He turns 18 this week and has received the notice for military service.
QUESTION:Is he required to serve in Switzerland? Can he get a deferment? Where can I read about this?
Thanks
I am a US Citizen. My stepson is a Swiss citizen who was raised in Venezuela ( with citizenship there as well) and is attending high school in Switzerland. He is about to get his Green Card ( Resident Alien status) in the US through my sponsorship but will continue his High School studies here in Switzerland, graduating June 2012. After that he may stay in Switzerland for college or hotel school.
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/Specials...l?cid=29288612
http://www.vtg.admin.ch/internet/vtg...t/doppelb.html
if he is a Swiss citizen.
Run it through Google Translate if required.
Well, here for a start, only in German, French and Italian though...
If you are trying to get out of the Swaziland & Venezuelan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swaziland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuela
duties you might want to talk to the US embassy in Berne.
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No service obligation as long as he's not living in Switzerland. Of course, as soon as he moves here, he's as good a candidate as any and will have to at least report for service.
I didn't have to worry about it till I moved here, luckily when I did move here (and register) I was too old to do the military service.
That being said, I just got my 400 CHF yearly tax bill for NOT doing the service which is kinda lame.
OK, thanks for the replies so far.
I now realize that dual citizenship does not prevent conscription.
If my stepson remains in Switzerland after HS graduation, and goes to university or hotel school, can he be deferred? Or must he go in right after graduation?
I'm not sure if conscription is the right word, but just details.
There are many ways (including education, medical situations) where it is commonly deferred.
edit--I guess conscription is the right word, withdrawn.
If he doe`s serve in the US army he is exempt to serve in the swiss army. Some other benefit are free travel to places like Iraq,Afghanistan,possible Venezuela,Libya,Grenada,Cuba,Pakistan .Endless possibilities
That's pretty cheap, as I was paying around CHF 1800/year.
Tom
Seriously!!! Damn--that's rough. At that rate I would consider doing Zivilschutz.
It's around 2% of your income, so the more you make, the more they have to pay.
Luckily, I only had to pay for four years (and they've since lowered the retirement age even more).
Tom
Hmm I see, that sounds about right. I will quit my complaining, pay my bill, and happily avoid military service and zivilshutz.
Athough I've always been intrigued and interested in basic training, looks like fun, and gets me in shape and maybe I'll learn some dicipline and respect for others