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Part A—Before you receive your posting instructions

The ABCs of OUTCAN postings

COVID-19 and the Defence Team

COVID-19 continues to affect our constituents.

Stay informed by visiting the Defence Team – COVID-19 website for the latest information pertinent to both public service employees and military Defence team members.

If you are a CAF member being posted, you and your family should consult the following pages for information related to postings and to COVID-19:

CANFORGENS are available on the Defence Team Intranet or by downloading the CAF mobile application.

For more information

  • Application and selection process

    Typically, Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members apply for outside of Canada (OUTCAN) positions through a call-up process or by responding to an OUTCAN solicitation message.

    You can also let your career manager, chain of command, or branch/military occupation advisors know that you are interested in an OUTCAN position. Senior officials may also choose to offer you an OUTCAN opportunity.

    As with postings within Canada, no standard selection criteria for OUTCAN positions exists. For some military occupations, selection boards review applicant files to compare candidate backgrounds and skill sets. In other cases, you only need to apply. Besides performance and skill set, the following factors may influence your selection:

    • military requirements,
    • military occupation,
    • rank,
    • professional background,
    • career progression,
    • career manager proposals, and
    • host-country cultural considerations.

    The majority of OUTCAN postings allow families to accompany the member. A posting abroad should be a rewarding experience for members and their families. On the other hand, there is also the potential for stress involving culture shock as well as language, psychosocial, and educational differences.[1] Global Affairs Canada has information on living abroad, including information on coping with culture shock, taxation for Canadians travelling, living or working outside Canada, and voting from abroad. The Government of Canada Travel abroad web page also provides a list of related publications.

    You will find information on the OUTCAN program by consulting our “General information on the OUTCAN Program” page.

    Review the Military Career Managers page for more information on discussing your posting preferences with your career manager.

    [1]http://vcds.mil.ca/vcds-exec/pubs/canforgen/2011/052-11_e.asp (available only on the DefenceTeam Intranet)

  • Screening—General

    Once the CAF considers you for an OUTCAN position, your career manager launches your OUTCAN administrative process by sending a nomination message to the appropriate OUTCAN URS for action. You will get that message by email via your Defence Wide Area Network (DWAN) account. The CAF sends most nomination messages between November and February.

    Once the OUTCAN URS have inputted your personal screening details in the screening application software, an automated welcome message will be sent to you by email. You will receive this second message via your DND Electronic Communication Network (ECN) account. This is the start of the administrative screening process.

    It is your responsibility to complete the screening process within the prescribed 60-day time frame. Your career manager is not responsible for monitoring your screening progress nor facilitating its completion. For more information on the screening process, contact your OUTCAN Support URS. You will find their contact information in your welcome email.

    Note: See the Cross-posting section below for screening details specific to this type of posting.

    You can learn about the host country for which you are screening by reading the Information by countries and territories.

  • Screening—Medical

    As part of the OUTCAN posting screening process, you and any dependents listed on your Member's Personnel Record Resume (MPRR) must complete a medical screening. Both accompanying and non-accompanying dependents need to be screened, since underlying issues with a family member remaining in Canada still present a concern for having to repatriate you and/or your family from the OUTCAN posting.

    CAF medical and dental officers conduct your medical and dental screenings, while civilian family doctors and dentists normally conduct your dependents' screenings. CAF medical and dental officers may conduct CAF members dependents’ screenings in exceptional circumstances.

    You and your dependents must also meet with a CAF social worker.

    Note: Specialized medical care is not available at all posting locations abroad. This includes mental health care. If a member of your family requires specialist or long-term care, you must indicate this during the screening. Omitting this detail can have significant consequences if only discovered once your family is at post. This could put your family member’s health at risk. It could also lead to significant additional costs to the government, such as early repatriation. More information about health services while posted abroad is available under the Health tab.

  • Screening—Children’s education

    The screening process also includes your children’s education to verify that compatible education is available at your posting. This means an education system which provides an educational curriculum and services compatible with those normally provided without charge at schools in Ontario from junior kindergarten to secondary school graduation or by their equivalents in other provinces and territories.

    You must complete the Children's Educational Screening form for all your children under the age of 23.

    For questions about the screening process, contact the education clerk at your gaining Unit Record Support (URS) as identified on your posting message or send an e-mail to CEM at cemgee@forces.gc.ca. More information is also available on the CAF Children’s Education Management SharePoint site. These SharePoint resources are available only on the Defence Team Intranet.

    Do not make any financial commitments until you receive a posting message.

