Nationality and immigration requirements for the UK’s armed forces

Who can join the UK armed forces? Nationality and residence requirements

People applying to join the UK’s armed forces must be a citizen of Britain, the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland (either as a sole or dual national). Nepalese Gurkha soldiers serve under special and unique arrangements. They remain citizens of Nepal during their service in the Brigade of Gurkhas in the British Army.

There’s no requirement for a Commonwealth citizen to be resident in the UK before applying to the UK armed forces.

Immigration arrangements for military migrants and their family members

Non-British citizens who enlist in the UK armed forces automatically become exempt from UK immigration control. This means that they don’t need immigration permission or a visa to enter and remain in the UK while they are serving in the military.

Once their service has ended, veterans must either apply for permission to remain in the UK or leave the country. If veterans have at least four years’ service, they may be eligible to apply to stay permanently.

Non-British family members of armed forces members are not exempt from immigration control. They may be eligible for temporary permission to stay as a family member if the sponsoring family member meets the financial (minimum) income requirement of £23,496 per year and other eligibility criteria are met.

Topical issues

Between 2019 and 2021, the Home Office said it was “listening carefully” to stakeholders’ concerns that some immigration requirements might unfairly affect military migrants and their families.

Examples raised by campaigners included the (in)adequacy of historical measures to ensure military migrants were aware of the need to apply for an immigration status after discharge, and remedies available to those who failed to apply. Campaigners also said they were concerned about the minimum income requirement for military migrants to sponsor partner and family visas, as well as the cost of visa application fees and the absence of specific fee waivers/concessions.

Immigration fee waiver from 2022

In May 2021, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) launched a public consultation on a proposal for an immigration fee waiver for non-British armed forces personnel.

In February 2022, the government formally responded to the consultation and confirmed that it would waive immigration fees for those with at least six years’ service and those who are discharged because of an illness or injury attributable to their service.

The fee waiver – which came into force on 6 April 2022 – does not apply retrospectively, and the government does not offer to reimburse immigration fees service personnel have already paid.

While stakeholders broadly welcomed the fee waiver, some have expressed disappointment about the scope of the policy change. The armed forces charity Help for Heroes said the policy should have been extended to include the families of non-UK service personnel.

Labour manifesto commitment

Labour announced in its 2024 election manifesto that it would “scrap visa fees for non-UK veterans who have served for four or more years, and their dependents”. This would apply the fee waiver to more people than are currently eligible by reducing the qualifying length of service from six years to four years and extending the fee waiver to their dependents.