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UK armed forces to scrap residency requirement for foreign recruits Foreign nationals to be allowed to join British army
(about 1 hour later)
Foreign nationals will be eligible to join the armed forces in greater numbers, ministers are to announce on Monday, with British residency requirements for service to be scrapped. Foreign nationals will be allowed to join the British army despite never having lived in the country, ministers will reveal as part of plans to help stem a worsening recruitment crisis in the armed forces.
The ministry of defence will remove the need for commonwealth citizens to have lived in the UK for five years before applying for service. An extra 1,350 personnel from overseas are hoped to be enlisted to the the navy, army and air force every year. The Ministry of Defence is expected to announce on Monday that it will no longer require those joining the armed services from Commonwealth countries such as Australia, India, Canada, Kenya and Fiji to have lived in Britain for five years.
The armed forces have struggled to recruit enough personnel to fill a shortfall in their ranks. Applicants from nations including India, Australia, Canada and Fiji will be considered for all roles in the forces, without having lived in the UK. Under the policy, recruits will be considered for all forces including the Royal Navy and the RAF, with applications opening in early 2019. It is hoped the changes will lead to an extra 1,350 people joining every year. The army will begin the admissions process from early next year, while the navy and RAF will start immediately. Applications from citizens of countries outside the Commonwealth will not be accepted.
Until now, they had to have resided in Britain for five years and their recruitment was capped at a maximum of 200 per year. The army will begin the admissions from early next year, while the navy and RAF will commence the process immediately. “Foreign and Commonwealth troops have historically been important and valued sources of recruitment for the British arm and I welcome the recruitment limit increase,” Mark Francois, a member of the defence select committee, told the Daily Telegraph, which first published details of the plan.
Other than the Nepalese Gurkhas and applicants from the Republic of Ireland who can enrol under a special arrangement, those from outside the commonwealth will still need British citizenship to apply. The UK armed forces are short of 8,200 soldiers, sailors and air personnel, a report found earlier this year, the worse shortage since 2010.
In April, a National Audit Office report said the full-time military was running at a 5.7% shortfall. An extra 8,2000 regulars and 2,400 engineers were needed to fill the “largest gap in a decade”, the report said, while intelligence analysts and pilots were also in demand. The government allows 200 Commonwealth citizens who have not lived in Britain for five years to apply, a rule introduced in 2016. But now the cap will be lifted. Special rules already allow citizens of Ireland and Gurkhas from Nepal to join the armed forces because of special rules.
Defence policy MPs said the move highlighted a crisis in recruitment, taking aim at Capita, the business service provider that runs the army’s recruitment campaign. Francois, who spent a year meeting MoD officials and military personnel, said: “The army is disappearing before our eyes and will continue to do so until Capita are sacked.”
A Capita spokesman said it was confident changes it was introducing would deliver “[better] outcomes for candidates and the army”.
Concern was also raised in April’s National Audit Office report that there were “much larger shortfalls” in the number of engineers, pilots and intelligence analysts. It said the air force iswas undertaking more missions than it had for a quarter of a century.
And a Conservative MP’s report in July 2017 warned that the armed forces were “hollowing out” due to recruitment issues.
Francois described factors leading to a recruitment crisis as the “perfect storm”, citing high employment rates and an ageing population as reasons behind a fall in numbers. He also said an increase in obesity and a rising proportion of black, Asian and minority ethnic people – who he said had until now been less likely to apply for military service – were also behind the fall.
Francois recommended that attempts be made to attract more black, Asian and minority ethnic recruits, as well as getting more women to join.
Last month, it was announced that women would be allowed to apply for all roles in the British military for the first time, including in frontline infantry units and the Royal Marines. New rules mean women will also be able to put themselves forward for selection for specialist units including the SAS and SBS.
The defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, made the announcement during a land power demonstration on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.
British army
Military
Ministry of DefenceMinistry of Defence
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