Commonwealth and Non-british

To manage expectations of those showing an interest in joining the Service, and to allow individuals the ability to confidently plan their lives, a ceiling has been placed on the number of candidates we maintain on record awaiting processing. With such a cap on Commonwealth entrants, it is simply not possible to process every applicant to successful entry into the Service; that said, vacancies do exist within certain branches and your Expression of Interest will be responded to by e-mail accordingly.

Should your preferred role be temporarily full, and you remain interested in joining the Royal Navy, there may be other rewarding jobs waiting for you. To find out if there are, please consider our other eligible roles. Those enquiries placed on hold will have their contact details and date of application captured in our records, and we will be in touch when we are in a position to move your application forward. Visit our Overseas Guide for further details on joining.

Commonwealth applicants applying from inside their country of origin must be aged minimum 18. Residents in the UK who are Commonwealth applicants are eligible to apply at 16. Current valid passports and visas (where applicable) are a mandatory requirement to be eligible to apply, It is the responsibility of the individual applicants to ensure that they have permission to be in the UK and this permission is valid for the entirety of the recruitment process up to the point of entry. 

No candidate from outside the UK should travel to the UK, unless directed to by the Overseas Team, in order to conduct essential elements of the recruiting process prior to being assessed as eligible to join the Royal Navy or Royal Marines. Any person who travels to the UK without this direction will not be the responsibility of, or supported by, the Ministry of Defence.

If you wish to register to apply as a Medical Officer or Nurse, the General Medical Council or Nursing and Midwifery council you need to ensure that your qualification is acceptable in the United Kingdom.

Applying to be a Medical Officer?

Find out more about applying on the General Medical Council website.

Applying to be a Nurse?

Find out more about the application process from the Nursing & Midwifery Council.

Once you are a serving member of the Royal Navy, you are exempt from immigration controls.That means you won’t need a visa to stay in the UK as long as you remain in service. This is the case from the day you start training.

Normal immigration rules will still apply to your family, so they could need a visa to visit the UK and may only be able to stay for a limited period of time. It's also important that your family meet the minimum English language requirements.

If you want to bring your family to the UK, you’ll need to meet minimum income requirements, which vary based on your family circumstances.

• £18,600 gross salary needed to bring a partner
• £22,400 to bring a partner and a child
• +£2,400 for each additional child £16,000 savings over this amount can count
• £18,489 a rating starting salary after training

Once you meet the minimum income requirements, you will need to pay the appropriate visa costs. These include:

• £1,532 per dependent for a five-year visa
• £2,389 per dependent to permanently settle in the UK (2018/19) after five years of residency
• £1,330 per dependent to gain UK citizenship by naturalisation (2018/19) after 12 months of holding permanent settlement

The Royal Navy cannot help you with any of these visa costs. Remember, choosing to settle permanently in the UK is entirely voluntary and is not a requirement.