MEN of fighting age in Germany must obtain permission from the army to leave the country for an extended period under a new law part of war preparations.
Effective as of January 1, it applies to anyone planning to stay abroad for over three months – whether for education, or travel.
German Bundeswehr soldiers stand next to a self-propelled howitzer PzH 2000Credit: AP
A German soldier fires an M4 rifle at drone targets during the NATO drone exercise Project Flytrap 4.5 near Oldenburg in Holstein, northern GermanyCredit: EPA
The measure is part of this year’s broad reforms under the , but remained unnoticed until now.
“Male persons who have reached the age of 17 must get 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 says.
Restricting the movements of men of fighting age comes as the country is preparing for within the next two to three years.
In the event of a national crisis such as a war, emergency conscription may be activated.
An army 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.”
For millions of men in Germany, it remains unclear how the requirement for a travel permit will be implemented in practice – and what happens if they don’t know about it.
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.
Germany aims to ramp up the number of soldiers from the current level of 184,000 to between 255,000 and 270,000 soldiers by 2035.
All young men born in 2008 or later must now complete a questionnaire about their willingness to serve.
While the survey is mandatory for men, it remains voluntary for women.
If war was to break out, the military would draw on the questionnaires and medical exams for potential recruits.
The country has stopped short of reintroducing mandatory conscription, but hopes boosting numbers will give potential recruits more insight into military life.
The revelation about the new rule comes weeks after Lieutenant General Gerald Funke, the head of the German armed forces support command told The Times that Russian “hybrid warfare” is his biggest concern, along with casualties.
“While in Afghanistan I had a regrettably high but manageable number of wounded, I now have to plan for the possibility of a thousand injured personnel a day,” he said.
“The closer you look at it, the more complex it becomes and the harder it is to imagine.”
He added: “What worries me … at the moment is the hybrid side, the covert side: sabotage, sleeper cells, some kind of targeted attacks.
“I can’t rule out the use of long-range missiles. But I think the hybrid threat is very high.”
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius speaks with soldiers during a visit to the Luftwaffe officer training school on February 3, 2026Credit: Getty
Recruits hold G36 rifles during live-fire training in Ahlen, GermanyCredit: Reuters 
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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