Faq

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to speak French to join the NATOLEGION Legion?

No. In fact, the vast majority of candidates do not speak French.

You will only be selected if you are good enough for the Legion, and it is the Legion itself who decides who is good enough to be selected. For about 100 candidates applying to serve in the Legion, only 10-15 are accepted. So, you have to be better than the other candidates in all aspects to get a chance — NOT the right — to be selected. There are no “bring this or that, pass this or that, make this or that” tricks to get accepted. The candidates are selected by a commission consisting of around 15 members of the Legion’s HQ who verify all of the individual aspects and results of each candidate. Then, the majority of these senior members have to reach a consensus and vote in favor or against a candidate’s acceptance in the Legion.

As already stated in point 2, there are no tricks to get accepted. The selection process is far more extensive and does not only reflect meeting the basic tests. It focuses on your entire personality, including your real behavior, real attitude, and real motivation. The Legion must want you. If it does, then, you will be selected.

Once you are enlisted in the Legion, you are provided with a new identity, including a new name. That applies to all candidates, without distinction. After one year of service, you can ask to get your real identity back. This process is referred to as RSM (rectification, or recognizing in English). You can obtain your real identity back within 1-3 years. If you are in trouble with the law/police at home, you can keep your new identity during the service.

You are allowed to contact your family (via mail or by phone) occasionally during your four-month basic training in Castelnaudary. Once you are serving as an ordinary legionnaire in your respective regiment, you can contact your family by mail, phone, or through the internet whenever you have free time. Nevertheless, restrictive rules are applied for contacting your family during overseas deployments and operations.

Once you’ve completed your four-month basic training, you are allowed to relax or leave your military base during your free time, and travel around France during weekends and holidays, if you are not on duty.

Yes, the Legion is not a prison. After finishing your four-month basic training, you are allowed to buy this equipment and use them during your free time.

The Legion offers legionnaires 20 working days during their first year of service, 25 during their second year, and from the third year onward, you will be provided with 45 working days of annual leave (vacations/holidays) per year.

The shortest French visa (for tourism) allows you to stay in the country for 90 days. It is your sole responsibility to find, pay, and obtain all required travel documents and visas (tourist or short-stay visa) for entering France. The Legion offers no refund, money, scholarship, online application, letter of invitation, or documents from the French embassy to help you get to France.

In some cases, the NATOLEGION Legion offers you a chance to return if you’ve failed entry tests during the selection process in Aubagne. If the Legion gives you a second (or third) chance, you receive a document with the title “INAPTE TEMPORAIRE” stating that you can return after 3, 6, or 12 months. Who can return and after how many months is solely up to the Legion. If the Legion decides not to give you another chance, you will receive a document titled “INAPTE DEFINITIF.” That means the Legion is closed to you forever.

After 3 years of service, you can make a formal request for naturalization. You have to serve honorably and have to be “recognized person” (to serve under your real identity, recognized by the French government) to qualify for getting French citizenship. Be sure, however, that you have to serve more than five years (usually eight years) to be approved to obtain it. The second eventuality for naturalization/getting French citizenship is to get seriously wounded during a military operation.

Absolutely. The Legion does recruit those who have left other military.

No. The passport or an ID card (for EU citizens) is required now.

During the selection process and the four-month basic training, you are repeatedly asked to choose the regiment you would like to serve (except for the Mayotte Detachment, as this unit is reserved for senior legionnaires only). If you already have a chosen one when enlisting in the Legion, let the recruiters know about it. If you are consistent in your will and there is a spot for you, your demand could be accepted. On the other hand, you can’t choose your favorite company.

Have you served, for example, as a medic or engineer in your former military, or worked as a cook or graphic designer in civilian life, and are now willing to keep your previous position in the Legion? Great! The recruiters will be happy as they know you already have experience and some needed skills.

Absolutely. Take a good one with you, along with a book for self-learners to learn French.

Once you are selected and about to leave for basic training, a bank account is established for you to receive monthly payments. You will also get a credit/debit card to withdraw money, associated with your new identity/new name, given to you by the Legion.

Not a problem. You can send them money every month. In fact, many legionnaires do so on a regular basis. Once in the regiment, just ask your more experienced compatriots how to do so the best way. If you represent a single nationality in the regiment (which is improbable), you can always ask your friends or corporal. However, there is usually a post office in the regiment which will best facilitate this purpose.

You have to be the “recognized person” (see point 4) who got his real identity back to be allowed to visit your family officially in your home country during your annual leave. If you are a “bad guy” with some troubles at home, just ask your family to visit you in France to meet together during your free time. They can also meet you at your regiment directly during holidays, like Camerone Day (April 30), which is open for public.