When applying for a visa to a country of your interest, you will expect to have a successful interview that grants you the visa so you can travel to the country as you wish to. It could be a student visa, a work or business visa or a visit visa. In most cases you are of course expected to prove that you don’t have the intentions of migrating to the country you are interested in unless maybe you are applying to join your spouse who is already a citizen in the given country. A few tips can be very helpful in preparing you for the visa interview and increasing the success chances of the same.
Tip 1 – Make sure you have at hand aspects that tie you to your country because the consular officer might require you to convince him of your true intention of travelling to the country. Things such as a job, inheritance, investments and family are some of the things that can convince them that you are bound to come back to your country because of commitments. If you are a student, you should use aspects such as your educational objectives, future employment preferences, career prospects and long range plans in your home country to prove that after getting your education you definitely will come back where you belong.
Tip 2 – Always ensure that throughout the interview you speak on your behalf and not have your family members or parents speak for you. The secret is to speak for you and keep others off the interview to create a positive impression on the officer conducting the interview. If they must accompany you, make sure that they wait in the waiting area and let you handle the interview.
Tip 3 – If you are applying for a student visa, be sure to have ready reasons as to why the program is meaningful as far as your career success is concerned and why you must get it in the country you wish to travel to and not your home country. Explain why studying in that country relates to the future of your professional career within your home country. The same should go for business people who should convince the officer about the importance of holding business related issues of travel in the country of interest and not any other country.
Tip 4 – Keep your answers concise. Remember that there are large volumes of applications that need to be handled within a very short time and you should use your given minutes to create a good impression on the officer. Avoid giving detailed answers as they could give rise to questions that should not have popped up and which can put you in a tricky spot. Be as concise but relevant as possible. The first minutes count and can tell a lot about you.
Tip 5 – Have all the necessary documents at hand when you walk into the interview and ensure that they are well organized so that you know what to pull out when the officer asks for it. You might not end up presenting all documents but you should ensure that you have everything that is relevant because you never know what your officer might ask for.