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Bergen-Hohne Garrison Commander’s
Rebasing Update 5:
Pre-Departure Admin Reminder
Colonel AMHR Reynolds MBE, Garrison Commander
The Garrison Commander will be providing regular updates on rebasing
issues that are affecting the Garrison community. These will be
communicated through the Garrison Weekly Update, Heide Magazine, your
Unit Welfare Office, and on the Bergen-Hohne Garrison page on
www.BFGnet.de. Please check back regularly for the most up-to-date info.
Finance and Preparing for Departure
In your final few weeks in Hohne Garrison, you may wish to take a look at your finances, and no doubt you will
wish to review what administrative procedures are still outstanding before your move. A comprehensive list is
available in the booklet that you should have received at your pre-move out advisory visit (PMOAV) but some of
the main points are also listed here.
Finances
For those rebasing to the UK, the additional cost of things unique to life in Britain (for example, a TV licence)
and the loss of features that you may have been used to in BFG (such as MWSt tax-free shopping) means that
planning and sticking to a budget should be taken into account as you adjust to life back in the UK. A useful
guide to personal finance and budgeting can be found online on the Hohne BFGnet page at:
http://bfgnet.de/bergen-hohne/rebasing/rebasing-information.html
Preparing for Departure
Before you leave, take one last look at what administrative procedures are still outstanding, including vehicle
de-registration and any cancelation paperwork that may be necessary.
Passports and Visas: Check again that you and your family have valid passports and that all destination
country entry visas are valid. Non-EEA soldiers and their families that are planning on driving back to the UK
must have valid Schengen visas (also called Declatory Residence Permits (DRPs)) in your passports as well:
obtaining a Schengen visa is a personal responsibility, though your Unit Welfare Office can assist you with
beginning the procedure.
Vehicle De-BFG Procedures: It is the individual’s responsibility to ensure that all vehicle de-registration
procedures are followed. Detailed instructions are held in all the Garrison Local Vehicle License Offices
(LVLOs) and you are encouraged to obtain clarification from them if necessary and, in all cases, to conform to
the required timelines.
Education: Confirm that your child/children have been allocated a school place in your new location, and
arrange nursery/daycare in new location if necessary. Ensure that you have notified the current school/nursery
of the details of the school/nursery in your new location.
Travel Arrangements: Double-check that all onward travel arrangements (including ferry and/or flight and hotel
stays) are booked and confirmed, liaising with your Unit Admin Office or Welfare Office as necessary.
Car Insurance: Check that your car insurance is valid for the UK. Some UK firms do not accept a European noclaims discount so set aside adequate time to ‘shop around.’
Pet Register: There is no requirement for individuals to de-register pets or to hand in pet discs to the Station
offices. A block adjustment to the Pet Register will be made with effect from Monday 28 September 2015
covering those personnel remaining behind for drawdown activity. Individuals are required to conform to all pet
passport, tapeworm treatment and vaccination and travel regulations as a personal responsibility.
Stopping of Kindergeld: If you are leaving Germany, you will need to cancel your Kindergeld via your units.
The form to cancel Kindergeld is available from the HIVE or from your Unit Welfare Office.
Closure of German Bank Accounts: Make sure that all direct debits and standing orders have been re-routed
to your UK bank account, and that all outstanding payments have cleared, before closing your German bank
account. LSU employees should have completed a form upon giving notice providing their UK bank details for
the payment of final wages and/or gratuity.
Cancellation of German Contracts: Ensure that you cancel all German contracts (landline and mobile
telephone, internet, ADAC, etc.) before you leave. Many providers will require a copy of your posting order:
however if you are part of a unit move and do not have an individual assignment order then visit your Unit
Welfare Office who can provide you with a letter instead. Blank cancellation forms can also be found in the
booklet that you should have received during your pre-move out advisory visit (PMOAV.)
Good Conduct Certificates: When you apply for certain types of employment or training placements in the UK,
you may be asked to obtain a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Disclosure Certificate. However if you have
been living and working in the Service community overseas in the past five years or more, then the two
Disclosure Offices in the UK will hold no relevant information on your criminal status in Germany: in order to
provide this you can apply to the Employment Disclosure Office for a HQ BFG Good Conduct Certificate (BFG
Form 33.) Full details can be found at: http://bfgnet.de/files/employment/33G.pdf
Form 126: LSU employees should receive a Form 126 when they leave, which acts in lieu of the P45 that you
would normally receive from a UK employer. Keep the Form 126 safe as you will need to produce it, along with
proof that you have just come from Germany (for example, a copy of your ferry ticket), at the local JobCentre in
your new location in the UK if you wish to claim JobSeeker’s benefit.
Transfer of DBS/CRB: DBS/CRB clearance is transferable within the MOD and BFG, but not elsewhere or
outside of that. If clearance is held but was obtained out with BFG or the MOD, individuals are required to
resubmit an application.
Claiming UK National Insurance (NI) Credits: You can apply for National Insurance (NI) credits to fill any gap
in UK NI contributions for spouses and civil partners on overseas assignments. Bear in mind that you need to fill
in a new form for every assignment, so if you are posted to Paderborn for example you will need to fill one out
again. For more information and the form visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-insuranceapplication-for-national-insurance-credits-modca1
Redirection of Mail on Leaving the Garrison: There is no BFPO re-direction facility so, before individuals
depart the Garrison AOR on their move, they need to inform their banks, building societies, suppliers, families
and friends well in advance of their change of address. Let your post room know of your new address so they
can re-direct post up until their closure; following this date, any mail will be returned to sender.
Counter service (including banking) and the Sorting Office at Fallingbostel closes on Friday 21 August.
Mail for anyone in Fallingbostel beyond this date will be delivered and available to collect from a single
central point in Fallingbostel (location TBC) via the daily Garrison ATS/SDS run.
Counter service (including banking) located in the Roundhouse closes on Friday 28 August. Services
will continue to be available via the Sorting Office at Hohne until Friday 18 September.
Mail collection/dispatch arrangements for the small number of individuals remaining in the Garrison
area after Friday 18 September will be briefed separately.
Firearms: Individuals with firearms registered in GE should liaise with the Services Liaison Officer (SLO.)
Individuals are required to conform to regulations during transit and in the UK as a personal responsibility.
CTOB and Civil Debt:
Units/individuals are to clear all outstanding Host Nation (HN) criminal and traffic offence casework prior
to departure. Where clearance is not possible, they are to engage with CTOB at the earliest opportunity
in order to liaise with the relevant HN authority. Failure to engage may lead to an arrest warrant being
issued and could be enacted should the service person return to Germany at a later date. Proceedings
may also be transferred to the relevant UK jurisdiction for service at the new location.
Civil debt, whether court awarded or not, remains in force until cleared. This debt can also be
transferred to the UK for service by the courts or a debt collecting agency, adding considerably to the
costs of settling the original debt. Every effort must be made to clear such debt prior to departure.
Where this is not achievable, units/individuals should contact the awarding body to discuss options, via
the SLO.
Medical and Dental Centre De-Registration: Be sure to fill in a de-registration form at the Medical Centre and
Dental Centre before you leave so that your records can be transferred to your new duty station.
WHEN YOU LEAVE: Hand in your ID cards and NAAFI Shopping Permit to your unit or, for Garrison Troops, to
the Garrison Admin Office (GAO.) Hand in your BFBS set-top box to the SSVC retail outlet in your Station and,
when these close, to the local Garrison Quartermaster office in your Station.