Home Office Interview: What They Ask

When Do Interviews Happen?

The Home Office does not interview every visa applicant, and the published guidance describes an interview as a step taken when the paperwork has not answered the question. On a partner application, the caseworker guidance puts it this way:

"If you think you do not have sufficient evidence (both documentary and explanation) to decide whether the relationship is genuine and subsisting you may consider arranging an interview to explore the relationship in more detail before deciding the application. You should discuss with your Senior Caseworker whether an interview would be appropriate in the particular case."

Two things follow from that. An interview is not a routine stage of the process, and it is not the first step: the guidance tells caseworkers to consider explanations for missing evidence and, where none was given, to contact the applicant and request further evidence, before an interview is on the table.

The guidance is also clear that an interview is not always used even where there are doubts. It says that where evidence gives rise to substantial doubts about a genuine and subsisting relationship — from a registration services report, or from checks with the Department for Work and Pensions — "it is likely to be unnecessary to undertake an interview, a home visit or make further enquiries" before concluding the relationship is not genuine.

What the Rules Ask, and the Published Factors

The Home Office does not publish a list of interview questions. It publishes what caseworkers are assessing, which is more useful, because the questions follow from it.

The requirement is in Appendix FM at E-ECP.2.6 (for applications from outside the UK) and E-LTRP.1.7 (for applications to stay): the relationship between the applicant and their partner must be genuine and subsisting. The burden of proof is on the applicant, and the standard is the balance of probabilities.

Factors associated with a genuine and subsisting relationship

The caseworker guidance lists these, with the warning that the list "is not exhaustive and must not be considered as a checklist":

• the couple are in a current, long-term relationship and provide satisfactory evidence of this;
• the couple have been or are cohabiting and provide satisfactory evidence of this;
• the couple have children together — biological, adopted or stepchildren — and shared responsibility for them;
• the couple share financial responsibilities, for example a joint mortgage or tenancy agreement, a joint bank account, savings, or utility bills in both their names;
• the partner, applicant or both have visited the other's home country and family and can evidence it. The guidance adds that the fact an applicant has never visited the UK "must not be regarded as a negative factor", though the rules do require that the couple have met in person;
• the couple, or their families acting on their behalf, have made definite plans about the practicalities of living together in the UK;
• in the case of an arranged marriage, both consent to the marriage and agree to the plans made by their families.

Cultural and religious practice

The guidance is explicit that UK norms are not the measure. Caseworkers "must be alert and sensitive to the extent to which religious and cultural practices may shape the factors present or absent in a particular case". It gives the example of a couple in an arranged marriage who may have spent little time together before the marriage, and notes that for many faiths and cultures marriage marks the start of a lifelong partnership rather than the affirmation of an existing one. It adds that evidence of pre-marital cohabitation can be a factor associated with a genuine relationship "but such evidence is not a prerequisite", and that in some cultures household bills are traditionally in the name of the male head of the household.

The separate guidance on Appendix Relationship with Partner makes the same point: "You must not presume that relationships always start, develop and subsist in the same way relationships commonly do in the UK."

Factors that may prompt additional scrutiny

The guidance also lists circumstances in which a caseworker may seek further information, make checks with other government departments, or ask the couple to attend an interview. They include:

• the couple are unable to provide accurate personal details about each other;
• the couple are unable to communicate with each other in a language understood by them both;
• the couple cannot provide any information about their intended living arrangements in the UK, or about the practicalities of the applicant moving to the UK;
• the circumstances of the wedding or ceremony, for example no or few guests and no significant family members present;
• cohabitation is not maintained, or there is little or no evidence that the couple have ever cohabited, or a lack of shared financial or domestic responsibilities;
• evidence of money having been exchanged for the relationship to be contracted, unless it is part of a dowry;
• the applicant or partner fails to attend an interview without reasonable explanation where required to do so, or takes steps to undermine the Home Office's ability to arrange one;
• the sponsor has previously sponsored another partner, or was themselves sponsored as a partner and that relationship ended shortly after they obtained settlement (with exceptions for bereaved partners and those who settled on the basis of domestic violence);
• the applicant applied in another category and was refused before applying on the basis of the relationship;
• a history containing a previous sham or forced marriage, or unlawful residence in the UK or elsewhere;
• the marriage took place in a country that is neither an obvious nor a popular destination for a marriage and has no obvious links to the couple;
• questions about the validity of the marriage itself, for example a religious or customary marriage not registered with the civil authorities, or a divorce obtained in a country where neither partner was habitually resident, a national, or domiciled.

