Hi all,
Firstly, hello - I've been lurking for quite a while but this is my first post. I'll introduce myself in the appropriate forum, but hoped for some thoughts on the below.
I am looking for a bit of advice as I've had conflicting and directly opposite information from my AFCO and I'm not sure where to take this now. If anyone has any ideas of whom I might contact to get clarification, I'd be really grateful.
I'm really interested in a future Intelligence Officer role when the branch opens again. I went to my AFCO to ask about this and was given information, plus what I'd already read on the website. I am a UK national born and bred, UK passport, no dual citizenship or any residency outside of the UK, which appears to meet the nationality requirements given in all of the literature I have - there is nothing which suggests anything further might be required for eligibility purposes.
However, one Cpl at the AFCO told me that my parents must also be UK citizens from birth - now, I have grown up with my mother and stepfather, who are both UK citizens from birth, and it's my stepfather that I have always considered to be my father, so without a second thought I said "yes". My biological father, whom I have never lived with, is from Ireland (which is where he lives - I can provide full details of my father for DV purposes). This occurred to me afterwards, and I thought in the interests of full disclosure this is relevant seeing as I would need to go through the DV process. I spoke to a different Cpl in the same AFCO who assured me this would not be a problem and the DV process may simply take a little longer, which appears logical.
I phoned the careers line to register my interest, and they asked me about my eligibility - I explained what I had been told by the second Cpl, but the careers line told me that because my natural father was born outside of the UK, this would stop my application. I asked why, bearing in mind what the second Cpl told me in regard to DV, and was told it was for security reasons that no one with foreign national parents could apply, and no further information was given in regard to how this would work in my situtation.
I'm not sure where to go on this as I would have thought the assessment of security, ie risk/threat posed, would be dealt with by the DV process itself. I know individuals whose parents are foreign nationals who have full DV clearance, including one whose clearance was granted in the last month (said individual is in Intelligence in the RN), so it seems this is not a DV requirement in itself. This ties in with other posts I've read on this forum.
I'm unclear on why this would be a requirement for Intelligence in the RAF but not the other Services (or other government agencies dealing with Intelligence) - having also found documentation relating to Army Intelligence Corps training (also at Chicksands), this is not a requirement for them either. I understand there's high competition for limited places in this Branch but I'm confident I'd be a competitive applicant - I have a Master's degree in Politics & International Security, am very physically fit, have captained my rugby team for 4 years, etc etc.
I cannot find anything relating to this requirement on the RAF website or elsewhere, and I'm really looking for some guidance on how to approach this. I think what I need to do is talk to someone who can give me clarification on a) whether my situation is a barrier, and b) the reasons behind this given that other Services do not have the same restriction for working in the same area. I'm also uncertain because of the fact this isn't given as a requirement in any of the literature regarding eligibility, but my AFCO are not able to clarify these points for me given I've been told two totally different things and there appears to be confusion there as well.
Any thoughts, opinions or conjecture is welcomed!
Thanks in advance.
Firstly, hello - I've been lurking for quite a while but this is my first post. I'll introduce myself in the appropriate forum, but hoped for some thoughts on the below.
I am looking for a bit of advice as I've had conflicting and directly opposite information from my AFCO and I'm not sure where to take this now. If anyone has any ideas of whom I might contact to get clarification, I'd be really grateful.
I'm really interested in a future Intelligence Officer role when the branch opens again. I went to my AFCO to ask about this and was given information, plus what I'd already read on the website. I am a UK national born and bred, UK passport, no dual citizenship or any residency outside of the UK, which appears to meet the nationality requirements given in all of the literature I have - there is nothing which suggests anything further might be required for eligibility purposes.
However, one Cpl at the AFCO told me that my parents must also be UK citizens from birth - now, I have grown up with my mother and stepfather, who are both UK citizens from birth, and it's my stepfather that I have always considered to be my father, so without a second thought I said "yes". My biological father, whom I have never lived with, is from Ireland (which is where he lives - I can provide full details of my father for DV purposes). This occurred to me afterwards, and I thought in the interests of full disclosure this is relevant seeing as I would need to go through the DV process. I spoke to a different Cpl in the same AFCO who assured me this would not be a problem and the DV process may simply take a little longer, which appears logical.
I phoned the careers line to register my interest, and they asked me about my eligibility - I explained what I had been told by the second Cpl, but the careers line told me that because my natural father was born outside of the UK, this would stop my application. I asked why, bearing in mind what the second Cpl told me in regard to DV, and was told it was for security reasons that no one with foreign national parents could apply, and no further information was given in regard to how this would work in my situtation.
I'm not sure where to go on this as I would have thought the assessment of security, ie risk/threat posed, would be dealt with by the DV process itself. I know individuals whose parents are foreign nationals who have full DV clearance, including one whose clearance was granted in the last month (said individual is in Intelligence in the RN), so it seems this is not a DV requirement in itself. This ties in with other posts I've read on this forum.
I'm unclear on why this would be a requirement for Intelligence in the RAF but not the other Services (or other government agencies dealing with Intelligence) - having also found documentation relating to Army Intelligence Corps training (also at Chicksands), this is not a requirement for them either. I understand there's high competition for limited places in this Branch but I'm confident I'd be a competitive applicant - I have a Master's degree in Politics & International Security, am very physically fit, have captained my rugby team for 4 years, etc etc.
I cannot find anything relating to this requirement on the RAF website or elsewhere, and I'm really looking for some guidance on how to approach this. I think what I need to do is talk to someone who can give me clarification on a) whether my situation is a barrier, and b) the reasons behind this given that other Services do not have the same restriction for working in the same area. I'm also uncertain because of the fact this isn't given as a requirement in any of the literature regarding eligibility, but my AFCO are not able to clarify these points for me given I've been told two totally different things and there appears to be confusion there as well.
Any thoughts, opinions or conjecture is welcomed!
Thanks in advance.
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