All German men aged between 17 and 45 now need approval from the Bundeswehr - i.e., the German army - for longer stays abroad. Under the new Military Service Act, this applies to trips abroad lasting more than three months, the Defence Ministry has announced. The daily Frankfurter Rundschau was the first to report on the change.
The rule is part of what is known as the Military Service Modernisation Act, which came into force on 1 January 2026. The law is intended to ensure that the Bundeswehr is fit for the future in terms of personnel and organization. Plans include, among other things, a more attractive form of voluntary military service, broader registration of young men and new legal instruments to enable faster action if needed.
What the new law says
Specifically, this concerns paragraph 3 of the Conscription Act, which governs the scope and duration of compulsory military service in Germany. Paragraph 1 states: "Compulsory military service is fulfilled by military service or [...] by civilian service." The provision applies to all men of conscription age between 18 and 45.
The newly worded paragraph 2 now says: "Male persons who have reached the age of 17 must obtain approval from the competent Bundeswehr careers centre if they intend to leave the Federal Republic of Germany for longer than three months [...]."
As long as military service remains voluntary, this approval is deemed to have been granted, a ministry spokesman said. The aim, he added, was to find a straightforward arrangement for people travelling abroad. For as long as military service is voluntary, approval is in principle regarded as granted.
However, the necessary administrative regulations have not yet entered into force. In theory, therefore, it still formally applies that 'approval from the competent Bundeswehr careers centre must be obtained' before travelling abroad for more than three months. The spokesman stressed, however: 'Since, under current law, military service is based exclusively on voluntary service, such approvals are in principle to be granted.'
The reasoning and the back story
Since Russia's attack on Ukraine around four years ago, the defence of Europe has once again moved more sharply into focus. Against this backdrop, the previously suspended system of conscription is also being hotly debated once more.
At the beginning of this year, the Military Service Modernisation Act came into force. In future, young men are once again to be systematically registered and called up for assessment. The federal government aims thereby to increase the strength of the Bundeswehr from the current roughly 184,000 to between 255,000 and 270,000 service personnel by 2035.
A spokeswoman for the Defence Ministry told IPPEN.MEDIA: "In an emergency we need to know who is potentially staying abroad for a longer period."
The impact is 'profound', ministry admits
This far-reaching encroachment on personal autonomy previously applied only in exceptional cases - namely in a state of tension or defence - that is, when an attack by another country is highly likely.
Now, however, paragraph 2 has been revised. It now additionally states: "Outside a state of tension or defence, sections 3 [...] apply." This means that the rule set out in paragraph 3 now applies as a matter of principle.
The Defence Ministry acknowledges that the impact is "profound". Young men who, for example, want to spend a semester abroad or take a gap year must first obtain approval from a Bundeswehr careers centre. For this reason, "more detailed rules governing exemptions from the approval requirement are currently being drawn up at the Federal Ministry of Defence".
It is still unclear what consequences people face if they fail to obtain approval before a longer stay abroad, although in a country where the wrong retweet gets you a prison sentence we can only imagine.
According to RND, a large newspaper chain, the Defence Ministry initially declined to explain why the public had not been clearly informed about the new rules.