The guidance also lists concerns about consent and coercion — capacity to consent, unreasonable restrictions placed on one partner, information from the Forced Marriage Unit, the police, social services or a registration officer.

What follows from all of this is that the subject matter of an interview is the relationship itself: how it began and developed, how the couple communicate, the practical arrangements for living together, and the things partners would ordinarily know about each other.

How the Evidence Is Weighed

The guidance on Appendix Relationship with Partner sets out how caseworkers weigh what they are given, and it is worth reading because it explains what an interview is for.

The burden of proof is on the applicant, and the standard is the balance of probabilities — "which means it is more likely than not they meet a requirement". Caseworkers are told to consider the information on the form and all the other evidence in the round.

Not all evidence carries the same weight. The guidance says: "Official and verifiable evidence carries the most weight. Statements without supporting evidence have less weight. Applicants are not encouraged to provide photographic evidence or evidence of interaction over email, WhatsApp or other social media as they can be falsified and are difficult to verify." It adds that this "does not mean such evidence has no weight at all", and that an accumulation of lower-weight evidence, considered in the round, may still satisfy the caseworker.

That is the gap an interview fills. Where the documentary evidence is thin and the explanation for it is not enough on its own, the interview is the way the relationship is explored further before a decision. See our guide to relationship evidence.

Where There Is No Documentary Evidence

The guidance deals with this directly, and the answer is not an automatic refusal. It says: "Where an applicant cannot provide any documentary evidence to show a genuine and subsisting relationship you must consider any explanation they have provided for the lack of evidence. You must determine whether this is reasonable and whether you are nonetheless satisfied that the relationship is genuine and subsisting."

Where no explanation was given on the form, the guidance says the caseworker may contact the applicant and request further evidence, applying the evidential flexibility guidance. On a second or subsequent application with the same partner, it says there is no specified evidence for a subsisting relationship, so an application cannot be refused for the lack of a particular document.

If the caseworker is not satisfied, the guidance is equally direct: the application must be refused.

Interviews for Other Visa Types

The same logic applies elsewhere: the subject of an interview is whatever the rules require the applicant to satisfy the decision maker about.

• Visitor visas. Appendix V sets a genuine visitor requirement at V 4.2: the applicant must satisfy the decision maker that they will leave the UK at the end of their visit; will not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK their main home; are genuinely seeking entry for a permitted purpose; will not undertake any prohibited activity; and have sufficient funds to cover all reasonable costs of the visit without working or accessing public funds, including the return or onward journey.
• Student visas. The requirements are the course and sponsorship, the money requirement and the English requirement, so those are the subjects an interview would cover.
• Work visas. The requirements are the sponsorship, the job and its occupation code, the salary and the English requirement.
• Asylum claims. These have their own published process, separate from the visa routes described here, and are outside the scope of this guide.

After the Interview

The guidance places the interview alongside everything else: it is one part of the evidence considered in the round, against the balance of probabilities. It is not a separate test with its own outcome. You can contact the Home Office about the progress of an application.

Where an application is refused, the guidance says all the information submitted, together with any disclosable information obtained under the marriage referral and investigation scheme, must be considered and referenced in the decision letter. That is the record of what the concerns were. See our guide on what to do after a refusal.

Next Steps

The published factors above are the map of what is being assessed. The two sources they come from are the caseworker guidance on partners, divorce and dissolution for Appendix FM applications, and the guidance on relationship with a partner for the work and study routes. Our guide to relationship evidence covers the documents those factors are usually evidenced with.

Related guides:

• Relationship Evidence: What Works Best
• Spouse Visa UK: Complete Guide
• Spouse Visa Documents Checklist
• Biometrics: Complete Guide
• DIY vs Solicitor: When Do You Need Help?

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