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This report updates a 2009 report on the same topic.

This report provides information on the law on veterans’ benefits for noncitizens in France and Israel. France’s Parliament froze the pensions of military veterans from France’s former colonies in 1959, but after French courts ruled this practice to be contrary to antidiscrimination laws, the Parliament adopted legislation to unfreeze the pensions for colonial military veterans. Israeli law on veterans’ benefits generally depends on eligibility criteria that do not include place of residence or citizenship.

France

France’s Parliament froze the pensions of military veterans from France’s former colonies in 1959. French courts in 2001 and 2010 ruled this practice to be contrary to antidiscrimination laws. In 2011, the Parliament adopted legislation to unfreeze the pensions of colonial military veterans. Noncitizen veterans or their beneficiaries were given the opportunity from December 31, 2010, to December 31, 2014, to submit requests to have their pensions revised.

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Israel

Israeli law on veterans’ benefits does not expressly distinguish between Israeli citizens and foreigners who have volunteered to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The receipt of veterans’ benefits, including those paid to families of fallen soldiers and soldiers injured in the line of duty, generally depends on eligibility criteria that do not include place of residence or citizenship.

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Last Updated: 12/02/2016