Humanitarian Permit

Which cases may be submitted as applications for humanitarian stay permits?

The Ministry of the Interior’s regulations do not specify the terms for submitting an application for a humanitarian stay permit, and thus the cases are quite diverse.

The purpose of submitting an application for a humanitarian stay permit is to regulate an individual’s status in Israel for the long term or for a short term, given a special reason that necessitates a foreign national’s stay in Israel specifically. Such situations may include cases of severe medical conditions, extreme psychological distress, granting status to the children of foreign workers where a special complexity necessitates their stay in Israel, or even cases of family reunification, when the foreign national is not eligible for status due to another regulation.

This list is not comprehensive and there are other, additional cases regarding which an application for a humanitarian stay permit may be submitted.

How does one submit an application for a humanitarian stay permit?

In order to submit an application, one must arrive in person at one of the Population and Immigration Authority’s offices, by the place of residence of the foreign national submitting the application.

Prior to arriving, make sure that the applicant has a passport valid for two years ahead. If there is no passport and a new one cannot be issued, enclose a letter of explanation and an affidavit signed by an attorney.

Additionally, it is required to enclose the applicable form, documents supporting the claims brought up in the application, documents proving the applicant’s current place of residence, and their passport photo.

Should the application not be supported by evidence and documents, it may be dismissed out of hand – and therefore it is recommended to seek advice before submission and to make sure that all required documents are submitted.

The procedure for handling an application for a humanitarian stay permit 

As said, the application must be submitted at one of the Population and Immigration Authority’s offices, by the applicant’s place of residence. Bear in mind: many offices require an appointment for submitting the application to be scheduled in advance.

On the first appointment, the application must be submitted with the supporting documents and the form enclosed. After the application is received, and should it meet the requirements and terms, a second appointment shall be scheduled, where the applicant shall be interviewed.

Afterwards, the application is relayed to the Humanitarian Head of Desk at the Population and Immigration Authority.

Most applications are dismissed at this stage.

However! Bear in mind that even if your application has been dismissed, you may submit an internal appeal of the decision – and you may also submit an appeal to the Court of Appeals.

If the application made it past the Head of Desk, it shall be relayed to review by the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Humanitarian Affairs.

Dismissal out of hand of an application for a humanitarian stay permit

Not all applications, however, will go through the complete procedure – and some will be dismissed out of hand.  The Authority may dismiss applications for humanitarian stay permits out of hand if the applicant has illegally entered Israel – that is to say, if they had entered the country through a land border and not through authorized border crossings or the Ben Gurion International Airport. Another possible reason for dismissal out of hand is if the application is futile or does not contain evidence supporting its claims.

Such dismissal may also be appealed.

How does one support an application for humanitarian stay permit? 

The answer for this question depends on the reason for the submission of the application:

If the application is for medical reasons, it is preferable to submit a medical opinion and medical reports.

If the application is related to the children of foreign workers, one may enclose letters from teachers and friends, certificates, or any supporting documents to evidence the reason for which the application is submitted.

If the application is for regulating the status of a foreign parent to an Israeli minor, one may enclose, for example, an opinion by a social worker, a family court’s ruling, a record of calls or any other correspondence.

Naturally, it is also possible to enclose financial records, letters from family members, photographs, and additional documents that paint a vivid picture of the applicant’s situation and convincingly present the justification for regulating their status in Israel. As failure to enclose sufficient documents may lead to the dismissal of an application out of hand, we recommend to put thought and effort into gathering all relevant documents and to seek advice prior to submitting the application. 

Appealing the dismissal of an application for a humanitarian stay permit 

The vast majority of applications for humanitarian stay permits currently submitted in Israel are dismissed – whether out of hand, by the Humanitarian Head of Desk, or by the Committee on a case-by-case basis.

However, as the years have gone by, various courts formulated rules to guide the Population and Immigration Authority regardomg the manner in which it must examine the applications brought before it for humanitarian stay permits.

A dismissal decision may be appealed. The first appeal should be submitted as an internal appeal, to a person who holds a higher position in the Population and Immigration Authority than the officer who made the decision to dismiss.

Should the internal appeal be dismissed, one may submit an appeal to the court of appeals. Bear in mind: new evidence may not be submitted to the Court of Appeals except upon receiving permission from the court, and for this reason as well, it is recommended to seek advice before submitting the application and documents to the Ministry of the Interior.

The ruling by the court of appeals may also be appealed – where such appeal should be submitted to an administrative affairs court. An application for permission to appeal the ruling of an administrative affairs court may be submitted to the Supreme Court. 

The complexity of applications for humanitarian stay permits 

Applications for humanitarian stay permits are complex applications for several reasons. First, the process of submitting the application may also be entangled with the foreign national’s proceedings opposite enforcement authorities. Thus, for instance, many foreign nationals only submit their application after having been apprehended by the Immigration Police. In such cases, we recommend representation by an attorney whom is closely familiar with both proceedings and is capable of also representing the foreign national before the Detention Review Tribunal and the court of appeals to prevent the foreign national’s deportation until the application is deliberated upon.

Another reason for complexity is the requirement for presenting a passport valid for two years. Many foreign nationals who stay in Israel for a long period of time may not have a valid passport or may have difficulties in having a new passport issued at their country’s embassy. There are even exceptional cases where the applicant holds no citizenship in any other country, and cannot have a passport issued at all.

The third reason for complexity lies with the question of which documents should be enclosed with the application for it to be accepted. A decision on this matter depends on the circumstances and reasons for each and every individual case.

In summary, we clarify again that currently, most applications for humanitarian stay permits are dismissed out of hand, by the Head of Desk or by the Committee. However, the decisions to dismiss do not always take into account all documents and considerations, the guiding rulings by the courts, the legal and factual justifications for the application or the rules of administrative law procedure. If you have received a dismissal decision, seek legal advice to evaluate the chances of an appeal.