Applications to join foreign forces (Britian and Australia)

[Pieman]

I was born in Poland and i came to Canada 16 years ago and i have a Canadian citizenship. My Polish passport expired like 2 years ago and i have no means to fill for a new one. Anyway would i still be able to join the british army??

I am really not sure Jarko, I did not look into the dual citizen complication when I was reading through the material. I am just a plain old Canadian
You should contact the British recruiting center and ask them. If they say you would have to denounce one of your citizenships to join, then seriously think about that. You may regret dropping your Polish citizenship, if they asked you to...but then again, being a Paratrooper would be pretty cool, eh?

 

[1feral1]

In my post I am only referring to Australia, as I am not familiar with the British Army's joining instructions. As I did read the posts in this thread, I was suprised how things have changed there.


Cheers,

Wes

 

[jarko]

Alright i sent them an email, I'll post back when they reply.

 

[1feral1]

Nearly forgot, where I drink www.cronullarsl.com.au

These are our RSL's like the RCLs in Canada or VFWs in the USA.

Cheers,

Wes

 

[jarko]

I still havent got a clear reply from them.

Anyway i sent a letter to them about the application, PIEMAN is there anyway you could scan the application to me or either photocopy it and send it to me by mail. I would pay you for the copying and delivery charges. I get the feeling its going to take a while to actually get the application? How long did it take you??

Also,

This might be an idiotic question.

I was born in Poland and i came with my family to Canada when i was 3 years old from Poland. I have am 19 now and i have lived in Canada ever since. Am i still treated as a dual citizen?? I mean i got my Canadian citizenship when i was little. But i dont know if i am a citizen of Poland??

Sorry these thing are confusing me.

 

[Nat. Cap. Girl]

null, as far as I know, no military will take you if your a dual citizen, your have to denounce one of your citizenship's to enlist.

SERIOUSLY? I'm canadian (born in canada) but i also have my american citizenship... so does that mean i'll have to give up my american citizenship to join the canadian army?

 

[molossus]

I don't know if the rules have changed but I was a Royal Air Force policeman in the 80's. During my basic training we had (in no particular order) 2 Pakistanis, 1 Nigerian, 1 Jamaican, 1 Fijian, 2 Aussies, 1 Kiwi and a Canadian who joined up at the same time as me. The rules were to be that you had to be a British, Republic of Ireland or Commonwealth citizen to join. I know for a fact that is still the rule for the British police service.

Regards
Rich

 

[belkin81]

Thi But i dont know if i am a citizen of Poland??

Sorry these thing are confusing me.

LOL 100% chance if your born in poland...your a citizen of france....come on knucklehead!

Listen they have a live chat you and anyone else is interested can go and ask a offical U.K recruiter that will answer all your questions.
Go
http://www.army.mod.uk/careers/enquire/index.html and there is the link to the live chat (remember they are 4 hours ahead of us)

http://www.army.mod.uk/careers/enquire/application_process_soldier.html - Lists the application process...you will have to go overseas to do the tests, physical, medical.

 

[jarko]

God damit they just told me that people with dual nationalities cant join!!

Well i guess when i sign up i wont tell them anything about my Polish nationality since i havent been there for 16 years and i dont even remember the place. This is dumb! I was only 3 years old when i left. So practically i am a Canadian citizen and my nationality is Canadian.

BTW i am going to try to join the Royal military commandos

 

[Pieman]

PIEMAN is there anyway you could scan the application to me or either photocopy it and send it to me by mail.

Sorry, I already filled out my applicatoin form and sent it off. Just email the recruiters and give them your address. I got my forms in only a couple weeks via mail.

That is too bad they will not let you if you have a dual nationality, but I am not sure that if you simply don't tell them they won' t find out. At some point they will do a security clearance check and if they find out you lied you could get in some serious trouble. They only way to drop your Polish citizenship is to formally denounce it....and I have no idea how you would do that, and I think that would be a really silly thing to do just so you can serve in Britian.

An EU citizenship is a very very good thing to have, believe me. You are already entitled to work anywhere in Europe without a work permit. Think about that.

 

[belkin81]

An EU citizenship is a very very good thing to have, believe me. You are already entitled to work anywhere in Europe without a work permit. Think about that.

England isn't in the EU...

 

[BDTyre]

Sure it is; they joined in the 1970s, I believe.  They just don't use the Euro, and I can't say I blame them.

 

[Infanteer]

The bullshit is practically falling out of this thread....

 

[Pieman]

England isn't in the EU...

I was referring to jarko's Polish citizenship which makes him a EU citizen. And yes, the Brits are also in the EU.

 

[jarko]

Nah there is no way i will denounce my Polish citizenship. I know its good to have and even if the British army is kick ass, it's not enough to take me to that extreme. So its either the Canadian army or the FFL for me. I filled out the application for the Royal Military Commandos and put Canada as the place of birth. Although it probably won't work. It's always better to try than regret later. Also i dont understand why can't you get a dual nationality. Maybe if i get a waiver or something, because my situation is a little different. I am practically Canadian.

 

[1feral1]

You'd have to be mad to do the FFL thing. They treat their troops like crap, and I know of three ex-CF mbrs who AWOL'd at the high port to get out of it. They could not phathom the abuse.

If you are keen, stick with the British Commonwealth (where the most professional armies are), preferably the CF or try an inquiry down here. England too bloody cold and damp anyways. You can keep the dual nationality (POL/CDA), and infact you can hold 3 or more passports here. No restrictions.

The idea all seems to be full of adventure, and I have lived and done the most twisted things here with the Army, and I have met the most excellent people ever, let me tell ya. But remember, it has its drawbacks too. Otherwords, you cant fly home for the weekend, and it gives a new defination to the word independant.

Seriously weigh the pros and cons of living in another country and starting a total new life. It aint no holiday.

Regards,

Wes

 

[Pieman]

I already received a responce from the British Army (I sent my application express and it got there yesterday).   They emailed today and said that they were forwarding the medical questionare part of the application off to a medical Officer. That   medical review could take 6 weeks. After that they will contact me again.

Fast responce, I was kind of surprised.

 

[Pieman]

Things appear to be moving along:
I received a letter from the British Army Medical Officer with some forms that he wants me to take to my family Doctor. They want more details of my medical history.   I have six weeks to respond or they will close my file. The hard part here is I know my family doctor really hates filling out forms! This is going to take some coaxing.

 

[belkin81]

pieman, what was the reason for the additional medical request? Did you have a operation or broken bones or is it just standard. I ask because I have a friend applying also from PEI who had an operation on a rupsured apendix.

 

[Pieman]

Actually they wanted to know more about an allergy medication I took when I was younger. I used to have to take eye drops and a nose spray as I was allergic to grass and pretty much anything coloured green. I have not had allergies to anything since I was about 13, but I guess they want to know more. Should not be a problem as it was so long ago.

If your buddy had an operation he might want to consider going to his Dr. and getting a note beforehand saying what happened and that he is 100% recovered from it. If he includes that with his initial application, that may prevent them from sending similar forms that were sent to me. A possible time saver.