Calculator
When would my child be called up?
The thing almost nobody says plainly: what matters is your child’s age on the day you arrive, not their age today. That is the one part of this you actually control, and moving a year earlier or later can change the obligation entirely.
Read this before you use the answer
Published sources genuinely disagree about service for immigrants in their early-to-mid twenties. One reputable outlet reports that group is no longer drafted; others describe substantially shortened service. The rules have also changed more than once. So this page shows you the structure and the range, and tells you where the uncertainty is. It is not a determination, and nobody should time a move on it without confirming their own case with the IDF directly.
Age 16 on arrival
What to expect
Arriving before 18 means the standard path: your child will go through the regular process with their Israeli peers, and full service is the expectation. New olim are generally given roughly a year to settle before being called.
The sequence
You arrive
2027-01-01Your child is 16 at arrival. That age, not their age today, is what shapes the obligation.
First notice (Tzav Rishon) likely
Not datable yetRoughly nine months after the Teudat Zehut is issued. We cannot date this yet because the ID card itself can take anywhere from weeks to more than a year, and a clean date from your aliyah would be a guess.
Acclimation period ends
2028-01-01New olim are generally given about a year to settle before being drafted. Treat it as a norm rather than a right.
The routes worth knowing about
Mahal
Diaspora Jews who are NOT making permanent aliyah, and some qualified non-Jews.
A shortened service of roughly 14 to 18 months. Worth knowing about precisely because it is an alternative to full conscription for a young person who wants to serve without committing to aliyah yet.
Garin Tzabar
Ages 18 to 24, or 23 for women, without parents living in Israel, and children of Israelis abroad.
A structured programme with built-in lone-soldier support: housing, a group of peers arriving together, and help with the practical side. The obvious route for a young person coming alone.
Lone soldier status
Soldiers without parents in Israel.
Carries real entitlements: about a month of home leave a year, one fully-paid flight home during full service, and up to 30 special-leave days a year for those whose parents are abroad.
Before you calculate
What it works out
What compulsory IDF service is likely to look like for a child, by age at aliyah and gender, with the milestones that follow. The calculator places your child in one of the bands below.
The figures it uses, as recorded
Age at aliyah: 0 to 17 · Any childSources agree on this
Arriving before 18 means the standard path: your child will go through the regular process with their Israeli peers, and full service is the expectation. New olim are generally given roughly a year to settle before being called.
CheckedConfidence: highSources: Nefesh B'Nefesh Lone Soldiers Program
Age at aliyah: 18 to 21 · Any childSources agree on this
Squarely inside the standard conscription window. Expect to serve, with roughly a year of acclimation first. Garin Tzabar exists specifically for this age range if arriving without parents in Israel.
CheckedConfidence: highSources: Nefesh B'Nefesh Lone Soldiers Program, Garin Tzabar
Age at aliyah: 22 to 23 · DaughtersSources disagree, confirm your own case
Close to the reported upper bound for women. Service may be substantially shortened or not required, but the published detail is inconsistent. Confirm your own case with the IDF directly.
CheckedConfidence: medium, confirm before actingSources: Decker, Pex, Levi (law firm), The Times of Israel
Age at aliyah: 22 to 25 · SonsSources disagree, confirm your own case
This is the band where published sources genuinely conflict. Some report that immigrants in the low-to-mid twenties are no longer drafted at all; others describe substantially shortened service measured in months rather than years. Both cannot be exactly right, and the answer has changed more than once. Confirm your own case with the IDF directly before timing a move around it.
CheckedConfidence: medium, confirm before actingSources: The Times of Israel, Decker, Pex, Levi (law firm)
Age at aliyah: 24 and over · DaughtersSources disagree, confirm your own case
Women arriving at 24 or older are generally reported as exempt from compulsory service. Volunteering remains possible.
CheckedConfidence: medium, confirm before actingSources: Decker, Pex, Levi (law firm)
Age at aliyah: 26 and over · SonsSources disagree, confirm your own case
Men arriving at 26 or older are generally reported as exempt from compulsory service. Reserve obligations and voluntary routes can still exist, so confirm rather than assume.
CheckedConfidence: medium, confirm before actingSources: Decker, Pex, Levi (law firm)
New olim are generally given about 365 days to settle before being drafted, and the first notice (Tzav Rishon) arrives roughly 274 days after the Teudat Zehut is issued.
CheckedConfidence: medium, confirm before actingSources: Nefesh B'Nefesh Lone Soldiers Program, The Times of Israel, Garin Tzabar, Decker, Pex, Levi (law firm)
Who it applies to
Families moving with children or young adults. Age at aliyah decides the band. Where sources conflict the band is marked, and it must be confirmed with the IDF directly.
Worked example
A son born on 2010-01-01 who arrives on 2027-01-01 is 16 at aliyah, which puts him in the band for ages 0 to 17.
Plain arithmetic on the figures above. An illustration, not a personal quote.
Your own numbers go in the calculator above.