The AFF Foreign & Commonwealth (F&C) team were at Tidworth Garrison Theatre last week, presenting to an audience of serving personnel, families and unit staff. Over 150 people attended and there was a lot of interaction and questions asked throughout the presentation!
AFF Manager England, Carole Rudd, was also on hand to speak to serving personnel, who mentioned how beneficial and informative the brief was, particularly in spreading awareness in the serving community about how complex this area is. Carole said: “People I spoke to also said how great it was to speak with the team face to face, to discuss their individual circumstances – these briefs are a must across the serving footprint going forward.”
Afterwards, many attendees took the opportunity to talk to the team on a one-to-one basis about their own personal circumstances and how to navigate issues they face. Issues raised included meeting the minimum income requirement, meeting the English Language requirement, secondary employment for soldiers, discharge, child citizenship eligibility and bringing parents over to live in the UK.
Daniel Coughlan, SSgt 15th Signal Regiment at Perham Down, who was at the brief, said: “I highly encourage any of you who need to obtain information or need to get in contact with anything regarding your visa and applications for immigration to get in touch with the AFF team. They have level 2 advisors who directly consult with the Home Office, they are fantastic and they will support you.”
AFF F&C Specialist, Katherine Houlston, said “These presentations are a great opportunity for us to explain the immigration journey, to highlight specific issues and to outline how AFF can advocate on behalf of the non-UK community. It was good to see so many in attendance and so much engagement, lots of people who came along were able to have their specific questions answered. If you think that your unit would benefit from a presentation from the team then please let us know.”
AFF’s Foreign & Commonwealth team are qualified immigration advisors, who can provide online or in-person briefs – please get in touch if you would like to organise a brief in your area. A member of our team will be at 17 Port and Maritime Regiment RLC, Marchwood, on Tuesday 27 November.
POSTED ON 21 NOVEMBER 2023