Germans aged 17 to 45 must ask the Army for permission to leave the country for more than 3 months

All German men between the ages of 17 and 45 will have to request authorization from the Army to leave the country when their stay abroad is longer than three months, according to the new military service law.

According to the text of Germany’s new military service law, men aged 17 and over are obliged to ask for authorization in advance to the Armed Forces career center for stays abroad lasting more than three months”.

“We will clarify, through administrative provisions, that authorization will always be considered granted as long as military service is voluntary”, he explained, a spokesperson for the German Ministry of Defense told the DPA news agency.

The call Military Service Modernization Law came into force on January 1st. Its central point is the mandatory medical examination for boys born from 2008 onwards, with the hope of being able to recruit volunteers to reinforce the Armed Forces with another 80,000 active soldiers, until reaching 260,000.

The Armed Forces need to know in case of emergencywho is abroad for an extended period. According to the law, the authorization obligation applies also outside situations of tension and defense.

Asked about how infractions will be detected or sanctioned, the spokesperson recalled that “the norm already applied during the Cold War and had no practical relevance. Also is not specifically subject to sanction”.

“At the Ministry of Defense, concrete rules are being drawn up for granting exceptions to the authorization obligationalso with the aim of avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy”, detailed the spokesperson.

Even so, notes Europa Press, the spokesperson clarified that authorization must be granted for stays abroad whenever “no concrete service as a soldier during the period in question”.

“Since, according to current legislation, military service is based exclusively on volunteering, in principle should be granted the respective authorizations”, he specified.

O Mandatory military service was suspended in Germany in 2011after 55 years in force, but the new legislation, agreed by the coalition of conservatives and social democrats led by the chancellor Friedrich Merzdefines a model of voluntary military service, although preview the return from mandatory military service to complete the quotas if voluntary enlistment does not achieve the objectives set.