Joining AGS as a foreigner

Na_Spainneach

Hey guys, so the title is quite self explanatory.

I’m a 27 year old Spanish lad, been living in Ireland since 2016, working in IT with a level 5 technical qualification, but what I really want to do in my life is to be a police officer.

Would not being Irish be an issue to try and join?

I’m currently preparing the fitness test (Just need to improve a tad on the shuttle test and we’re there!) and I’m also planning on taking on the careerseevices course from next month (Although I’ve been reading the forum and there is a lad that gives you a more personal approach? Would appreciate some info about this too), but I’m a bit concerned about the fact I’ve never seen a guard that wasn’t irish before.

https://www.garda.ie/en/careers/why-should-i-join-an-garda-siochana-/

Join away.

macmathuna1

Are you already applied in the current recruitment drive??

If not there is no point in doing any courses right now it is going to be 2-3 years before you can apply again.

As for your main question no it wouldn't be an issue. There is a huge push for diversity and many of the YouTube videos Garda publish are non Irish

Na_Spainneach

If by the current recruitment drive you mean the one that closed earlier on this year, no I haven’t.

I’ve my alert setup on publicjobs.ie, with intention to apply the next time the process starts up (Which I was hoping will be early next year? For what I’ve seen this years closed on March but there’s no info in relation to when the next one is), and I basically want to make sure I’m 100% prepared so I don’t flop and have to wait for the next batch again, hence planning on starting up the course already

Thanks a mill for the replies!

macmathuna1

Yes the current one started in march and is still going on. The first 200 or so did their fitness test recently.

There are however about another 1000+ to go through all the phases of application and then get a space in the Garda college.

It's good to be prepared but if you start it next month it will long be gone from your head by the time you need it. As I said next one could be 2-3 years. I would highly doubt next year

Sierra Oscar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119627196#Comment_119627196

It's worth mentioning that it's unlikely it will be 3 years before the next recuritment campaign gets underway. They've usually had a recruitment drive annually, with the exception being the last couple of years due to the pandemic.

I wouldn't let the fact that the 2022 competition has closed put you off, a new competition won't be long coming around.

Na_Spainneach

Hey guys, thanks for all the replies!

While I know I'm awfully late for this year's competition, I see it not as a bad thing, but as the perfect opportunity to prepare!

Going back to my 2nd question, in relation to the course, has someone done the careerservices one? Is it worth it or should I look into other preparation courses as well?

I have a full time permanent job, so I wouldn't mind investing some money on myself in order to prepare everything, but I don't want to get scammed either!

Spook22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119643106#Comment_119643106

Hey, I took a similar view to yourself at the start of the pandemic while waiting for this campaign.

I began working early, took it all eriously and managed to keep my oom in single digits, just waiting for the call now.

The Career Services content is good, and certainly worth it if you are willing to put the time and effort in with it.

Best of luck to you!

Donald Trump

(Of course you'd be allowed to apply. They often have foreign born Guards pictured in the papers)

deanrm

Definitely go for it. There'll be a new campaign opening in 2023 I'd imagine as in the recent budget there was 100 million granted for more recruits which is 1000 more recruits.

My only advice for now would be to purchase a stage one online package for the verbal and non verbal reasoning exams. It's so important to get a good score here so that you are high up on the order of merit this gets you through to the next stages quicker.

Best of luck and don't let the fact that you're not from ireland put you down, this could be a help and not a hindrance in my opinion.