Joining UK Armed Forces

[daftandbarmy]

Is it possible to transfer to a British Unit.  I have the legal right of abode in the UK by way of an ancestral VISA?  If it is possible, does anyone know the procedure?

If you do go over, make sure you get as much dental work done as possible here. Yes really.

Oh, and stock up on vitamin C, plugs for the sink and MEC stuff in general.  ;D

 

[MikeL]

Because you asked if you can transfer to a British unit

Are you currently a Canadian Forces member? Or just a Canadian civilian who wishes to join the British Military?

 

[Bryanstorring]

Hey, so the title is basically explaining my question. Does anyone have any experience going into the British Armed Forces as a Canadian citizen? And how does it work? For example do i have to live in the UK for a few years before joining up? I wouldnt be going for another 2 years or so but i am extremely interested in either Canadian or British military. Sorry if this has been asked before, but ive searched around and either A) My searching skills suck, or B) there is nothing out there on this issue. And i do know that any Commonwealth country can join up with the Brits.

 

[MikeL]

There is some info regarding that on this forum.

IMO your best bet for current/up to date info is to contact the British Army, Navy, etc directly and get info regarding commonwealth citizens joining from them.

From what I remember though it will be costly,  as you are responsible for your own transport and hotel(or whatever) fees as you will be required to go to the UK for testing, etc.

 

[Bryanstorring]

Alright, is their testing similar to our testing here?

 

[CougarKing]

Bryan, please check your PM inbox.

 

[mariomike]

Hey, so the title is basically explaining my question.

This may help.

The "Wanting To Join Another Military" Thread- Them To Us- Us To Them 
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/18494.0

Canadian looking to join British forces 
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/105251.0

JOINING THE ROYAL MARINES 
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/97642.0

Canadian Thinking of Joining the BRITISH army for a few reasons........ 
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/24295.0.html

Canadians seeking future career in British Army look here 
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/22841.0

 

[MikeL]

Alright, is their testing similar to our testing here?

I don't know as I've never done it.  Have you visited any of the British recruiting websites for their Army, Navy/Marines and RAF?  I'm sure a lot of this info can be found there.  Also by contacting them and asking questions.

 

[The Bread Guy]

This may help.

The "Wanting To Join Another Military" Thread- Them To Us- Us To Them 
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/18494.0

Canadian looking to join British forces 
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/105251.0

JOINING THE ROYAL MARINES 
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/97642.0

Canadian Thinking of Joining the BRITISH army for a few reasons........ 
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/24295.0.html

Canadians seeking future career in British Army look here 
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/22841.0

.... with the last three threads merged into this one - enjoy, and good luck!

 

[Bryanstorring]

Alright so I have done my searching and i have come up with two sconclusions. My main question is do i need some sort of travel Visa for the British army? I have read both yes and no, no being it falls outside of the immigration act. To be honest ive never really travelled outside of Canada so the whole travel visa thing confuses me. From you experiences(if anyone has any) did you need a work visa? Or some other kind of Visa? Or did you even need one at all?

 

[mariomike]

Alright so I have done my searching and i have come up with two sconclusions. My main question is do i need some sort of travel Visa for the British army? I have read both yes and no, no being it falls outside of the immigration act. To be honest ive never really travelled outside of Canada so the whole travel visa thing confuses me. From you experiences(if anyone has any) did you need a work visa? Or some other kind of Visa? Or did you even need one at all?

Canadians seeking future career in British Army look here 
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/22841.0

 

[241]

And if that thread doesn't work I am sure that the British Armed Forces has a recruiting website with a method for you to ask them, I am sure they would know....

 

[Bryanstorring]

Alright thanks! The Recruiters dont go on their chat till 1 in the morning for me as i live in Vancouver British Columbia lol. And they off by now, so i will check with them tonight but this helps so thanks again.

 

[Bryanstorring]

And if that thread doesn't work I am sure that the British Armed Forces has a recruiting website with a method for you to ask them, I am sure they would know....

Damn that thread didnt supply the info i was looking for, or i just missed it.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Canadians seeking future career in British Army look here 
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/22841.0

And we have a merge....

Milnet.ca Staff

 

[daftandbarmy]

Alright so I have done my searching and i have come up with two sconclusions. My main question is do i need some sort of travel Visa for the British army? I have read both yes and no, no being it falls outside of the immigration act. To be honest ive never really travelled outside of Canada so the whole travel visa thing confuses me. From you experiences(if anyone has any) did you need a work visa? Or some other kind of Visa? Or did you even need one at all?

Whatever you do, decide on the regiment you want to join and make contact with them first. Send a well written letter to the Regimental Colonel. It will help a lot in the recruiting process as the British Army is not like us.... what the regiment wants, the regiment generally gets recruiting wise.

 

[Kirkhill]

'The current Commonwealth recruitment rules which require five years UK residency have therefore been reviewed, and the residency requirements will be waived to allow for 200 Commonwealth citizens per annum to be recruited to fill a limited number of roles in the Regular Armed Forces which require specialist skills.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3587925/Army-calls-foreign-fighters-bolster-forces-200-Commonwealth-recruits-able-join-bid-make-perilous-manpower-shortages.html#ixzz48V9adhuO
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

- mod edit to fancy-shmancy up thread title -

 

[Ostrozac]

Weren't the Brits pink-slipping members through their redundancy program as recently as 2014? I guess they must have chopped much too deep.

With all the flaws of our late, great FRP program from the early 90's -- it was generous, and nobody was forced out the door. The UK force reduction programs have been less generous and not at all voluntary.

