Egyptian nationals residing abroad invited to gain exemptions for military service for $5,000

Applications opened Monday for Egyptian nationals residing abroad to pay $5,000 or 5,000 euros to resolve any outstanding issues with their military conscription status in the national records.

Egyptian men between the ages of 19 and 30 — who are required by law to do at least one year of military service before seeking employment, travel or even marriage — are eligible to apply online to the initiative until September 13, said the Foreign Ministry in a July announcement.

The step will allow the government to collect foreign currency from expatriates eager to gain exemption from the official sanctions levied against those who have not completed their military service or with other conscription status irregularities. Press outlets framed the initiative as the latest in a number of government programs that aim to increase foreign currency inflows from the Egyptian diaspora to bolster the embattled economy.

The program was conceived, said the Foreign Ministry, after the Emigration Ministry received requests from expatriates wishing to resolve their conscription status, some of whom were hesitant to return to the country for fear of being barred from departing again without completing a year or more in compulsory military service. 

Until their conscription status is resolved, the statement added, Egyptian men residing abroad will not be allowed to renew their passports.

Data required for registration on the site includes a settlement fee of $5,000 or 5,000 euros deposited in the Abu Dhabi branch of the government bank, Banque Misr.

Some members of the public responding on social media criticized a lack of fairness in offering an out to only those living abroad who have enough money.

Men over 18 years old are required under the 1980 military and national service law to undertake between one and three years of military service depending on their level of education. In order to leave the country, they must either prove that they have completed their conscription or gained an exemption from national service, for example for health reasons, or because they are an only son and act as the main provider for their family. 

Anyone who has not completed conscription by the age of 30 “shall be punished by imprisonment and/or a fine between LE3,000 and LE10,000,” says the law. 

Those who gain temporary exemption, or postpone completing their military service and then fail to sign up at the agreed-upon time. are also required to complete an additional year in the Armed Forces.

The conscription settlement initiative is the latest program that has sought to increase foreign currency inflows from the diaspora. 

In a step late last year, the government invited Egyptians residing abroad to import cars into the country free of taxes and customs in exchange for placing dollar deposits in a Finance Ministry account that would be refunded in Egyptian pounds after five years. The program was extended for three months until mid-May due to low uptake and ended up netting $760 million, far below the multi-billion target set by the government.

With a negative trade balance and a hefty debt repayment schedule, a major balance of payments deficit paired with a series of successive global economic crises from the pandemic through to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has drained foreign currency reserves, leading to a sharp decline in the value of the pound over the past 18 months.