Commonwealth Apps

[DukesMW]

Hi guys,

I apologise in advance if this has been covered 10 million times on the forum!

Basically I'm from England. Born and bred, 20 years old now. Not a huge fan of the place to be honest, it's alright but I'd rather move on to pastures new and all that.

The British Army accepts Commonwealth applications - in fact my friend who recently joined the infantry had a platoon that had four South Africans and two Aussies in it. They didn't have a hard time getting in really.

I wondered what the deal is with Commonwealth apps to the Canadian Forces? Probably difficult! I'm an IT technician at the minute.

Many thanks in advance!

 

[Fiera]

I would like to join the Canadian Forces. What are the basic requirements?

You must meet the following minimal conditions: be a Canadian citizen; be at least 17 years of age (16 for the Reserves and Military College) with parental/guardian consent for minors; have successfully completed Grade 10 (Sec III in Quebec); some entry programs have additional academic prerequisites.

http://www.forces.ca/en/page/faq-101#joining-1

 

[Chilme]

DukesMW,

I would certainly speak with a recruiter.  The recruiters on Forces.ca are at the CF Recruiting Group HQ in Borden and are very knowledgeable.  They can give you a better whole picture response vs a local recruiter who may not have as much info outside their area.

 

[SevenSixTwo]

Hi guys,

I apologise in advance if this has been covered 10 million times on the forum!

Basically I'm from England. Born and bred, 20 years old now. Not a huge fan of the place to be honest, it's alright but I'd rather move on to pastures new and all that.

The British Army accepts Commonwealth applications - in fact my friend who recently joined the infantry had a platoon that had four South Africans and two Aussies in it. They didn't have a hard time getting in really.

I wondered what the deal is with Commonwealth apps to the Canadian Forces? Probably difficult! I'm an IT technician at the minute.

Many thanks in advance!

Sorry for replying to this thread I just wanted to fix one misconception. The British Army does not accept Commonwealth applications they accept applications from those BORN in a Commonwealth country. Which means, even if you are a citizen of a commonwealth country you cannot join the British army unless you were born in a commonwealth country.


EDIT: Information is outdated look below at my other post.

 

[Neill McKay]

Sorry for replying to this thread I just wanted to fix one misconception. The British Army does not accept Commonwealth applications they accept applications from those BORN in a Commonwealth country. Which means, even if you are a citizen of a commonwealth country you cannot join the British army unless you were born in a commonwealth country.

And must you also have lived in the Commonwealth for all of your life up to that point?  (I understand that to have been the case in the 1990s.)

 

[SevenSixTwo]

And must you also have lived in the Commonwealth for all of your life up to that point?  (I understand that to have been the case in the 1990s.)

Sorry, it appears I was wrong in my other post. I talked to a recruiter online just to get my facts straight and they said a UK, Irish or commonwealth citizen. It doesn't matter if you weren't born in the commonwealth country and it doesn't matter if you didn't live in that commonwealth country as long as you have a citizenship.

 

[British Army]

Hi guys,

I apologise in advance if this has been covered 10 million times on the forum!

Basically I'm from England. Born and bred, 20 years old now. Not a huge fan of the place to be honest, it's alright but I'd rather move on to pastures new and all that.

The British Army accepts Commonwealth applications - in fact my friend who recently joined the infantry had a platoon that had four South Africans and two Aussies in it. They didn't have a hard time getting in really.

I wondered what the deal is with Commonwealth apps to the Canadian Forces? Probably difficult! I'm an IT technician at the minute.

Many thanks in advance!

This was given to me by a CF recruiter during a live chat on forces.ca back in March 2009. I would imagine that the guide is still extant. Based on a recent conversation I had with my recruiting Captain, I would say that you have no chance whatsoever of being considered for enrolment until at least April 2011. In addition, unless you're already serving in the British forces it's almost guaranteed the CF will tell you to not bother applying until you've gained Permanent Residency (PR).  I know this is not what you want to hear and I sympathise, however, it's the reality of the current situation in terms of the CFs buoyant manning and retention.

 

[Kiwi99]

I served in the NZ Army for 5 years before applying to join the CF.  I was lucky, having citizenship through my father.  However, without citizenship, even though NZ is a Commonwealth country and I had already served there, no citizenship or Perm Residence in Canada meant no applying.

However, once I did join, my commonwealth time was finally recognized after 4 years in the CF and I was back paid a tidy sum of $40,000 (which the Govt promptly clawed back half of).

 

[Ex_RMP]

I served in the NZ Army for 5 years before applying to join the CF.  I was lucky, having citizenship through my father.  However, without citizenship, even though NZ is a Commonwealth country and I had already served there, no citizenship or Perm Residence in Canada meant no applying.

However, once I did join, my commonwealth time was finally recognized after 4 years in the CF and I was back paid a tidy sum of $40,000 (which the Govt promptly clawed back half of).

I joined the Reg F last year as a PR, what do you mean by the above in regards to commonwealth time being recognised.  I completed 18 yrs with the British Army.  Any info you could give would be greatly appreciated.

 

[British Army]

I joined the Reg F last year as a PR, what do you mean by the above in regards to commonwealth time being recognised.  I completed 18 yrs with the British Army.  Any info you could give would be greatly appreciated.

