UAE Exempts Sole Sons Of Emirati Families From Mandatory Military Service

The UAE has announced that a sole son of an Emirati family is permanently exempted from military service.

According to the mandatory military service law, all Emirati men, who are medically fit, are required to serve in the armed forces for at least 11 months. However, with the recent amendment made by the National and Reserve Service Authority (NRSA) on the provisions of Federal Law No. 6 of 2014, a new category of men has been exempted from the rule on reserve service.

Authorities took to social media on Monday to announce that the sole son of a family, or of a single father or mother, was now excused from national and reserve service. The authorities explained, however, that a man cannot be considered an "only son" if it is proven in official documents that he has female siblings.

The NRSA said sole sons, who still wish to join the national service, may be allowed to do so, as long as they meet the rest of the requirements established under the law. That means the son should be able to complete the entire duration of his service, but will not be allowed to fight in the front line.

"Those who wish to join national service can do so if they meet other conditions set by the law and related decisions. They must complete the full-service period; however, they will not be summoned to fight in the frontlines," explained the NRSA.

Aside from sole sons of Emirati families, other exemptions to the national service, include men who provide for their parents and siblings with special needs, albeit their exemption is only temporary. Men serving their sentences in prison are also temporarily exempted from the service. The law states that once the reason for their temporary exemption is over, they need to report to the proper authorities so they could serve in the military.

Since working Emiratis are not exempted from national service, their time serving in the military will be accounted for when it's time to compute their end-of-service and pension benefits. Therefore, it is the duty of the employers in both the public and private sectors to allow their workers to enlist for military service and keep their jobs open for them once they have completed their time in service.