Canada Will Allow Permanent Residents to Enroll in the CAF
Canada’s Minister of National Defence, Anita Anand, announced that permanent residents are now welcome to apply to enroll in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).
The authority for the enrolment of a citizen of another country, who has permanent resident status under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, has been delegated by the Chief of the Defence Staff to the Commander Military Personnel Command and the Commander Canadian Forces Recruiting Group.
Currently, the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group accepts trained applicants from foreign militaries. These applicants include pilots, logistics officers, infantry officers and other skilled professionals, who may become enrolled in the CAF if they have permanent resident status in Canada. The intent is to broaden the pool to enable other permanent residents, who meet the same criteria as Canadian citizens to enroll in the CAF as new recruits or officer cadets.
The CAF encourages permanent residents to give serious consideration to a military career in Canada. Canada offers facilitated pathways to citizenship by recognizing the military service to Canada of permanent residents who join the CAF, and citizenship applications from CAF members will be processed on a priority basis by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Changing the culture within the CAF supports the recruitment of new members and allows us to retain existing members as the Department of National Defence and the CAF continue efforts to build an institution where everyone feels safe, protected, and respected.
“Permanent residents make up a skilled and talented component of Canada’s population – and that is why today’s announcement is important news. Enrolment of permanent residents will help us grow our military with qualified, well-trained people who choose a career in uniform. We will continue to work hard every day to build a military that attracts and retains people from all parts of our society who want to serve Canada.” The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence
“Allowing permanent residents to serve will help advance Canada's interests and values abroad and support Canadians in times of need at home. The recent deployment of hundreds of military personnel in response to Hurricane Fiona in my home community demonstrated the importance of maintaining a high level of readiness that today's announcement will help preserve. Many of these future citizens already work in key sectors across Canada, and I am pleased that they will now have the opportunity to make an extraordinary contribution to Canada by choosing a career in service of the country they now call home.” The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
“To grow and meet the challenges of tomorrow, the Canadian Armed Forces needs to recruit, train, and retain diverse talent in Canada. This talent includes permanent residents, who will bring great enthusiasm, experience, and knowledge to the Defence Team. We receive much interest from permanent residents looking to join the Canadian Armed Forces to serve their new country, and our recruiters are keen to begin conversations with these prospective members of our team.” General Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defence Staff
