UK armed forces for dual nationals

[daveAustin]

Have searched the forum but can’t find anything definitive on this. My son is dual national (Thai/British) wanting to join the UK forces, but due to Thai national service the UK requires a letter from the Thai military waiving conscription – or documentation that might show it would not required for those living outside Thailand. I'm told obtaining such a letter from the Thai military might be possible after he has initially registered there from the age of 17-18. Problem is, he is not yet 16 but is at the age where he can apply for the UK forces.

 

Hoping someone who has been in this predicament can shed light on this…

 

Cheers

[grollies]

My stepson is dual Thai/British nationality and served 8 years in the British Army. He had lived in the UK from aged 14. I'll ask him your questions and get back to you tomorrow.

[daveAustin]

Thanks

[Celer et Audax]

Thanks

I assume your son is living in the Uk and has UK citizenship and also speaks English so perhaps the best option is for him not to declare his Thai citizenship when applying to join the British army
But he cannot join the regular army until he is 17 however he can join at 16 in a junior leaders scheme (infantry) which on completion at 17 will then mean he is fast tracked to a JNCO position with the regiment he is affiliated during his time as a junior leader or start an army apprenticeship with a support arm such as the Royal Engineers/REME at the army apprentice college in Chepstow
This was how it worked in my day (1984) but things may well have changed since then
But good luck to him if he chooses to do this because he will make lifelong friends who will always have his back
CetA


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[daveAustin]

Hi there,

 

Thanks for your comment. Yes, has citizenship, fluent in both languages. Not declaring dual nationality is tricky as if, likely when, found out you're looking at discharge, loss of pension and possibly even doing time etc. UK still takes on 16 year olds ('child' soldiers); application age for army is 15 years, 7 months - though of course cannot be deployed to the 'front line'. I'll look more into junior nco option. But ultimately depends on this documentation which is proving tough to acquire. They won't touch him without paperwork from Thai gov/'military (same thing ). Alternative is to hang on, try for A levels and get in at officer level couple years down the line. 

 

Despite its diminish'ment of late, still think UK military is a great option for the young - along with the A1 training, discipline, fitness and life skills (and getting paid of course), that camaraderie is second to none. 

 

All the best.

[grollies]

@daveAustin

Had a chat with step son. He's now 40 and served in the British Army from 18 - 26 years of age.

 

There was no requirement then for a letter you are describing from the Thai military.

 

Are you and your family currently UK-based?

 

If so, in any case, if your son were to return to Thailand in the future, but past Thai conscription age, he will need a letter to prove he was exempt from conscription if he wanted to work in Thailand. Apparently, every Thai man gets a piece of paper saying he has attended the 'lottery draw'.

 

Saying that, my step son has no such letter and still managed to work?

 

Your best bet if you live in the UK is to get in touch with the Thai Embassy.

 

Good luck.

[daveAustin]

Thanks for checking.

 

In UK. Yeah, tried the embassy, they say the same - deferment paperwork can be sought from 17-18, which is the documentation you speak of required by Thai military when Thai males are overseas/uni/'unavailable'. Everything is tougher nowadays, recruitment in general was straightforward in the '80s. Surprised this hasn't come up here more often though; more so that UK recruitment haven't come across it for younger dual national recruits.

 

Cheers

[grollies]

Let us know how you get on, yeah the bureaucracy can be a nightmare. Good career for a young lad though.

[BlueScouse]

My son did a year in the Thai army, volunteered, and then wanted to join the British Army.

Took him to England, informed the recruiting office about doing national service and being a dual national

No problem. Only problem was that there was a 2 year residency period requirement , even for UK nationals.

On the army website there is a section where you can send messages and "talk"to someone and get answers to your queries.

My son will have been in UK for 2 years in a few months, and then will apply.

[grollies]

3 hours ago, BlueScouse said:

My son did a year in the Thai army, volunteered, and then wanted to join the British Army.

Took him to England, informed the recruiting office about doing national service and being a dual national

No problem. Only problem was that there was a 2 year residency period requirement , even for UK nationals.

On the army website there is a section where you can send messages and "talk"to someone and get answers to your queries.

My son will have been in UK for 2 years in a few months, and then will apply.

Good info for the OP, nice one.

[daveAustin]

On 4/29/2019 at 9:07 AM, BlueScouse said:

My son did a year in the Thai army, volunteered, and then wanted to join the British Army.

Took him to England, informed the recruiting office about doing national service and being a dual national

No problem. Only problem was that there was a 2 year residency period requirement , even for UK nationals.

On the army website there is a section where you can send messages and "talk"to someone and get answers to your queries.

My son will have been in UK for 2 years in a few months, and then will apply.

Thanks for the input. Interesting. Your boy has done his time in the Thai military so they wouldn't be after him for conscription, though surprised the AFCO in UK hadn't mentioned paperwork/letter required from the Thai military to document this. Might be worth arming yourself just in case they chase it up when applying. There's a section on dual nationality when applying online which mentions the above. 

 

There is of course the residency waiver bit as well, outlining one's residency during the past 5 years and gaining references.

 

Regards dual nationality, as you say there is no issue there at all on the UK side, apart from when the other has national service attached to it. And our issue is age, being below age of registration (in Thailand) which has us in no-man's land by the looks.

 

Thanks for pointing out the chat option, I'd forgotten about that.

 

All the best, I'm sure the lad will love it.

 

[evadgib]

UK recruiting staff erroneously told me that there was a 5 year residency clause for DN's which I knew full well was baloney; It later transpired that they didn't know the difference between DN's & Commonwealth applicants which are entirely different. A good place to ask questions is in the correct section of ARRSE.

 

(Commonwealth citizens should note that the residency clause was reduced/removed a few months ago if anyone is considering joining)

 

HTH

[daveAustin]

Indeed, there's a fair amount of ambiguity over this, and as you point out the 5 year thing was a prior requirement for Commonwealths (to which certain roles remain restricted).

 

Still haven't managed to track down the elusive paperwork, but thankfully we've got a switched-on afco on the case. Never got much feedback from navy-net, though arrse is a mine of info.

 

Cheers