Frontex Border Guard
 

Hey all,

So I thought I create this thread so everyone who has applied and going for the Border Guard position can come and speak to other people going through the process. Here we can hopefully answer each other's questions, encourage each other as we are training to get fit and share updates as we go through the process so everyone can stay up to date. I am 37 years old and served with the Metropolitan Police as a police officer in London for over 10 years and currently on a career break and residing in Greece.

Good luck to all,
G

Frontex Border Guard
 

Hi. Good ideia to keep us all updated.
Im 45 years all and ive been a police officer since i was 21.
Im from portugal and hope this help all that apllied to Frontex.
Good luck

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Are you a citizen of any EU/Schengen member state other than the UK?

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Yeah originally from Greece so hold dual British/Greek nationality. Have you applied for this position?

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Hi all,
Has anyone recevied shortlist by e-mail?

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Hi, i understood the entire process will start in the end of this month, or am i wrong?

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Yes,then will start online English test!

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Ok. Then i regret to say that i havent been contacted yet. But if i do ill post here.
Again good luck every1

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

I only hold British citizenship so little point in me applying.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Does anyone know if, besides the salary that will be multiplied by 0,68 because of the lower cost of living in Poland, there is also a "per diem"? Or is this dependant on where you will be sent?

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Hi. I dont think there is a per diem. But are you telling that the value thats on the grid as net still has to be multiplied by 0.68? I thought it was payable salary as they say “(after all deductions...)

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

The selection notice says the following:
The remuneration is expressed in EUR, after the compulsory deductions set out in the Staff Regulations or in any implementing regulations is weighted by the correction coefficient for the place of employment which is Poland (currently 68.6).

Meaning, I suppose, the remuneration is 68% of the amount quoted in the salary grid...
Or would that only be applicable to other allowances like household payments etc..? This is not really clear, since the sentence DOES say: "after the compulsary deductions the remuneration is weighted by the correction coefficient". And the deductions only apply to the salary, in my opinion. For other allowances there are no deductions.

But maybe you are right, the salary in the grid might already have been weighted by the correction coefficient. I hope so.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Hello gents!
I see you guys already make inquiries about wages, but my question is did you guys receive the email to join the next phase?

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Hey there,

Don't think they have started sending them out yet.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Thanks

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Well...."already"....:wink_smile:
The remuneration is quite a big thing. If the salary is multiplied by 0,68 it might not even be worth going through the whole procedure, in case invited.

So seems to be important to have clearness on this this beforehand...
Indeed I think the e-mails will be sent out end of January.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

I don't know, I doubt the 0.68 will be the case. This would not make it competitive and EU jobs are traditionally well paid. Can't see career ex-military/police leaving their jobs for this unless from Eastern Europe perhaps where salaries are lower. This would limit their pool. Everything in their job ad has been quite clear so doubt they would hide something this big in the small letters.

I agree end of January is the most prob date for email to go out with physical invites being sent out mid-Feb to go to Warsaw beginning of March. Hope so anyways so I can get my fitness up to required standard.

Would be nice to know if physical and interviews will take place on same visit or whether we would have to go back again for interviews.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

If I dig into Frontex a bit more, I find quite many reports on discussions about the salary, and is that the salary is not competitive. It is not in any way the same level as the normal EU salaries.
Quotes like:
In terms of recruitment of Frontex staff: Several issues have been hampering the effective recruitment of the increasing staff for Frontex: The salary "correction coefficient" applied to Warsaw means that salaries offered by Frontex are lower and hardly competitive for highly skilled staff.

and:

The main reason for these problems of recruitment is generally believed to be the relatively low salary levels. As the seat of FRONTEX is in Warsaw, the salary levels are adjusted according to a ‘correction coefficient’ that takes into account the variations in living costs across the EU.

