The standard establishes how long, as a minimum and maximum, the service may be extended.
News Colombia.
The national government announced a new measure that will allow young people currently performing mandatory military service to voluntarily extend their stay for up to twelve additional months. The decision was made official through decree 1075 of 2025, issued by the Ministry of Defense.
According to the rule, soldiers may request a minimum extension of six months and a maximum of one year, as long as there is availability in the respective force and their performance has been rated as favorable. This extension will be carried out under the same conditions, benefits and obligations of the initial service.
«Any young person who performs his military service can extend it voluntarily. “We are no longer in the days where military trucks chased young people to recruit them, now it is the other way around,” wrote President Gustavo Petro in his X account along with the decree.
The measure seeks to strengthen the ranks of the Military Forces with personnel who already have experience and a vocation for service, while guaranteeing that conscripts maintain the same rights and benefits that they enjoyed during their mandatory period.
Approximately, 100,000 young people receive $946,000 monthly for performing military service, whether they are in @COL_EJERCITO, @ArmadaColombia, @FuerzaAereaCol, @PoliciaColombia or in @INPEC_Colombia. Next year there will be a current legal minimum wage of $1,423,500. This improves… https://t.co/L5Sdxfm3Ap
— Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez S. Proudly Colombian (@PedroSanchezCol) October 17, 2025
The decree, which adds a section to the Regulations of the Defense Administrative Sector in accordance with Law 2384 of 2024, establishes that the extension of service may only be granted once, for the aforementioned period, and that the soldier may voluntarily withdraw his request at any time.
Requirements to access the extension
Young people interested in extending their stay must meet the following requirements:
- Submit the application at least four months in advance on the date of discharge, before the commander of the unit where they serve.
- Have a favorable performance conceptissued by the unit commander.
- Not having been penalized, disciplinary or administratively sanctioned during his service.
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