Living Abroad before Joining Reg/Reserves?

[ahfavro]

Hi everyone, I'm curious what restrictions living abroad might have on me wanting to enlist in the army. I was born in Canada and currently live here.  I'm planning on joining the army after I finish college, but I have also thought about  living abroad for a year or two before I enlist.

More specifically, I'm curious if there are certain countries that would instantly disqualify me, or make me a security hazard (i'm guessing Russia and China). But with the rampant drug wars in Mexico, could that be a problem as well? Are there some nations that are better to live in than others? I know that if i live abroad somewhere, I will likely have to reside in Canada for a year before I can join the army (or even begin the enlistment process), but I am willing to do that.

I know that the recruiting process can take a LONG time... and I understand the best way to get the right info is at the recruiting depot. But I've seen a lot of useful advice on this forum and hope that someone knows the answer to this!

Thanks guys! cheers!

 

[SentryMAn]

Canada is probably the best country to live in if you are trying to get into the Canadian Forces.

If you do not live in Canada for the 12 months prior to joining I believe you will have to go through extensive back ground checks.

On your application it will also be hard for you to list people that have known you for the last 5 years.

I have no real recruiting information but this is what I woudl assume would be difficult from an application point of view.

 

[PMedMoe]

On your application it will also be hard for you to list people that have known you for the last 5 years.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the references had to know you for at least 5 years, not the last 5 years.

Although, I suppose current references could be better.

 

[Vetter]

I am merit listed for DEO Armour and have spent the last 3 years traveling and living overseas. 

It doesn't seem (Australia, Europe, Asia for me) to matter where you've lived, you just need to be able to provide them with addresses for all of the places you lived (longer than 180 days), along with all employment information, if you were working over there (addresses, telephone numbers for your boss...).  Just to clarify, by addresses, I mean you will need all the information required to send a letter to that place (street number, postal code...)

They'll ask you to fill out the 'long security form'. If they don't ask and you've lived overseas, do yourself a favour and ask them! I did the 'short one' because they forgot and my whole application came to a screaming halt because I hadn't filled out the 'long one' yet.

Almost forgot, THE BIGGEST ISSUE: You need to provide the Canadian Government with a criminal record check for each country you lived in (longer than 180days). Mainly they want to see that you didn't get up to any trouble while you were away. They also requested a credit check to state that I had no outstanding debt, but the countries i was in don't issue those types of documents and that was okay with the CFRC.  This took me forever to assemble and slowed my application by almost 6weeks.

- Addresses (where you lived and who you worked for)
- Phone numbers (where you lived and who you worked for)
- Criminal Record Check (countries you lived in longer than 180days)

Good luck! Feel free to message me if anyone has any questions. I just went through all of this, so it's still fresh in my mind.