UK Announces 59 Countries Whose Military Forces Are Exempt From Immigration Rules

• The UK government has published a list of 59 countries whose military forces are exempt from immigration control under the Visiting Forces Act 1952
• Several African nations, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, featured prominently on the published list
• The exemptions are governed by Ministry of Defence legislation and can be extended through Orders of Council

The United Kingdom (UK) government has published a list of 59 countries whose armed forces personnel are exempt from standard immigration controls when entering the country, under the Visiting Forces Act 1952.

The Ministry of Defence legislation, which has been in place since 1952, grants immigration exemptions to military forces from a specific set of countries listed within the Act. Section 8(4)(a), (b) and (c) of the Immigration Act 1971, as amended, draws its definition of exempt visiting forces directly from those countries named in the Visiting Forces Act.

Which countries made UK visiting forces list

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The full list spans multiple continents, with a particularly heavy representation from Africa and Commonwealth nations. Below are the countries below:

1. Antigua and Barbuda
2. Australia
3. Bangladesh
4. Barbados
5. Belize
6. Bermuda
7. Botswana
8. Brunei
9. Cameroon
10. Canada
11. Ceylon
12. Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Tanganyika)
13. Dominica
14. Fiji
15. Ghana
16. Grenada
17. Guyana
18. India
19. Jamaica
20. Kenya
21. Kiribati
22. Lesotho
23. Malawi
24. Malaysia
25. Maldives
26. Malta
27. Mauritius
28. Mozambique
29. Namibia
30. Naoero (formerly Nauru)
31. New Zealand
32. Nigeria
33. Norway
34. Pakistan
35. Papua New Guinea
36. Saint Christopher and Nevis
37. Saint Lucia
38. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
39. Seychelles
40. Sierra Leone
41. Singapore
42. Solomon Islands
43. South Africa
44. Swaziland
45. Tanganyika
46. Tanzania
47. The Bahamas
48. The Gambia
49. The New Hebrides
50. The Republic of Cyprus
51. Tonga
52. Trinidad and Tobago
53. Tuvalu
54. Uganda
55. Vanuatu
56. Western Samoa
57. Zambia
58. Zanzibar
59. Zimbabwe

How the Visiting Forces Act works

The Act grants the Ministry of Defence the authority to expand the list further through Orders of Council, meaning additional countries can be added without a full legislative process.

Forces personnel from these listed countries are considered exempt from immigration control during their time in the United Kingdom, a provision that facilitates military cooperation, joint training exercises, and other defence-related visits between the UK and its international partners.

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Ireland publishes names of 32 countries whose citizens are eligible to join its military

UK government caseworker guidance sets out how immigration officials should handle cases involving personnel from these nations, providing a formal framework for processing their entry and stay.

The full list of exempt countries and accompanying guidance is available through the UK government's official immigration caseworker documentation.

In a similar report, Legit.ng published that South Korea announced an official breakdown of the six categories of military service recognised under the country's law.

Ireland publishes people eligible to join military

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously published that Ireland's Defence Forces announced 32 nationalities eligible to apply for enlistment.

Under the current criteria, citizens of Nigeria and other African countries cannot apply directly. Find out which countries are on the list and what the requirements are.

Source: Legit.ng