    Furthermore, if you have a child with special needs such as behavioural, physical, or learning issues you should know that special education services offered in schools OUTCAN may be limited. Discuss any educational concerns you may have with the principal of the school OUTCAN you are considering for your children before you accept a posting.

  • Steps for completing the Children’s Educational Screening
    • Step 1: Booking appointments with the child's current school principal, teachers, doctors and specialists

      You and your family must complete several sections of the Children's Educational Screening form including Part 5: Student Profile. This helps provide an overview of your child’s education level. It will also identify any special education assessments or Individual Education Plans that may be required for children with special needs such as physical, behavioural, or learning issues.

      For Part 5: Student Profile, you must book appointments with the current school principal, teachers, doctors, and specialists once you receive your screening message.

    • Step 2: Select a school/educational process

      When posted OUTCAN, you must review and select a compatible non-fee-paying school for your children from the List of Compatible Schools nearest to your place of residence. Then you must contact the schools yourself. When a non-fee-paying school is not available, you can select from the list of compatible fee-paying schools. If a fee-paying school is not on the list of compatible schools, the receiving URS administration staff must prepare a Working Group B submission to ensure that you can enroll your child in that school and be reimbursed for the school fees. More information on Working Group B is available in Foreign Service Directives.

      For more information, contact the Education Clerk at your gaining Unit Record Support (URS) identified on your posting message.

      Be aware that you may receive your screening message after the registration deadline for compatible non-fee-paying schools. You should still apply past the deadline, as there may be some spaces available. If there are no longer spaces available, you must apply for a compatible fee-paying school or alternative schooling options as well as request that your receiving URS clerk complete a Working Group B submission.

      CAF Overseas Schools in Europe

      The Department of National Defence and the CAF operate two schools overseas: AFNORTH International School in Brunssum, Netherlands and SHAPE International School – Canadian Section in Casteau, Belgium. They provide children with the same level of schooling they would receive in the province of Ontario. To lessen the potential impact on a child’s educational success, AFNORTH and SHAPE are staffed by Canadian teachers on loan from school boards in Canada.

      Be aware that AFNORTH and SHAPE do not provide special education services and cannot accommodate students with significant learning or behavioural needs.

      Home school

      You may choose to home school your children while posted OUTCAN. Your home school plan must be based on a compatible system within Ontario. You must complete Part 6: Home schooling of the Children's Educational Screening form and submit a yearly Education Plan to Children’s Education Management for approval.

      If you plan to follow an educational system outside of Ontario, you must provide the guidelines specifically to that province or territory, along with your Education Plan.

      For more information, refer to FSD 34 – Education Allowances.

      Boarding in Canada or outside Canada

      If lack of compatible schools or personal circumstances warrant, CEM may approve education away from a post in Canada or abroad for children in secondary school (i.e. Grades 9 to 12 or the appropriate provincial or territorial equivalent). When approved by CEM, actual and reasonable expenses for board and lodging during the school term will be reimbursed according to the Annual Rates.

      For more information, consult the Secondary Education Away From Post but Not in Canada FAQs.

      eLearning

      eLearning can help high school level children to meet graduation requirements. Enrollment depends on the grade and age of the child, anticipated graduation date, provincial high school graduation requirements, and length of posting.

      For more information on eLearning, contact a CEM guidance counsellor. In addition, review the Children’s Education Management Distance Learning Services FAQs.

      Post-Secondary Education

      If your child is attending a full-time post-secondary institution in Canada at your last place of duty in Canada prior to your assignment abroad, you may be eligible for shelter assistance up to and including the school year of your child’s 23rd birthday. This assistance may cover up to eight months of university or nine months of college per school year. For post-secondary students, you must complete parts 1-4 of the Children's Educational Screening Form. Shelter assistance does not apply for paid co-op placements or internships.

      Review FSD 34 - Education Allowances, the Annual Rates and Post-Secondary Education in Canada - Shelter Assistance FAQ for additional information.

    • Step 3: Submitting the required screening documents to CEM

      You or the Education Clerk at your gaining URS must submit the following documents to CEM by e-mail at CEMGEE@forces.gc.ca:

      • Children's Educational Screening form;
      • your child’s last two report cards;
      • Individual Education Plan (IEP), where applicable;
      • any applicable education reports or assessments; and
      • a screening message.

      Review the Educational Screening (Posting Outside Canada) Instructions for more information.

    • Step 4: Phone interview with a CEM guidance counsellor

      After you submit the Children's Educational Screening form and other necessary documents, CEM will ask you to contact one of their guidance counsellors for a telephone interview.

