Originally Posted by
Crromwellman
INW
Its not an urban myth. One of my neighbour's sons in Germany got his German call-up papers and there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing to sort it out involving the Service authorities, the JSLO and the Consulate/Embassy before it was all sorted out
Seems odd for Germany. Like many service families abroad the status of dependants in Germany is not covered by EU, German or UK immigration and nationalisation laws, but under the Status of Forces Agreement and the various Supplements. For example:
Article 15
1. The obligation under German law to report births and deaths to a German registrar shall not apply either with respect to a child born to, or with respect to the death of, a member of a force or of a civilian component or a dependent; where, however, such birth or death is reported to a German registrar, registration shall take place in accordance with the provisions of German law.
2. The obligation to report births and deaths remains unaffected in cases where the child is, or the deceased was, a German.
In the specific case of German military call-up:
Article 7
In applying international agreements or other provisions in force in the Federal territory concerning residence (Aufenthalt) and settlement (Niederlassung), insofar as they relate to repatriation, to expulsion, to the extension of residence permits or to gainful occupation, periods of time spent in the Federal territory by any person as a member of a force or of a civilian component or as a dependent shall be disregarded.
Re Article 7
In the application of the German regulations on compulsory military service, periods of time spent in the Federal territory as a member of a force, of a civilian component or as a dependent shall be disregarded.
Almost all service brats born outside of the UK will come under a Status of Forces Agreement or some kind or another. For those rare cases where no relevant SOFA was in place the presumption is with the general provisions. The rules, laws and process for this stuff is nailed-down and always works in our favour. This of course has nothing to do with the high regard in which we are held but everything to do with the fact that much of the system is mirrored from the diplomatic world - they are the true masters of looking after themselves.