I'd hazard a guess that when he enrolled they didn't recognize him as a skilled entrant. That would have impacted his entry rank, pay level and pay increment. They may now have recognized his skills via a PLAR and credited him accordingly, hence the back pay. I'm fortunate in that my PLAR was done prior to my enrollment offer being made and I'm being credited from the outset for my previous service at Level 6A-4.

 

[Chirch]

Hello.

I'm am originally from England, I moved to Canada about 6 years ago and few months ago I got my Canadian citizenship I have thought about going back to England to sign up for the army there but I just love it here to much to leave.

Basically I just have a few questions. I have been to the recruitment centre here in Edmonton and most of my questions have been answered already but I just have a few more.

1. If I joined the reserve how long will I have to wait before I could be transfered to fulltime?

2. Is it easier to get accepted for the reserve?

3. I recently got laid off and so I am unemployed could I do the full 13 weeks of training instead of training on the weekends?

I'm not looking for an easy way in as I know there isn't one I just want to take the best possible rout for being accepted into the Canadian Forces and have the chance to prove myself.

 

[Michael OLeary]

1. That depends on your trade of choice for Component Transfer (i.e., from Res to Reg F), it does not necessarily speed up the process.

2. No, same recruiting standards, and positions are limited to those available in your local unit(s).

3. The Basic training course you attend will depend on whether you are recruited into the Reserves of the Regular Force. The Res course is shorter, and you do not get to choose when or where you take it.

 

[Mudshuvel]

Welcome to Canada!

Unfortunately, we do not have the 'Commonwealth' applications as our British cousins overseas, but as a citizen of Canada, that doesn't matter.

If you're looking to go to reserves then to reg force, sometimes its better just to go regular force. Reasoning behind that is transfers from PRes to Reg can take longer than getting into Regular Forces. As for BMQ, you can not go to St. Jean or Borden since with Reserves you train with your platoon on either weekend or summer BMQs, unfortunately there is no other option.

As for ease of getting into either, it's neither easier and in some cases not any quicker either. For reserves, you need to check into your local Garrisons to see if there are any positions open, then you need to walk into a recruiting center like the rest of us in which you go through the same security checks and medicals. As for you, you will need to go through a bit more extensive of a background check since you obviously lived out of Canada for an extended period of time. You are from a commonwealth and NATO country which makes the process a little easier, but expect a bit more of a delay in the application times.

The search function at the top isn't perfect, but google and that search option should be able to yield anymore information as you are definitely not the first foreign-born citizen to apply who has the same questions.

Good luck!

 

[Fiera]

Be warned this is from what I have read and been told myself. It could very well be inaccurate or outdated information.

1. If I joined the reserve how long will I have to wait before I could be transfered to fulltime?
This heavily depends upon what trade you are, if there are spaces available in the regular force and whether they're accepting applications for transfer. As anything else to do with the military/government I would say it'll be about as fast as molasses if everything is in order. Not saying that it cannot be done, but I would expect it to take several months on the low end.

2. Is it easier to get accepted for the reserve?
No easier than anything else. The reserves still has the same recruiting process as the regular forces however you are required to do your physical fitness testing prior to enrollment as there will not be a time to get you in shape as there would in regular force BMQ. How easy it will be to enroll will also depend on trade, availability at the reserve unit you are applying to, and funding to hire new soldiers among the other usual hoopla.

3. I recently got laid off and so I am unemployed could I do the full 13 weeks of training instead of training on the weekends?
No. The full length BMQ is regular force training. I have only heard of a full time BMQ being attended by a reservist on a handful of occasions and to my understanding it is neither readily available nor offered as an option. I would imagine this has something to do with the number of days per month/year that a reservist is allowed to work as the full time course would eat that up extremely quickly.

All that being said, If I'm wrong I will surely be corrected and told not to give advice  ;D Apologies if that is the case.

 

[Mudshuvel]

No Fiera, you did good.

The 'exceptions' for reserve recruits going to full BMQ that you mentioned, I have heard of. Someone I know who applied for a PRes Naval Reserves had himself and a few more applicants go through St. Jean for the full course. Only exception I've personally heard of.

 

[Chirch]

WOW  Thank you for the quick replys haha

Yeah i thought as much. Also is there a time of the year in which it is better to apply?

 

[Mudshuvel]

WOW  Thank you for the quick replys haha

Yeah i thought as much. Also is there a time of the year in which it is better to apply?

Hiring figures are coming out in the next week or so to see what trades are open for how many people. I'd say go now.

 

[Neill McKay]

The 'exceptions' for reserve recruits going to full BMQ that you mentioned, I have heard of. Someone I know who applied for a PRes Naval Reserves had himself and a few more applicants go through St. Jean for the full course. Only exception I've personally heard of.

My information is dated, but I believe that all Naval Reserve NCMs take the full BMQ at St. Jean (or, at some times, Borden).

 

[kratz]

My information is dated incorrect

NavRes conducts it's BMQ full-time at NRTD Borden. This training has been in Borden since NRTD stood up in 2003.

 

[Neill McKay]

NavRes conducts it's BMQ full-time at NRTD Borden. This training has been in Borden since NRTD stood up in 2003.

Good enough -- but what I was getting at is that all NavRes NCMs take the full reg-force equivalent BMQ rather than the local or regional course offered in the army reserve.