Army service for dual citizens in Israel: who's drafted, who isn't, and your US passport

If you hold Israeli citizenship, the draft applies to you even with a US passport in your other pocket, but your age when you arrived in Israel decides whether you serve, for how long, or not at all.

The short version

• Israeli citizens are liable for service wherever they live, and that includes dual nationals [2]. Israel's service law also covers permanent residents.
• Israelis abroad must settle their military status between age 16 years and 4 months and age 19, or they can't get an Israeli passport [2][3].
• New immigrants get a year to settle in before the draft process starts, and men who arrive at 22 or older are generally exempt, though they can volunteer [4][5].
• Lone soldiers, whose parents live abroad, get extra pay, rent help and flights to visit family [6].
• Serving in the IDF generally doesn't cost you US citizenship. Under State Department guidance, it would take voluntary service with the intent to give up US nationality [1].

Who is liable

Israel's service law applies to Israeli citizens and permanent residents. The Israeli consulate in London puts it plainly: all Israeli citizens, in Israel or abroad, must enlist under the law, including dual nationals and people who live permanently abroad [2]. Being born in Brooklyn to an Israeli parent doesn't change that, because you're likely an Israeli citizen too.

For most American families, it comes down to one of these situations:

Families with mixed situations should confirm their status in writing. The consulate service is free [2].

Israelis abroad: settling your status

If you're an Israeli citizen growing up in the US, you'll deal with the IDF through an Israeli consulate, not a recruitment office.

1. Apply between 16 years and 4 months and 19. The consulate pages say this window is mandatory, and settling your status is required to get an Israeli passport or travel document [2][3].
2. Send the application form by email with copies of your and your parents' Israeli and foreign passports. Divorced or separated parents need custody papers [2].
3. Get a decision. Applicants under 19 usually hear back fast; those over 19 typically wait about four weeks for an IDF answer [2].
4. Keep visits short. Deferrals for Israelis who live abroad depend on how much time you spend in Israel. A long summer can be fine, but a gap year or a semester can change your status [2].
5. Ask about a full exemption later. The Atlanta consulate says men over 26 and women over 21 with a valid deferral can get a full exemption, while the London consulate gives 26 for men and 22 for women [2][3]. Check with your own consulate.

Your US passport doesn't get you out of any of this. If you're an Israeli citizen, you must enter and leave Israel on your Israeli passport, so get the military status sorted before the bar mitzvah trip or the Birthright-age visit. The US Embassy can't intervene in Israeli military obligations.

New immigrants: age of arrival is everything

For olim (new immigrants), the IDF uses your "age of arrival," meaning the age when you started a significant stay in Israel. That's usually your aliyah date, but not always. Short visits of up to 120 days a year don't count, while an earlier gap year you chose to extend can move the date back [5].

Nefesh B'Nefesh, which runs aliyah services with the Israeli government, publishes the current chart for men who arrived from June 1, 2015 onward. The page was last updated July 13, 2026, and notes the IDF is still refining the rules [5]:

For women, the 2016 policy change set two years of service for those arriving at 18 or 19 and one year for those arriving at 20 or 21 [4]. Women who arrive older generally aren't called up, and married women and religious women can get exemptions. Confirm the current rules before you plan around them, because service lengths have been debated in Israel and can change.

The acclimation year

New immigrants get one year to settle in before they're drafted. The first IDF notice usually comes about nine months after you receive your Teudat Zehut (Israeli ID card) [5]. Use that year for ulpan, a job or university, and if you want to serve sooner, the Lone Soldiers department can speed things up [5].

Older arrivals and volunteering

The big change came in 2016, when the IDF stopped drafting immigrant men aged roughly 22 to 26. Those who want to serve can still volunteer [4]. Plenty of Americans in their 20s do exactly that, often in combat units.

Lone soldiers

A lone soldier is a soldier whose parents are deceased or live abroad, or who can't live with or be supported by their parents for other reasons. Many American olim serve as lone soldiers. The status applies during mandatory service [6].

The Knesset's research center summarized the support in January 2025. USD conversions here use the European Central Bank reference rates of October 29, 2026 (about ILS 3.12 per USD, a cross rate from the ECB's euro rates) [6]:

Amounts change, so check the current rates with your unit's welfare officer. For parents back in the States, the support network is real, but it's still a big deal to have your kid in uniform 9,000 km (about 5,600 miles) away.

The US side: citizenship, Selective Service and taxes

Will serving cost my US citizenship?

Generally, no. The State Department says foreign military service can only be a potentially expatriating act if it's done voluntarily and with the intention of giving up US nationality [1]. Service by someone who isn't an officer generally isn't expatriating unless the foreign military is engaged in hostilities with the United States [1]. Israel isn't. And even for officers, the test still turns on voluntariness and intent, so routine IDF service doesn't by itself put your US passport at risk.

Two fine-print notes from the same page: recruiting or hiring for a foreign military inside the United States can violate federal law (18 U.S.C. 958 to 960), and anyone who lost citizenship through foreign military service before 18 can have it reinstated if they act within six months of turning 18 [1][7].

Selective Service still applies

American men aged 18 through 25 must register with the US Selective Service System even if they live abroad or serve in another country's military. It takes a few minutes online. Our guide to jury duty, Selective Service and other obligations from abroad has the details.

Taxes on soldier pay

Uncle Sam still wants a return if your income passes the filing threshold. Most IDF pay and lone-soldier stipends fall well below it, but a US expat tax preparer can check your situation if you also have other income or US accounts.

For families going through this, other parents of lone soldiers are often the best resource. You'll find some in our community group for Americans in Israel.

Sources

1. Loss of US Nationality and Service in Armed Forces of a Foreign State, US Department of State
2. Determining Military Status, Embassy of Israel in London
3. Arrangement of Military Status, Consulate General of Israel in Atlanta
4. IDF will no longer draft immigrants aged 22-26, The Times of Israel (January 20, 2016)
5. Army service for men, Nefesh B'Nefesh Aliyahpedia
6. Lone Soldiers and Immigrant Lone Soldiers in the IDF (abstract), Knesset Research and Information Center
7. Relinquishing US Nationality Abroad, US Department of State

Keep reading

• Aliyah for American Jews
• Learning Hebrew: ulpan options in Tel Aviv
• Dual citizenship and US law
• Jury duty, Selective Service and other obligations from abroad