Reviewed by the finduni team · Last verified 15 September 2026 · Sources: Home Office: Student and Child Student caseworker guidance, Home Office: Student sponsor guidance, sponsorship duties, GOV.UK: Student visa, knowledge of English
What is a pre-CAS interview?
A pre-CAS interview is a conversation your UK university holds with you before it issues your CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies). You need a CAS to apply for a UK Student visa, so the interview sits between your offer and your visa application.
The university runs it, not the Home Office. It is the university's own check that you are a genuine student who has chosen the course for real reasons and can support yourself through it.
Why universities run it
A university that sponsors international students carries a duty under the Home Office sponsor guidance: A university sponsoring students must do all it can to ensure prospective students are genuine students who can comply with the Immigration Rules.
A pre-CAS interview is one way a university meets that duty. The Home Office does not set how a university runs it, so the format, the length, who interviews you and whether it is live or recorded all depend on the university. Some universities interview most applicants from a country, some interview a sample, and some rely on documents instead. Your university's admissions or compliance team is the only reliable source for how yours works.
When it happens and what it decides
- When: after you hold an offer (often once you have accepted it and sent your documents or deposit), and before the CAS is issued.
- Who: someone from the university, or a team working on its behalf.
- What it decides: whether the university is willing to issue your CAS. It is not a visa decision.
- What comes after: if the university issues a CAS, you apply for the Student visa, and the Home Office makes its own decision. That can include a separate UKVI interview.
What it usually covers
Every university writes its own questions, but most pre-CAS interviews come back to the same few areas:
- You: your study history, any gaps, and why you are applying now.
- Your course and university: why this course, what it teaches, and why this university over others. See pre-CAS course questions.
- Your finances: who is paying, where the money comes from, and whether you understand the costs. See pre-CAS finance questions.
- Your plans: what you intend to do after the course, and how it connects to your career.
- Your English: the conversation itself shows how well you communicate. For degree-level study, your university (a Higher Education Provider) can assess your English itself, at a level equivalent to CEFR B2.
- Your agent: if a consultancy helped you, whether the choices and documents are genuinely yours.
For topic-by-topic questions and what each one is probing, read pre-CAS interview questions.
How to prepare
- Read your own documents again. Your application, personal statement, offer letter and financial documents. Your answers should match them.
- Study the course page. Know the course title, a few core modules, how it is assessed and how long it runs, in your own words.
- Know your funding in detail. Who your sponsor is, what they do, and how the money was saved or arranged.
- Have a clear, realistic plan. What you want to do after the course and why this course helps.
- Practise speaking, not reciting. Interviewers notice memorised answers. Practise explaining the same points in different words.
- Check the logistics. Ask the university how the interview will be held, and test your connection, camera and microphone if it is online.
You can practise answering pre-CAS questions out loud and get feedback with the finduni.ai mock interview. Practice helps you speak clearly; it does not guarantee any outcome.
How it differs from the UKVI interview
The pre-CAS interview is the university's decision about issuing a CAS. The UKVI interview is part of the Home Office's decision on your visa, held after you apply, under the Home Office's own guidance. The two can cover similar ground, but they are run by different organisations, under different rules, at different stages.
Read the full comparison in pre-CAS interview vs UKVI interview, and see UK student visa from Nepal for the rest of the application.