 

[Kirkhill]

And their back-up plan, enhanced Reserves, hasn't worked out too well for them either.

 

[CougarKing]

Chris,

I did a bit more digging and here's what I found:

*Although people from Commonwealth nations such as Canada are again allowed to join, it will only be for a limited amount of trades. Back in 2013, the recruiting of Commonwealth citizens without UK residency was ended and potential recruits had to have lived in the UK at least 5 years as "on indefinite leave" which is another term for permanent residency.

According to your post, it was restarted this year, allowing up to 200 to be annually recruited from Commonwealth nations without requiring residency.

Here's some info on the British Army Recruiting site to confirm:

The British Army has welcomed soldiers from Commonwealth countries for many years. The service that they give, helps the Armed Forces defend the UK at home and abroad.

There has been a change to the rules for people joining from across the Commonwealth. We now have a selection of Army roles, that you don't need to meet the residency requirements for.

Here's the list of jobs that are open to Commonwealth recruits:

-Medical Technician
-Logistic Supply Specialist
-Chef
-General Fitter
-Comms Logistics
-Metalsmith
-Recovery Mechanic
-Vehicle Mechanic
-Petroleum Operator
-Marine Engineer
-Gunner Logistic Specialist
-Engineering Logistic Specialist

*Joining and serving in any of the above trades will make one eligible for UK citizenship once they have served 5 years.

British Army recruiting site link

Citizenship and nationality

You don't need to have British Citizenship to serve in the Armed Forces. If you want to naturalise, you'll need to pay all costs and make sure that you can meet the Home Office's criteria. You can apply for citizenship after you've served for 5 years.

From what I can find, this new initiative seems to only apply to the Army, not the RAF or the Royal Navy.

When it comes to the RN though, I did come across a certain Operation Faraday about a program to recruit up to 500 trained engineers from Canada or India, because of the RN's critical lack of personnel trained in certain trades. I'm not sure about the current state of this program.

Express

EXCLUSIVE: Skills shortage leads Royal Navy to recruit overseas
THE Royal Navy is so sort of engineers that it is being forced to recruit in India and Canada.
By Marco Giannangeli
PUBLISHED: 14:00, Sat, Feb 14, 2015 | UPDATED: 18:21, Fri, Mar 20, 2015

Under new proposals, qualified engineers will be allowed to join the senior service directly at officer level for the first time in its history, leapfrogging junior ranks to secure higher salaries.

    Like all branches of the Armed Forces, we have a proportion of Commonwealth nationals serving aboard our ships already. But we have been forced to expand the search

Once there, they are to be “incentivised” to stay on, with one-off bonuses worth thousands of pounds.

The Royal Navy is short of around 500 engineers and has launched the unprecedented move, codenamed Operation Faraday, to ensure it has the skilled manpower needed to operate its new Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers by the time the first one is launched in 2020.

The problem echoes a “crisis level” shortage of engineers in Britain, which has led to a spike in salaries across the profession.

According to Engineering UK, Britain needs to recruit 1.8 million engineers by 2022 in order just to “stand still”.  However, of the 600,000 16-year-olds currently taking both Maths and Science at GSCE level every year, only 7,000 actually become engineers after university.

A senior Royal Navy source said: “Like all branches of the Armed Forces, we have a proportion of Commonwealth nationals serving aboard our ships already. But we have been forced to expand the search.

“Canada, for instance, has vessels laid up so Canadian naval engineers will benefit, too.

“We are generally a bottom-fed organisation, meaning we recruit people in most junior levels to inculcate them in military discipline and develop them. But, we are now looking for the first time at trying to bring people in at a sideways level – from Petty Officer rank (middle management) upwards.

Dr Rhys Morgan has warned the Royal Navy situation was reaching crisis levels

“We are having to explore that possibility to incentivise people to join the Navy from industry. We need to unlock all the elements.

“In some specialisations where we need to retain people, such as nuclear engineers, senior ratings and Petty Officers, we are offering financial retention incentives. This will be a one off taxable lump sum to stay for another three years."

Dr Rhys Morgan, of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said the situation was reaching crisis levels.

“We need almost two million more engineers by 2022, but we are not producing anything near the number,” he said.

“Teenagers are not choosing technical subjects and engineering has an image problem. The public perception is still that engineering is about fixing your boiler of your car.

“They realise medicine and law are professions, and know about bankers’ salaries, but aren’t aware that Engineering is the second highest paid profession, after medicine, following graduation.”

He said the industry was about to “relaunch itself” in the public’s imagination in a bid to appeal to a broader range of candidates.

“We are still 10th in the world in terms of output manufacturing, so we remain a major player. Dyson might have moved his manufacturing abroad, but all the design is still done in Wiltshire.

“So we are going to highlight the interesting careers that come out of engineering. It’s less about focusing on Maths and Physics, and more about creativity, design, innovation, entrepreneurship and problem solving which are interesting to young people,” he said.

“Whether it’s the Shard or Crossrail, people need to see the applications."

A spokesman for the MoD said: “The Royal Navy is leading the way with an innovative package of measures designed to address the engineering manpower challenges in what is a highly competitive employment market.

“These initiatives are now taking shape and the Royal Navy continues to meet its operational commitments and offer exciting career opportunities.”

This post should serve as a further reference for other Canadians who are considering to cross the pond and serve there, much like the way another Canadian named Jake Olafsen served in the Royal Marines and wrote a book about it.