I agree with you that if the salary would be multiplied by 0,68, this is not at all competitive for Western European ex-Military/police that quit their jobs with all risks involved. The pool would indeed be quite limited and in my opinion, this is not fair. The cost of living and a house/mortgage to pay in the country of origin are much higher in West than in East Europe. The salaries are higher as well so why would the older/advanced police officers from Western Europe quit their jobs if the salary is not competitive..?
This seemed to be the main problem for Frontex in the past, considering what I found in open sources. But perhaps this has improved in the mean time. To me it is not entirely clear in the Application documents. Neither is clear to me what the tax policy means in practice. They say the salary is net, but where do you pay tax? If I am still a resident of my country of origin, what are the consequences? I might also still have to pay tax in my own country? We are not going to emigrate, we are still residents of our countries of origin which has, at least in my country, consequences for tax paying. I asked my local police authorities about this, but they do not have an answer to that. I am asking the tax authorities now, but the question does not seem to be that simple. I am surpised that nothing is said about that in the application documents. Maybe I am thinking too far, but it is quite a procedure to go through and these things are quite important before going into such a procedure.

I do not know if the physical tests will be held at the same time as the interviews. Would be convenient though. Maybe you will learn more about that in the first mail.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

I am not surprised they do not go into taxation in the application documents. It is because it is a nightmare. It is not decided by EU law but rather by bilateral agreements between two countries. The one you reside and work in and the one you originate from. First you have to establish there is such a bilateral agreement for the avoidance of double taxation between Poland and your country. Then you read it very carefully to see where you will end up paying taxes. Best thing you can do is seek the advice of a good tax accountant with specific knowledge in international matters.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Good morning all. I think the taxation wont be a problem, cause im pretty sure that most of european countries has similar legislation in the subject of where you are considered resident. Starting the contract in may, you will be considered resident in poland since youll be there for at least 183 days. So you cant be taxed in your country, at least is what i think

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

hi there.
the first step is the English test. I noticed that they write on-line exercises by external provider. Do you have any idea or informations how it works?
thanks
Bill

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Unfortunately I think it is not that simple. But I should consult a tax consultant I guess...

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

True, but they should mention this in some way in the application documents. They say : "Net salary, after all deductions" which is not always the case. Indeed do I have to consult someone with specific knowlegde on these matters. And not only me I guess, since it is different for everyone and indeed a nightmare..:-)

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

I'm also interested to know.
I'm using a British Council app called EnglishScore to test myself. Please share if you know of any other CEFR testing platform?

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Hey guys! A candidate from Slovenia here.
So first the English test. Before I was first deployed (as a national police officer) to one of the Frontex Joint Operations we had to do an English test in the police academy that was later submitted to Frontex. Later in my career when I was deployed again (but not as part of Frontex Joint Operations) I had to go through an English test yet again, but this time they hired/paid The British Council who provided a supervisor to be present at the police academy when we were going through the online testing. Frontex also has Partnership academies all over the EU (including Slovenia) so I think it will be something similar to what I went through when I did the second test.

I get the whole 0.68 dilemma, but there's one other thing about the pay that I can't figure out or find any information about - how much is the deployment allowance? It says in the selection notice that border guards will be deployed throughout their careers and that one of the applicable allowances is the deployment allowance, however, there is no information on how much that would be. Anyone got any information about that?

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

hi there,
i prepare myself using the platform TOEIC for B2 level. I have no information about the format of Frontex English exams. TOEIC come from HELLENIC-AMERICAN UNION and used to prepare students and candidates who want to take place on contest in abroad. Of course British Council is more official than the Union. In any case the English language is same everywhere but The level of difficulty maybe is different between the foundations.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Hi Guys,

Irish national here currently serving in the military,

Eagerly awaiting the email about the up coming English test too. Hopefully they are clearer in future emails about what the exact pay will be.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

And how are you preparing yourself for the exam? :)
It's unfair an English native speaker applying for this job. If it were up to me Your language test would be in Greek :)

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

😁. I know what you mean. Hopefully yourtest goes well through. After this batch they have there other 9000 so members to recruit so maby over the course of time the application process might change, who knows.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

It was a joke. I wasn't serious about what I was saying. :)
I'm also eagered in receiving the email.
I think I have a chance in making to the short list, but that depends on the other candidates and how much will Frontex narrow the list of candidates down.
best of luck to all of you and when the emails start to arrive in your mail boxes do say something so others can carry on and stop dreaming till the next procedure.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Best of luck to do you bud 😁. Btw this group is a really good idea. I've been going through frontex Facebook. Twitter and LinkedIn forinfo.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Can anyone have a guess as to why it says in the selection notice that basic entry is contract and intermediate and advanced are temporary.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Thanks for your answer.
Yes... Some aspects are very detailed some are too sumarized in the notice.
Anyways, I've reviewed it today (the intermediate) and my understanding is that the payment its net. So expressed after all taxes and other retainers.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

