Last Thursday, the National Council scrapped the scheme that allowed young French-speaking Swiss men to avoid military service and the exemption fee by attending a single information session in France. The vote was 129 to 61. It’s over. But there is something else in that same package of votes that concerns all dual nationals, including Spanish-Swiss nationals.
Parliament also approved, by 120 votes to 71, a broader motion establishing the general principle that military service completed abroad will only be recognised if it is comparable to Swiss military service. In practice: if they do not complete a minimum equivalent to 18 weeks of Swiss basic training, dual nationals will still have to pay the exemption fee. This second motion still has to pass through the Council of States, so it is not yet law.
For Spaniards with Swiss nationality, this means the following. Spain abolished compulsory military service in 2001. If you are under the age of 44 and were born in Spain, you have not completed military service. So your situation was already the same as that of any Swiss citizen: either you complete the training cycle, or you pay. That hasn’t changed. Where there may be an impact is for those who did Spanish military service before 2001 and subsequently obtained Swiss nationality, depending on whether or not the Spanish service is considered comparable. And for adult children who hold dual citizenship and are of conscription age: the situation is also the same as it was before this vote.
What does change, and is worth knowing, is the rate. If you are a male Swiss citizen aged between 19 and 37 and do not perform military service, you pay 3% of your annual taxable income each year, with a minimum of 400 francs. Every year. Many dual nationals who obtain Swiss citizenship are unaware that this obligation applies from day one.