The Army is currently not inviting applications from Commonwealth nationals residing overseas. Please see Non-UK nationals | The British Army for more information. If you are in the UK already you will be able to enlist through the standard route if you have at least three years of residency. You will need your visa to be valid throughout the whole process. AFF cannot assist with the recruitment process but we can assist with any visa extensions required during the process – see below.
Useful guides for new recruits
Back to topIf you are invited to travel to the UK to attend an assessment centre you are required to have a visa (or entry clearance) which is valid for at least six months in order to go through the assessment process. You should not travel to the UK any earlier than advised in your letter inviting you to attend assessment in the UK. The earlier you come to the UK, the less time you will have on the visa to complete the process.
Once in the UK you may receive a medical deferral during the assessment process, in order to have further medical tests or treatments. You will need to arrange these appointments yourself and may need to pay privately as you are not entitled to use the National Health Service. You should ensure that you meet the required medical standards before you come to the UK.
If your visa is due to expire while you are deferred you will either need to return to your home country, or apply for an extension. Recruiting Group have now confirmed that it is not necessary for your visa extension application to have been granted in order to be given a basic training start date. As long as you have submitted an application before your current visa expires then you will be considered to be legally in the UK until a decision has been made on the new application. If you need to apply for an extension, please contact the F&C Team and we will guide you through it.
The kind of application you will need to make will depend on the visa you currently have. If you submit an application you should not have your biometrics taken. As long as you haven’t had your biometrics taken by the time you start basic training, you will be able to get a refund on the application cost.
You are enlisted into the Army at the start of the SPC course or Basic Training. Your exemption from immigration control will start on the same day – you will therefore be legally in the UK under section 8(4)(a) of the Immigration Rules from the date of enlistment. Any visa you had prior to this will be cancelled or will be put on hold, depending on the visa that you had. You are not required to apply for an extension of the visa you had before enlisting.
Your passport should be sent off to the Home Office so that an ‘exempt stamp’ can be affixed to it. The exempt stamp is evidence of your right to enter and remain in the UK during service. More information about the expempt stamp and how to have it transferred to a new passport can be found in the Unit Guide Part 3 (see the link at the top of this page).
Unfortunately at this time you will not be given access to an eVisa so you will not be able to create a share code. If you have problems evidencing your status in the UK because you don’t have an eVisa, please get in contact with us.
Back to topIf you do not pass the SPC course or basic training, you will be discharged and your exempt status will be cancelled. You will have 28 days to remain in the UK until you become an overstayer. If you were already in the UK on a visa which was issued for more than six months you may be able to switch back onto that visa, please contact the F&C team for advice. In most cases though it’s likely that you will need to return to your home country even if you were discharged for an injury which is considered to be attributable to service. AFF has more information about medical discharges.
Your training unit should refer your case to the non-UK caseworker at Regional Command in the first instance in order to ensure that they are providing you with the correct support.
You may be eligible to make a free application for ILR if you are discharging medically, but in most cases an application for leave to remain will be refused and you will be given a Notice of liability for removal, which may only grant you a week to leave the UK before you become an overstayer. You will also not be able to work while you are waiting for the decision on the application. If you do not leave the UK voluntarily and you become an overstayer in the UK, you will not be able to re-enlist in the future and once you return home you will find it more difficult to re-enter the UK. Your training unit should refer your case to the non-UK caseworker at Regional Command in the first instance in order to ensure that they are providing you with the correct support.
You should also be aware that if you came to the UK on a visit visa to enlist, you won’t be able to re-enlist from within the UK even if you have received paperwork which suggests that you have been deferred for six or twelve months. The recruiting pipeline is currently closed so you won’t be able to re-enlist until it opens again. You will also not be able to apply for a new visa from within the UK. You will have to return to your home country until the recruiting pipeline opens again.
Back to topIt may be possible to switch if you make an application prior to your exempt stamp being cancelled. However strict requirements will need to be met. See the Government advice on study in the UK or working in the UK. You will need to seek alternative immigration advice about these routes as the AFF F&C team is not able to provide advice. However the F&C team can refer you to an immigration advisor they trust.