      During the telephone interview the guidance counsellor will assist with your child’s transition to the posting location. The counsellor will also provide information and advice about educational options, curriculum interpretations, explanation of credit requirements, and potential eLearning options. Following this interview, you will receive by e-mail a summary of the conversation and recommendations.

      Note: The guidance counsellor will tailor the information to be provided according to the selections you made on the Children's Educational Screening form. It is important you select all potential options of interest—such as distance learning or homeschooling—to receive the information you need to make an informed choice.

      For more information, consult the Children's Education Management - Guidance Counselling Services FAQs.

    • Step 5: Documentation review by the CEM Educational Screening Committee 

      The Educational Screening Committee will send its screening decision to you by e-mail. This decision will consider all risks of educational issues and potential future challenges. You are responsible for circulating the decision to your losing and gaining units.

    • Step 6: Confirmation of screening outcome by the Educational Screening Committee 

      The Educational Screening process takes approximately seven to 10 business days to complete once CEM has received all required documents. Missing information or additional concerns may extend this timeline. CEM will send regular updates to you throughout the processing of your file. You will receive CEM’s final decision by e-mail. This decision will be either “Green” (satisfactory) or “Red” (unsatisfactory).

      For more information, contact your education clerk at the gaining URS which is available only on the Defence Team Intranet or CEM (cemgee@forces.gc.ca).

      Fee-Paying School forms

      • Junior Kindergarten and Senior Kindergarten Fee-Paying School
        • Form 8
        • School application
        • Letter from school or country stating public kindergarten is not available
        • Proof the school is inadequate or a letter from the non-fee-paying school stating they will not accept the child
        • School invoice
        • Curriculum, program description
        • Proof of payment
        • Working Group B submission (if the school is not on the list of compatible schools)
      • Grade 1 to 12 Fee-Paying School
        • Form 9F
        • Proof the school is inadequate or a letter from the non-fee-paying school stating they will not accept the child
        • Letter from the fee-paying school stating they will accept the student
        • School invoice
        • Proof of payment
        • Working Group B submission (if the school is not on the list of compatible schools)
      • Roman Catholic (Kindergarten to Grade 12)
        • Form 9RC
        • School invoice
        • Proof the child previously attended a Roman Catholic school in Canada (if available)
        • The baptismal certificate (if the child is not christened, the baptism certificate of the parent is required)
        • Proof of payment
        • Working Group B submission
      • Home Schooling

      • Boarding School – in Canada or outside Canada (Secondary Education)

        Board and Lodging, Public School in Canada
        • Form 15P
        • Form 15RES
        • Letter of agreement for board and lodging (required for Form 15P) or a school residence contract
        • School invoice
        • Posting message
        • Proof of attendance
        • Proof of payment
        • Enrollment letter
      • Residential School outside Canada
        • Form 15FEE
        • School invoice
        • Posting message
        • Proof of attendance
        • Proof of payment
        • Accreditation of school
        • Enrollment letter
      • Post-Secondary Education – Shelter Assistance
        • Form 17
        • Proof of full-time enrollment (letter from school, student’s profile that specifies "Full Time")
        • Lease if the student lives in an apartment
        • Letter of agreement if the student lives with friends or other family members
        • Residence contract if the student lives in a school residence
        • Rent receipts
        • Proof of school attendance
      • Special Education Requirements - Special Education Allowance
        • Form 11
        • Letter from the school and professional authority (education psycho-assessment)
        • Proof of tutor's professional qualifications
        • Copy of the student's Individual Education Plan, Individualized Program Plan, or modified education program followed in Canada
        • Copy of Educational Screening fee schedule for school
        • Proof of payment
      • Children Education Management - Colorado - CANELEMNORAD 

        If you are posted to Colorado, the administrative process governing your children’s education may be a little different. Refer to Children Education Management - Colorado - CANELEMNORAD which is accessible only on the Defence Team Intranet.

        More information is available under the Children education allowances and benefits.

  • Passports, visas and travelling documents

    Once you receive your screening e-mail, you should request passports for yourself and your family. You and your family members must travel on special passports during an OUTCAN posting. You must have appropriate visas for your host country before movers can load your Household Goods and Effects (HG and E).

    It is important that you apply for these passports and visas as early as possible. Your departure from Canada depends on these documents for customs declarations. Depending on work status and posting location, you and your family members may receive different visa types. Travelling with children has more information on the requirements.

