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Crime > Punishment > Minimum life sentence to serve before eligibility for requesting parole: Countries Compared

DEFINITION: Minimum to serve before eligibility for requesting parole.

No date was available from the Wikipedia article, so we used the date of retrieval.

COUNTRY
DESCRIPTION
AfghanistanAfghanistan Never
AlbaniaAlbania 25 years
ArgentinaArgentina 20 years or never
ArmeniaArmenia 20 years or never
AustraliaAustralia 10 years, 20 years, 25 years, or never; individually set by judge
AustriaAustria 15 years (Imprisonment for a definite period) or never (Imprisonment for lifetime, when clemency is rejected by President)
AzerbaijanAzerbaijan Never
BelarusBelarus 25 years
BelgiumBelgium 15 years (no previous conviction or below 3 years), 19 years (previous conviction below 5 years), or 23 years (previous conviction 5 years or more)
BelizeBelize Never
BoliviaBolivia Varies, depending on sentence
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina Varies, depending on sentence
BrazilBrazil Varies, depending on sentence
BulgariaBulgaria 20 years or never
CanadaCanada 7 years minimum to infinite
Cape VerdeCape Verde Varies, depending on sentence
ChileChile 40 years or never
ChinaChina 10 years for non-violent crimes; never for murder, rape, kidnap, arson, explosives offences, putting hazardous materials or other organized violent crimes
ColombiaColombia Varies, depending on sentence
Costa RicaCosta Rica Varies, depending on sentence
CroatiaCroatia Varies, depending on sentence
CubaCuba Never; only under pardon by president
CyprusCyprus 20 years
Czech RepublicCzech Republic 20 years general 30 or more years if part of sentence
DenmarkDenmark 12 years, or never
Dominican RepublicDominican Rep. Varies, depending on sentence
EcuadorEcuador Varies, depending on sentence
EgyptEgypt Never
El SalvadorEl Salvador Varies, depending on sentence
EstoniaEstonia Never
FinlandFinland 12 years for court release, any time for presidential pardon
FranceFrance 18\u201322 years (30 years or never for very rare cases)
GermanyGermany 15 years
GreeceGreece 16 years, or 20 years in cases of multiple life sentences
Holy See (Vatican City)Vatican City 21 years, 26 years
HondurasHonduras Varies, depending on sentence
Hong KongHong Kong Individually set by judge
HungaryHungary 20\u201340 years or never
IcelandIceland 16 years
IndiaIndia 14 years or never; individually set by judge
IndonesiaIndonesia Never
IraqIraq Never
IrelandIreland 12\u201330 years or never; individually set by judge
IsraelIsrael 13\u201330 years or never
ItalyItaly 21 years, 26 years, or never
JamaicaJamaica 10\u201330 years or never; individually set by judge
JapanJapan 10 years or never
JordanJordan Never
KazakhstanKazakhstan 25 years or never
KiribatiKiribati 25 years or never
KosovoKosovo Varies, depending on sentence
KyrgyzstanKyrgyzstan Never
LaosLaos Never
LatviaLatvia 25 years
LebanonLebanon Never
LithuaniaLithuania 25 years
MacauMacau Varies, depending on sentence
MalaysiaMalaysia 20 years or never
MexicoMexico Varies, depending on sentence
MoroccoMorocco Never
NepalNepal 20 years
NetherlandsNetherlands Never
New ZealandNew Zealand 10 years, 17 years, 20 years, 30 years or never; individually set by judge
NicaraguaNicaragua Varies, depending on sentence
NigeriaNigeria Never
North KoreaNorth Korea Never
NorwayNorway Varies, depending on sentence
PakistanPakistan 25 years
PanamaPanama Varies, depending on sentence
ParaguayParaguay Varies, depending on sentence
PeruPeru 35 years or never
PolandPoland 25 years or more\u2014individually set by judge
PortugalPortugal Varies, depending on sentence
Republic of MacedoniaMacedonia Rep. 15 years
Republic of the CongoCongo Rep. Varies, depending on sentence
RomaniaRomania 20 years
RussiaRussia 25 years
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia Never
SerbiaSerbia Varies, depending on sentence
SingaporeSingapore 20 years
SlovakiaSlovakia 25 years
SloveniaSlovenia 25 years
SomaliaSomalia Never
South AfricaSouth Africa 10, 15, or 25 years
South KoreaSouth Korea 10 years or never
SpainSpain Varies, depending on sentence
SwedenSweden 18 years or never, but parole hearing may be held after 10 years served, thus fixing a much later date for release on parole
SwitzerlandSwitzerland 10 years or 15 years; individually set by judge
SyriaSyria Never
TajikistanTajikistan Never
TunisiaTunisia Never
TurkeyTurkey Life imprisonment: 24 years (30 if organized crime), Multiple life imprisonments: 30 years (34 if organized crime), Aggravated life imprisonment: 30 years (36 if organized crime), Multiple aggravated life imprisonments: 36 years (40 if organized crime), or never (aggravated life imprisonment for terrorism)
TurkmenistanTurkmenistan Never
UkraineUkraine 25 years
United StatesUnited States 15 years minimum to infinite, or never (depending on crime and state)
UruguayUruguay Varies, depending on sentence
UzbekistanUzbekistan 25 years or never
VenezuelaVenezuela Varies, depending on sentence
VietnamVietnam 14 years or never

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