Aliyah after Conversion to Judaism (Giyur)

The right of Jews and their descendants to claim Israeli citizenship (“Aliyah”) has been enshrined in the Israeli Law of Return since 1950. In 1970, an amendment to the law clarified that this right extends to the family members of Jews and those who became Jewish by choice, converting to Judaism by undergoing a “Giyur”.

This article by Advocate Joshua Pex, a lawyer specializing in immigration to Israel, will help explain the conditions required for conversion to Judaism to be accepted as valid by the state of Israel.

How to Get the State of Israel to Recognize Your Giyur So You Can Make Aliyah after Your Conversion

The question of “Who is a Jew?” is a fundamental and unresolved discussion in Israel. According to the 1950 Law of Return, any Jew has a right to make aliyah to Israel. In practice, however, things are a bit more complex. The state of Israel naturally does not want every person in the world to have the right to immigrate to Israel merely by declaring that they are a Jew. Even receiving a certificate from a random rabbi should not be enough to allow for aliyah after conversion to Judaism, which a person might have only done for the purpose of immigration.

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY CONVERSION WILL BE RECOGNIZED?

If you converted outside of Israel through a Jewish community that is recognized by one of the major international Jewish movements (for example, the Rabbinical Council of America, the Rabbinical Assembly, the World Union for Progressive Judaism, etc.) your conversion will most likely be recognized for Aliyah.

As set out by the Israeli Supreme Court in the 1993 Goldstein case, conversions to Judaism that are performed outside of Israel in communities authorized to do so by their respective denominational movements, are valid for Aliyah purposes. According to current guidelines of the Israeli Ministry of Interior, the conversion process must last a minimum of 9 months and comprise no less than 300 hours of combined study and participation in a Jewish community.

In a series of cases dating back to 2016, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the Ministry of the Interior to recognize conversions that were conducted within Israel by Jewish communities recognized by their respective religious authorities. However, as the Court noted in the 2021 Dahan case, the candidate for Aliyah must have completed their conversion while residing in Israel lawfully. This usually requires that the candidate hold temporary or permanent residency throughout their conversion process. Under certain conditions, such residents may have their Giyur process sponsored by the state.

Unfortunately, while in theory conversions of all three major denominations – Orthodox, Conservation, and Reform – are accepted for Aliyah, in practice the reality is very different. Under pressure from the Rabbinical Authority of Israel, the Israeli government is skeptical of conversions not performed within an Orthodox framework, especially if they were performed inside of Israel. As such, Reform and Conservative conversion cases often take months, if not years, to process and are more likely to result in a request for additional evidence or outright denial. As discussed below, this outcome can be challenged through administrative procedures or in court.

If you did not convert through a recognized Jewish community, your conversion may still enable you to make Aliyah. In this case, the Israeli Population and Immigration Authority will ask for information about the rabbi who supervised your conversion and the religious authority, if any, to which this rabbi belongs. You will be required to show 9 months of participation in a recognized Jewish community post-conversion, and upon your move to Israel will receive a temporary residence visa. Your citizenship will be granted once you produce documents showing 21 months of post-conversion participation in a recognized Jewish community, either within Israel and abroad.

How To Ensure the Israeli Government Recognizes Your Conversion to Judaism

Unfortunately, the state of Israel often rejects requests to make aliyah to Israel following a conversion to Judaism. The Ministry of Interior processes immigration requests and has special procedures for determining whether the conversion is “sincere.”

Sometimes, this is due to the applicant not having demonstrated a desire to be involved in Jewish community life or a sense of Jewish identity before (or even after) the conversion process. On other occasions, the state’s attitude may have to do with giving a preference to Orthodox Judaism over any other movement in Judaism.

In order for your conversion to be formally recognized, a number of conditions need to apply:

1. The community into which one is converted must be a recognized Jewish community (Conservative and Reform communities are recognized equally, with Orthodox communities being more equal).

2. The convert must be an active member of a recognized Jewish community abroad, at least one year prior to conversion, or present evidence that he spent no less than 300 hours studying before conversion and was part of a recognized Jewish community abroad for at least 9 months after conversion. If the immigrant was not part of a recognized Jewish community abroad, he can submit an exceptional application for temporary status in Israel and be active in the Jewish community in Israel for at least 9 months during his stay in Israel.

3. Documents confirming that the convert was active in a Jewish community for at least nine months after the conversion approval. If the aliyah applicant did not finish nine months of involvement within a recognized Jewish community after the conversion approval, the Ministry of Interior may grant the applicant an A-5 temporary residency status which would be upgraded to full citizenship after the applicant proves that he is involved in a recognized Jewish community in Israel for at least nine months.

Other Necessary Documents 

In addition to all the standard documents required for Aliyah, you will need to provide other documents needed in order to prove the sincerity of your conversion to Judaism:

1. A conversion certificate.

2. A letter by the converted person which explains the motivation behind their conversion process and their involvement within the Jewish community before and after the conversion.

3. A detailed explanatory letter by the relevant rabbinical court or the head of the Jewish community regarding the conversion process, which will detail the conversion preparation, the content of the conversion studies, and the duration of the conversion. The letter will be signed by the actual Jewish community leader who wrote the letter, which includes the letterhead, logo, and address of the Jewish community. The rabbi who supervised your conversion should describe your course of study toward the conversion, and include such details as how the rabbi accepts and prepares candidates for conversion, examples of topics covered in the lessons, information on where and when the lessons were held, and expectations of candidates to participate in a Jewish community throughout their conversion process.

4. A letter by the rabbi or the head of the Jewish community where the convert resides, which will explain the involvement of the convert in the Jewish community after the conversion and which explains the duration of the involvement of the convert within the Jewish community after the conversion. The letter will be signed by the actual Jewish community leader who wrote the letter, which includes the letterhead, logo, and address of the Jewish community. If during your conversion you were involved in a community other than the organization with which you converted, you should include a second letter detailing this involvement, written by a rabbi in that community.

THE ALIYAH PROCESS BASED ON CONVERSION TO JUDAISM

Once your Aliyah request is filed with the Israeli Immigration and Population Authority, it will be reviewed and potentially sent to the Authority’s headquarters in Jerusalem for an additional assessment. If the request is rejected, you may file an internal appeal as of right, which will be reviewed by senior officials at the Ministry of the Interior. If this appeal is rejected, you may file an administrative petition to the Regional Court in Jerusalem. We highly recommend that you consult with an attorney before taking these steps.

CONTACT AN ISRAELI LAWYER WHO SPECIALIZES IN ALIYAH AFTER CONVERSION

Making Aliyah after conversion can be a challenging and lengthy process. We advise that you reach out to an attorney with expertise in this field to guide you along this path.

Our law firm, with offices in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, specializes in immigration matters, including Aliyah based on conversion. You are welcome to reach out for a consultation with us – we are happy to help!

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03-3724722

055-9781688

office@lawoffice.org.il