British passport interview: the process and the potential questions.
At present nearly everyone has to appear for an interview before he or she is issued with a British Passport. The main purpose of the interview is to establish your identity and to make sure that the passport is being given to the right person.
Once your original documents have been sent back from the Passport Office, you receive a letter to book your interview, and once the appointment has been made, you are all set for the interview.
On the day of the interview at the passport office, they first check you in on a computer, and you are asked to confirm your name and address. After your preliminary details have been checked, you might be asked to wait before the interview is conducted.
A few points to note regarding the interview is that you will NOT be allowed to refer to any documents during the interview and you will need to answer the questions from your memory.
(a) You are generally not allowed to have someone to accompany you during the interview.
(b) English is the only language that will be used during the interview and if someone has difficulty speaking or understanding it, then it is important that the issue is discussed with the Passport Office PRIOR to booking the interview.
(c) The interview is relatively short and on average can finish in around 20 – 30 minutes. And the questions are quite straightforward and easy to understand on average.
Now the question: The potential questions that you might be asked will be …
Questions regarding your name:
What is your full name?
How do you spell your name?
What is your first, last name?
Questions regarding your address:
What is your address?
Can you confirm your current address?
Where were you living before moving to your current address?
What is your postcode?
What type of property do you live in?
How many bedrooms are in the property?
How long have you lived at this address?
Do you own the property?
Questions regarding your bills:
Which is your gas company?
Which is your car insurance company?
Who is your telephone provider?
Who do you bank with?
Questions regarding your husband or wife:
When did she/he move to the UK?
What work does he/she do?
Where did you meet?
Where did you get married?
How long have you been married?
Questions regarding your children:
How many children do you have?
How old are they?
What is the name of their school?
Questions regarding your parents:
What is your mother’s/father’s name?
What are their dates of birth?
Where do they live?
How many brothers/sisters do you have?
Questions regarding yourself:
When did you first come to the UK?
What do you do?
Where do you work?
How long have you been working?
Questions regarding your naturalisation:
When were you naturalised?
How many people attended the ceremony?
Where did the ceremony take place?
Questions regarding your previous nationality and passport:
What are you going to do with your previous passport?
Where was it issued?
Questions regarding the signatory (the referee who signed your application):
What is his or her profession?
What is his/her name?
How do you know him/her?
Where does she/he work?
Further points: If you cannot remember or recall the exact answer to any specific question, give the nearest or approximate answer.
Ask to clarify or rephrase a question if you did not understand it.
Do not elaborate on your answers if you don’t have to.
Answer to the best of your knowledge.
At the end of the interview, you are asked to sign within a box on a piece of paper; probably to match your signature against the one which you did on the passport form, and are told to contact the Passport Office if you don’t hear anything within the next 14 days.
You are generally not told if the interview was successful or not, however, it sometimes depends on the discretion of the interviewing officer.
But if you believe the interview went well or if you feel that you answered the questions well, then most probably it did go well!
The Passport Office sends you a text on your mobile (the one you provided when filling out your passport application form) within 24 or 48 hours from the day of your interview confirming when your passport will be with you.
And the passport itself arrives within the next 2-3 working days.