Military Service

Dear male students,

We would like to inform you about the conditions of military service in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Military service is subdivided into the following types:

1. Compulsory draft for military service

Male citizens between the ages of 18 and 27 will be drafted for military service shall be male if they are not exempt from service and are not eligible for a service deferral.

2. Service in the reserves

Citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic that have not performed military or alternative service and were abroad will be required to complete the military requirement if they do not qualify for a deferral or exemption, and have not reached the age of 27. Those that are 27 and older will be enlisted in the reserves and will be required to pay 300 units.

Citizens aged 18-27, who are not eligible for a deferral or exemption and are physically fit for military service, have the right to voluntarily serve in the mobilization reserve.

Service in the mobilization reserve requires cash contributions to the Ministry of Defense. The amount of this contribution is of 120 units including taxes (12,000 KGS).

Military service is compulsory for males of 18 years old.

Based on the medical examination and the recruit’s application, the district (city) draft board makes a decision.

Military service in the mobilization reserve lasts one month during which the recruits undergo military training at Ministry of Defense centers.

3. Alternative service

Alternative service is a type of service for citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic that replaces the compulsory military draft.

A male citizens between the ages of 18 to 27, who is ineligible for a deferral and has not served in the compulsory military draft or the mobilization reserves is subject to alternative services if:

- He is a member of a registered religious organization, whose doctrine does not permit the use of weapons and service in the armed forces;
- He was previously convicted of a crime;
- He has medical limitations as described in the Regulation on medical examination;
- He comes from a family with five or more children under 18 and he is the eldest child;
- He is the breadwinner of the family in which parent is disabled (group I or II);
- He has a parent or a sibling, who became disabled during military service or later due to injuries, wounds, and diseases obtained during the period of military service;
- He has a parent or a sibling who died during military service, or later due to injuries, wounds, and diseases obtained during the period of military service;
- He has a wife and one child;
- He is an only son in a family with retired parents;
- He is an only son of a single mother (father);
- He has one brother under the age of eighteen (or an 18-year-old brother who is a group I or II invalid), who is a dependent of a single mother, with no other children in the family;
- He is an orphan;
- He reached the age of twenty four and has not done compulsory military service or service in the mobilization reserve.

The duration of alternative service is thirty six months.

The amount of financial contributions is 120 units for the entire period of alternative service (12,000 KGS).

Source: LAW N 43 "On universal military duty for KR citizens and on the military and alternative services", February 9, 2009.