THE British High Commission has clarified that Fijians who have not progressed from the British Army’s assessment phase will have to return home once their visas expire.
British High Commissioner to Fiji, Melanie Hopkins clarified this with regards to Fijians who travelled to the UK last year in the hope of securing one of 200 British Army positions allocated for Commonwealth citizens.
Ms Hopkins said these conditions had been made clear to those travelling to the UK. She said the army had made clear to applicants that any invitation to come to the UK to attend the assessment phase of the recruitment process would be at candidates’ own expense.
“There would be no offer of a role in the army until the assessment stage has been successfully completed; a training space becomes available and is allocated to the candidate,” she said.
“Until these parameters are met, there can be no assistance with any visa application. The Home Office will not normally extend visas for applicants who do not have a confirmed start date for training.”
Ms Hopkins said with the limited number of places and the high interest from Commonwealth citizens, there was now a situation where Fijians in the UK could potentially breach the terms of their visa.
“So we have come with a very, very clear message that you need to apply with visa regulations so anyone who is in this situation and their visa is about to run out, they do need to return home because obviously infringing visa requirements will jeopardise future visa requirements and their entry to the United Kingdom,” she said.
“But overall the army keeps its recruiting policy under review and any future vacancies will be published on the Ministry of Defence website.”
She said all applicants needed to ensure they were aware of cost implications when applying.
“These processes take time and can take more than six months,” she said.
“Due to the large volume of applications received, the army has updated its website to inform potential Commonwealth applicants that there are currently no further vacancies. If candidates have applied and not received a response, their details are retained and they will be contacted if any suitable opportunities arise in the future.”
