The British Army has made it clear that applicants invited to go to the UK to attend the assessment phase of the recruitment process would be at the candidate’s own expense.
The British High Commission says there would be no offer of a role in the Army until the assessment stage has been successfully completed and that a training space becomes available and is allocated to the candidate.
The British High Commissioner to Fiji Melanie Hopkins has urged Fijians who were invited for interviews and assessments to the UK and whose visas are about to expire to return to Fiji and wait for suitable opportunities to arise.
Hopkins says that not returning on time can have implications, including not being able to return to the UK for further processes.
She says until these parameters are met, there can be no assistance with any visa application.
Hopkins adds that she is pleased to hear that Fijians are keen to join the British Armed Forces and that the British Army receives such an overwhelming response when opportunities arise.
In May 2016, the UK Ministry of Defence announced that following consultation with the Home Office the current five year UK Residency requirements would be waived for Commonwealth citizens recruited to fill up to 200 roles per annum in the Regular Armed Forces which require specialist skills.
The five year UK residency criteria, which was re‑introduced by the Ministry of Defence in July 2013, remains in place for all other roles.
These specialist roles are not all in the Army.