I'm sure the situps are un Greek!... 😀☀️

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Thanks for your mentions about the language!
After reading again the notice (intermediate) in my understanding there won't be any other deductions from the net salary.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

On page 8/14 of the intermediate selection notice, The pay is a strange one and seems to be worded in a weird way,

It does state that first it is the final net calculation followed by "1. Basic net/payable salary (after all deductions, contributions and taxes are applied)" but,

I am not sure if that actually means that you do not have to take into account the 0.68 with the salary or just the monthly allowances.The section that states"The remuneration is expressed in EUR, after the compulsory deductions set out in the Staff Regulations or in any implementing regulations is weighted by the correction coefficient for the place of employment which is Poland (currently 68.6). It can be paid either in EUR or in PLN according to a fixed exchange rate (currently 4.3631 PLN/EUR)",

I think this really does mean that it will come down to your salary x 0.68 which in this case is 2416 x 0.68= 1642.88 a month which is not great at all by western EU standards.

On this article https://www.swp-berlin.org/10.18449/2019C47/ which is dated Dec 2019 (which is a very interesting read) mentions,

"Moreover, the EU is concerned that there will be an insufficient response to Frontex’s new job advertisements. Applicants may not be sufficiently qualified and/or not all Member States may be represented equally, not least because employees in Warsaw (where the agency is based) receive below-average pay compared to other European countries. Salaries for EU employees are offset using a correction coefficient depending on the cost of living compared to Belgium and Luxembourg; in the case of Poland it is about 30 percent lower."

Will we definitely need more clarification.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Exactly...its not clear in the selection notice and I have read articles as well that put up questions about the salary....that is why I was also confused....:zzz:
And they say "net", but that is also dependant on your national authorities in my opinion.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Hi all,

Just joined..

I am an Italian police officer with military background who's applied to ecbg "advanced" position and, as all the other members of this forum, I'm waiting to know if and when the English language test will eventually be.
I have read some of the previous posts but, at this stage, it looks to me quite premature to go into more details than what has been already provided about remuneration, taxation, allowances etc...
Of course, if the final stage will be reached and before signing an employment contract, all such aspects need to be fully clarified.

At the moment, though, would be enough for me to know more about the forthcoming English, physical tests interview etc. and for this reason I really appreciate the idea of this forum in which we can easily share information.

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Hi Anto,

I do not think it is premature to go into details....
Many of us have to prepare a lot for the recruitment process....practicing English, training for the physical exercise etc, not to mention the fact that you also will have to travel to Poland on your own expenses if you come through the English test.
For that matter, I think it is important whether or not the salary will be competitive.
To speak for myself: I am not gonna leave my steady police job with a decent salary, pension etc for a job with a limited contract and a non competitive salary and above that taking the risk of being fired during the trial period of 9 Months if the salary is hardly enough to cover my life expenses anyway. The salary is not THE most important thing but in my opinion it is important enough to know this before going through this whole process.

The details about the physical test are described quite detailed in the Selection documents.
English test I do not know but it would be wise to practice with some tools mentioned here before on the forum.
The interview.... I do not know what to expect....

Re: Frontex Border Guard
 

Nice to see conversation going strong. After all the chat about the pay I read again the initial document and I have to agree with some people here that it appears that numbers shown are the final numbers we should be getting paid. I also agree we have plenty of time to worry about that later on in the process. My main concern at the moment is getting my physical up to scratch with the number of push ups expected seeming a bit steep to me. Anyone with advice please feel free to PM me. Taxes wise as we discussed that as well I found this interesting bit in the original document

"Staff pays an EU tax at source and deductions are also made for medical insurance, pension and unemployment
insurance. Salaries are exempt from national taxes. The rate of the solidarity levy is 6 %."

This definitely agrees with for example the bilateral agreement Poland and Greece has to avoid double taxation where service to government entities is taxed at source irrespective of residency. Finally Frontex released their annual brief which makes an interesting read for us looking to join it in the future:

https://frontex.europa.eu/assets/Pub...ebsite_002.pdf

Have a great day everyone from sunny but cold Greece!!!