The State of Israel acknowledges the right to family life, and therefore, a foreign national married to an Israeli citizen is eligible for status in Israel.
However, as the Ministry of the Interior does not wish to grant status to an individual whose marriage to an Israeli citizen is not sincere, it had created a long and complicated procedure involving many steps and documents, which spans over four years (or in case of common law marriage, seven years or so). This procedure is called the “Graduated Procedure”, and it was created to make sure that the marriage is authentic and sincere, that the couple resides in Israel together and that they wish to settle down in Israel. At the end of the procedure, the foreign partner may apply for citizenship or for permanent residence in Israel – but as we said, it’s a long way before one can get there.
In the lines below, we shall attempt to make sense of the stages of obtaining an Israeli citizenship through marriage, in order to make it a little easier for applicants to navigate the mires of bureaucracy.
The stages of obtaining an Israeli citizenship through marriage
Step A – Filing an Application for Regularization of Status
The process of obtaining citizenship through marriage starts with filing an application online. The application can be initially filed when the Israeli partner or both partners are present in Israel.
The online application requires a long list of documents to be attached – some of which are official documents from the foreign partner’s home country. The original documents must be verified in their home country and translated by a notary in Israel.
In addition to the original documents, the partners are required to attach photographs, letters from acquaintances, references regarding the partners’ place of residence, workplace, and center of life. The Ministry of the Interior will also require references from the partners’ friends and relatives, and evidence attesting to their relationship.
Once the application is filed, an employee at the Population Authority’s office will review the documents in their entirety and conduct background checks of the partners, in order to ensure no criminal or security-related reasons bar the process from continuing.
Should the application be reviewed and all required documents are deemed to have been filed, the partners would be invited for an appointment at the Authority, where all original documents shall be presented. However, should the application be reviewed and deemed to lack certain documents, the partners shall be required to complement it with these documents within 45 days.
For the duration of the application’s review, the foreign partner will receive a temporary, type B/1 Visa –a tourist visa with a work permit that will enable the foreign partner to stay in Israel, legally work there, and even receive an entry permit required to enter and leave the country.
Step B – Interview with the Population and Immigration Authority
Should the application review stage be completed successfully, the partners would be summoned for an interview with the Population and Immigration Authority. The purpose of this interview is to ensure that the partners’ marriage is not fictitious, that their relationship as a couple is authentic, and that they wish to settle down as a couple in Israel. The partners will be interviewed separately, and the Authority will review the correspondence between their answers.
Should be foreign partner be staying abroad, their interview shall take place at the Israeli embassy in their home country.
It should be noted that oftentimes, the process of Regularization of Status is rejected at the interview stage, due to contradictions between the partners’ answers. The interview in question may be invasive, and may contain specific and sometimes tricky questions asked by the Authority. That said, even in the course of the interview, the partners are eligible for certain rights – including the right to be interviewed in a language that they speak and understand, and the right not to be asked offensive questions. During this procedure, the applicants are entitled to be represented by an attorney – who shall accompany them to the interview following the filing of the application, and be able to supervise the interview to ensure that the interviewing process is conducted fairly, that the questions asked do not exceed the bounds of reasonableness, and even to request clarifications by the partners for contradicting answers in certain cases of misunderstanding.
Step C – The Graduated Procedure
Should the interview be completed successfully, and the officer handling the case receive the impression that the couple is an authentic one, the foreign partner will receive a type A/5 visa – temporary residence for a period of one year.
Each year, the partners will be required to arrive with required documents and undergo an interview in order to extend this visa, for an overall period of 4 years.
Once four years have passed, the applicant shall be eligible to receive permanent residence or citizenship, per their choice.
Step D – End of the Graduated Procedure
Upon successful completion of the Graduated Procedure, the foreign partner will receive a permanent residence visa or citizenship. Permanent residence grants its holder permanent legal status in Israel, and may provide a good solution for citizens of countries whom are not allowed to have multiple citizenships.
Citizens of Russia or China, for example, are required to waive their citizenship in order to receive an Israeli citizenship, and some will prefer to settle for permanent residence only.
A partner who wishes to receive an Israeli citizenship is eligible to receive one. It is important to emphasize that the completion of this procedure, whether in citizenship or permanent residence, involves a requirement to present additional documents and a particularly in-depth interview in order to ensure that permanent status is not granted to ineligible individuals. One may also enlist the aid of an attorney at this stage to clarify the difference between a permanent resident status and citizenship, to prepare the application for completing the procedure, and to accompany them through the final interview.
Naturally, not all relationships last forever. Should the marriage end and the partners separate, or should the Israeli partner pass away, the Graduated Procedure shall be terminated and the foreign partner shall be required to leave the country. However, even in such cases, it is possible for the foreign partner to receive status under particular conditions, and it is highly recommended to seek consultation before arriving at the Ministry of the Interior to report the end of the relationship.
In conclusion
The road to obtaining an Israeli citizenship through marriage to an Israeli partner is not a simple one. The State of Israel does not want to grant status to foreign nationals and is deeply concerned about fictitious marriage. Therefore, the Ministry of the Interior demands a meticulous, document-heavy procedure, which includes reviews at several checkpoints along the way, in order to regularize the status of a foreign partner in Israel.
We recommend to consult an attorney when filing an application to regularize the status of a foreign partner. An attorney who is familiar with the Ministry of the Interior’s regulations and the nature of the proceeding can aid in navigating the mires of bureaucracy, save time, money and grief, and guide you to success in this complicated procedure.