:

• From your application and any interview, the caseworker must be satisfied, on the balance of probability, that you are a genuine student. The rule itself is paragraph ST 5.1 of Appendix Student: "The applicant must be a genuine student."
• They must not refuse you on genuineness grounds without interviewing you. There are two exceptions. One is when you were refused before on genuine-student grounds and nothing has changed in your circumstances or evidence. The other is when there are many identical or very similar applications, and the caseworker has already interviewed a sample of those applicants and found them not genuine.
• A refusal on credibility grounds must clearly set out the reasons.
• They must not refuse you for not knowing bus routes or the geography of your university town.
• Your English can count towards credibility, and paragraph 5.9 of the sponsor guidance says a student who cannot show the required English without an interpreter at a Home Office interview will be refused.
• Missing an interview without a reasonable explanation can lead to refusal. UKCISA lists not attending as a refusal ground.

The two interviews side by side

	Pre-CAS interview	UKVI credibility interview
Who runs it	Your university	UKVI, part of the Home Office
When	Before your CAS is issued	During your visa application
Who is asked	Set by each university, often by country	Applicants UKVI chooses to interview
Format	Recorded, live, or both	In person, by phone or by video call
What it checks	Whether the university should sponsor you as a genuine student	The Genuine Student requirement (ST 5.1) and your English
Result	The university's decision: CAS, resit or no CAS	Part of the visa decision; a refusal must give reasons
If you skip it	No CAS from that university	Your application can be refused

Does passing the university's interview mean UKVI will accept you?

No. Plymouth says it directly: passing its own interview does not guarantee that UKVI will accept you if UKVI holds its own interview. The university decides whether to sponsor you; the Home Office alone decides the visa, on your whole application. The reverse also holds: a strong visa case cannot help if your university has not issued a CAS, because you need the CAS to apply.

How do you prepare for both at once?

The two interviews cover similar ground. Put LJMU's pre-CAS topics next to Coventry's description of the UKVI interview: why the UK, why this university (Coventry adds "including the research you did"), your course, your career plans and your finances. Kent says its pre-CAS questions are likely to be similar to UKVI's. So one method covers both:

1. Start from your own papers. Your offer or CAS, the course page, your fee receipt, your bank or loan letter, your accommodation details, your transcripts. Every answer should match them.
2. Keep one set of numbers. A made-up example: Riya's CAS shows a first-year fee of £15,000 with £6,000 already paid, so £9,000 is left. If she tells one interviewer "about £8,000" and the other "£9,000", her answers no longer match each other or her CAS. Write your figures down once and use them every time.
3. Learn points, not paragraphs. Plymouth tells students to use their own words rather than rely on scripts, and Aston draws its questions at random. Know the three or four facts behind each answer, then say them your way.
4. Be specific. Kent warns against answers that could fit any university or course. Name your modules, your campus, and how this course follows from what you studied or did before.
5. Practise out loud, against a clock, and on camera if your university's interview is recorded.

The fuller question list is in UK credibility interview questions, the rule behind both interviews is explained in the UK Genuine Student requirement, and the slips that cost students most are in why students fail the pre-CAS interview. If your English test is still ahead of you, read IELTS for UKVI before you book.

Hilingo's UK CAS Interview prep is built around this method. You build one profile from your own offer, CAS and money papers, and every example answer is written from it, so your figures agree. Then you practise on camera, one topic at a time, with feedback on every answer and a flag when an answer sounds recited or contradicts your profile. It cannot tell you which questions your university will ask, and it cannot get you a CAS or a visa.

Frequently asked questions

Is the pre-CAS interview compulsory?

It is if your university asks you to take one. Lincoln issues a CAS only after a successful interview, and Aston will not issue a CAS if you do not pass. Whether you are asked depends on your university, so check its own page.

Does every student have to take a pre-CAS interview?

No. Each university decides who it interviews: some interview applicants from listed countries, Aston also picks some at random, and Royal Holloway says its interview applies only to applicants from certain countries. The UKVI credibility interview is separate: UKVI decides whether to interview you, whatever your university does.

How long does a pre-CAS interview result take?

Each university publishes its own timing: LJMU aims for three to four working days, Lincoln usually takes five, and Aston reviews recordings within three to five. Check your own university's page.

Can I retake a failed pre-CAS interview?

Sometimes. LJMU offers one resit for a borderline interview. At Aston, a recording that is not strong enough leads to a live interview; after that you can appeal in writing, but you get no third attempt. Ask your own university before you count on a second chance.

If I pass my university's interview, is my visa approved?

No. The university decides whether to issue your CAS; the Home Office decides your visa. Plymouth states that passing its interview does not guarantee UKVI will accept you, and UKVI may hold its own credibility interview during your application.

What does "CAS Shield interview" mean?

It means a university's recorded pre-CAS interview, taken inside CAS Shield, an online portal from Enroly that some universities use for the steps before a CAS. Kent, BCU and Aston run their pre-CAS interviews through it. It is not a Home Office interview.

Sources (accessed 6 October 2026)

• GOV.UK, Student visa: your course
• GOV.UK, Student visa: apply
• GOV.UK, Immigration Rules: Appendix Student (ST 5.1, ST 7.5)
• Home Office, Student and Child Student caseworker guidance (genuine student rule, credibility factors, interviews)
• Home Office, Student sponsor guidance: sponsorship duties (paragraphs 2.3 and 5.9)
• Home Office, Student sponsor guidance: student sponsor compliance (paragraph 2.14)
• UKCISA, Student route: eligibility and requirements
• Liverpool John Moores University, Pre-CAS interviews
• University of Lincoln, Pre-CAS interview
• Aston University, Pre-CAS interview and Pre-CAS interview policy
• Birmingham City University, CAS Shield
• Royal Holloway, University of London, Enroly CAS Shield
• University of Plymouth, UKVI credibility interviews
• University of Kent, Credibility interviews
• Coventry University, Credibility interviews