    If you have a child who is studying at a Canadian post-secondary institution, note the differences between the university schedule and the host country visa allowances. While universities and colleges in Canada traditionally take a 120-day summer break, some countries will limit your child’s summer visit to 90 days without a visa. Visa application processes can be long and complex, so you and your child should plan for this in advance.

    The CAF Passport National Customer Support Office manages the special passport process, including liaison with the Passport Program at Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada. The National Customer Support Office will send an instructional e-mail to you once you receive your screening message. For any questions about the special passport application process, contact the national customer service office at FIN.CDAO.Specialpassport@forces.gc.ca. Be aware that the support office cannot assist your family members to obtain work visas while OUTCAN.

    In many countries such as the United States, you must have a Social Insurance Number to open a bank account, get utilities, or to sign a lease. Apply for a Social Insurance Number as early as possible in the posting process.

    Your household pets also require travel documents. Review Travel documents for your pets for more information.

    Once the screening process is complete and the relevant authorities are satisfied with the results, your career manager will provide you with a posting message which will include further administrative guidance. Posting messages are usually sent out at the end of March.

    If your screening is unsuccessful, you may ask your career manager for feedback.

    Related links:

  • Financial considerations

    IMPORTANT: Do not make any financial commitments for things such as housing or your children’s education until you have completed your screening and have received a formal posting message.

    Update your budget

    Updating your budget by completing the SISIP Financial's budget worksheet is an excellent way to get ready for your posting. You will find more information on the Canada.ca website under Money and Finances.

    This can be a starting point for discussing your financial situation with a financial advisor during a SISIP Financial counselling session. Schedule your session by

    If you are already struggling financially due to the challenges of serving in the CAF, you or your family can apply for financial help through Support Our Troops. CFMWS has more information on Finances and insurance available to you.

    When completing your budget sheet, be sure to include gains or losses that are due to Allowances. Allowance rates vary considerably according to your posting location. For example, the Canadian Forces Housing Differential (CFHD) allowance described in Compensation and Benefits Instructions (CBI) 205.453 may not be available where you plan to reside at your new place of duty. Check with your unit or base orderly room staff.

    You and every other eligible member of your family should consider getting a CF One card for access to discounts, savings, rewards, and programs exclusive to the military community. You and each member of your family can have one. This official rebate program may help you reduce some of your daily costs.

    Spousal/Partner/Dependent Employment

    Finding employment for your spouse or partner and child dependents in the host country OUTCAN may be difficult. This is due to numerous factors such as

    • visa restrictions;
    • limited or no work permits;
    • a lack of job opportunities in certain fields;
    • inability or a difficulty to obtain required accreditation for specialized professions such as nurses, teachers, and lawyers;
    • limited local language capabilities;
    • diplomatic status restrictions; and
    • the unavailability of suitable and affordable childcare.

    To learn more, consult our Military spouse and partner employment page. CFMWS.ca also has information. Select your community and discover employment opportunities at your posting location.

    As of 1 March 2024, spouses and partners of CAF members who are relocating have access to a new career coaching tool called CareerCOACH+. This coaching tool offers assistance in finding and maintaining meaningful careers. Learn more by consulting CFMWS | Career Development | CFMWS.

    Spousal/Partner Employment Insurance

    Your spouse or partner may not qualify for regular employment insurance while you are posted OUTCAN. Find out more at Employment Insurance and workers and residents outside Canada and Employment Insurance available to Military Families.

    Income tax return

    There are tax implications you need to consider for members and your family living abroad. Here are a few examples:

    • residency status determination for tax purposes,
    • tax obligations,
    • change of use of your principal residence,
    • rental income,
    • foreign income,
    • investments,
    • income splitting, and
    • credits and benefits.

    You must confirm your residency status as well as file an income tax return for each year you live abroad.

    Learn more about your tax obligations and the deductions that apply to your situation at

  • OUTCAN cross-posting

    The term OUTCAN cross-posting refers to the posting of CAF members and their families from one location outside of Canada directly to another location outside of Canada.

    If you are selected for a cross-posting you must undergo a screening process, which could include medical and dental screening. This requirement applies to your family members as well.

    Members who don’t have an active DWAN account can use a paper version of the screening form (DND 4064). However, this form is no longer available in the Defense Force Catalogue, so if you require a hard copy ask your OUTCAN URS to provide one.

    Understanding your storage entitlements is important when undergoing a cross-posting because you may be posted to a location with less storage capacity. Members who are cross posted may add HG and E to their long-term storage in Canada. They may also access their long-term storage under specific circumstances which are described in the CAFRD when undergoing a cross-posting.

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