German men must ask the army for permission to leave country for more than three months under new rules

By SHANNON MCGUIGAN, NEWS REPORTER Published: 16:23, 4 April 2026 | Updated: 16:23, 4 April 2026 German men of fighting age must ask the army for permission to leave the country for over three months under new rules.  A new military service scheme has been introduced by the German government, which means all men born after 2008 will have to undergo a medical exam and also answer questions about their fitness for service.  And the legislation also includes a clause where those between the ages of 17 and 45 will require a permit from the Bundeswehr, the country's military, to be able to depart from Germany for longer periods.  The new law aims to reduce the movements of men who are of fighting age in case a national crisis, such as war, erupts.  The new rule says: 'Male persons who have reached the age of 17 must obtain permission from the responsible career centre of the German armed forces if they wish to leave the Federal Republic of Germany for more than three months.'  It comes as Germany is quickly rearming and remobilising as they plan to grow its armed forces amid the possible breakdown of NATO, as well as growing threats of war with Russia.   Meanwhile, Germany's leader Friedrich Merz's overarching goal for the country it to become a major security power within Europe with the help of what he hopes will eventually be 'the strongest conventional army in Europe'.  Germany also promised to spend 3.5 per cent of the country's GDP, €153billion (£133billion), by 2029 on defence as part of its aim to meet NATO's five per cent target.   German men of fighting age must ask the army for permission to leave the country for over three months under new rules (Pictured: The German military also known as the Bundeswehr) Military service is not mandatory in Germany; however, the new law allows German politicians to conscript those between the ages of 17 and 45 later down the line if they do not meet recruitment targets.  Their law previously had a similar clause regarding exit permits for extended periods of time abroad.  At the time, the legislation said those of fighting age would only be required in the midst of a security emergency, such as war.   However, reforms on military service in January now mean men aged between 17 and 45 must tell the Bundeswehr about extended holidays or working overseas.  However, what would happen if a citizen left without obtaining a permit and how the rules will be applied are not currently known.  There was also speculation that the law was passed by mistake due to risks of the new rule placing a huge bureaucratic burden on the German military.   The German defence ministry has explained it was 'currently developing more specific regulations for granting exceptions to the approval requirement in order to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy'. A Bundeswehr spokesperson said: 'The background and guiding principle of this regulation is to ensure a reliable and informative military register for when needed ... in case of emergency, we need to know who might be staying abroad for an extended period. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.