In Germany, men 17–45 years old were required to obtain permission from the Bundeswehr to leave the country for more than three months

Update: The German Ministry of Defense has promised to clarify the legal regulations regarding permission from the Bundeswehr for men to leave the country, writes Deutsche Welle. “We will clarify through administrative regulations that the permit is considered issued when military service is voluntary,” a department spokesman tells the dpa agency.

From 1 January 2026, all male German citizens aged 17 to 45 must obtain permission from the Bundeswehr to leave the country for more than three months. This is reported by the Berliner Zeitung and Frankfurter Rundschau .

Such a requirement is provided for by the amendments to the Law on Military Duty that have entered into force, writes the Berliner Zeitung, noting that this innovation remained unnoticed by the general public until recently.

Previously, the Conscription Act also stipulated the need to request permission from the Bundeswehr if you plan to be absent from the country for more than three months, but only in certain situations, for example, when there is a declared increased danger of an external threat or the need to defend the country's territory in the event of an attack. However, the new version of the law does not specify these exceptions, which implies that permission must be obtained at any time.

The document also contains a clarification: “Permits must be issued without fail—no refusal is allowed.” As noted on the Bundeswehr website, the purpose of updating the law is to update the existing database and optimize the recruitment and reserve process.

The Ministry of Defense confirmed to Frankfurter Rundschau that obtaining permission for a long absence from the country is necessary to “create a reliable and informative military register in case of need.” It is important “to know in an emergency who may be abroad for a long period of time,” the press service of the Ministry of Defense said. At the same time, representatives of the defense department emphasized that they are still working on “more specific rules for providing exceptions to the permit requirement,” as well as to “avoid unnecessary bureaucracy.”

The Ministry of Defense did not specify what the consequences will be if a German resident planning to leave the country for more than three months does not request the appropriate permission from the Bundeswehr.

• The amendment, due to which men in Germany are now formally required in any case to request permission to be absent from the country for more than three months, German media note, was adopted as part of a package of reforms, which, in particular, provides for an increase in the number of Bundeswehr from the current 184 thousand to 255-270 thousand military personnel by 2035. It is also planned to strengthen the accounting of conscription resources. Thus, all German citizens born in 2008 and younger will receive a questionnaire in which, among other things, they will be asked about their readiness to undergo military service. For boys, filling out the form will be mandatory, for girls it will be voluntary. Those who declare their readiness to serve will be able to be drafted. At the same time, the German authorities emphasize that conscription will continue to be only on a voluntary basis.