Concerns of Polygamy or Bigamy During Spousal Status Regulation in Israel

Immigration to Israel often involves clashes with cultural and normative practices from other parts of the world. One example is concerns of bigamy during status regulation in Israel for foreign spouses. A foreign spouse of an Israeli may be denied the right to receive residence or citizenship in Israel is the couple cannot prove the spouse is not married to someone else besides the Israeli spouse.

Our law firm specializes in Israeli immigration law and has extensive professional experience guiding couples through the stages of status regularization for foreign spouses. We represent clients before the Ministry of Interior and administrative and legal courts concerning the legal status of foreign partners and related immigration matters. In this article, Attorney Michael Decker will explain how Israeli law addresses cases wherein there is suspicion of polygamy or bigamy during status regulation in Israel.

Bigamy and Polygamy in Israel and Worldwide

Bigamy and polygamy are defined as the practice of having multiple spouses simultaneously. Israel’s criminal law stipulates a penalty of up to 5 years in prison for married individuals who then marry additional partners. It should be noted that the law is not always strictly enforced. For instance,  authorities often turn a blind eye to the practice in Bedouin communities, primarily in the southern region of Israel. In addition, despite the criminal prohibition, social rights (such as income support benefits) are not denied to polygamous families.

Similar to Israel, most Western countries (including European nations, Australia, and the United States) have criminal prohibitions against multiple simultaneous marriages. However, some countries, such as India, Morocco, Egypt, and the Philippines, do not impose a blanket prohibition and permit multiple marriages under certain conditions, often for religious reasons. This variance in global policies on bigamy and polygamy leads to numerous cultural and legal conflicts when it comes to status regularization for foreign spouses from countries with different customs and official policies.

How Does the Ministry of Interior Address Concerns of Bigamy or Polygamy in Status Regularization Procedures?

Status regularization – receiving legal status as an Israeli resident \ citizen – for foreign spouses in Israel, whether married or in a common law marriage, involves several basic conditions. These include ensuring the lack of criminal or security prohibitions to the spouse immigrating to Israel, establishing a shared center of life in Israel, and confirming the sincerity of the relationship. Concerns about bigamy or polygamy can result in both a criminal prevention of status regularization (as the spouses are breaking the law) and a finding of insincerity in the relationship (as the spouses are not in a committed monogamous relationship).

The Ministry of Interior works to prevent cases of status regularization involving couples practicing multiple marriages or relationships. An example of this can be found in the Ministry’s procedure for domestic partnerships, which includes a clause warning MoI workers about cases where non-marital relationships are not customary, aiming to prevent bigamy.

To address concerns about bigamous relationships involving foreign spouses, the Ministry’s procedures require a single status certificate from the applicant’s country of origin. In many cases, obtaining such documents can be challenging. This is particularly common among asylum seeker spouses, who cannot return to their home country to acquire the necessary documents.

What Can Be Done if a Status Regularization Application Is Denied Due to Concerns of Bigamy or Polygamy?

Decisions to deny or reject applications, like other Ministry of Interior decisions in status regularization processes, can be appealed. However, it is important to note that courts may not always choose to intervene in denials based on concerns of bigamy or polygamy. Therefore, it is advisable to prevent the rejection of status regularization applications whenever possible. This may involve resolving divorces or annulments of previous marriages of the foreign spouse or demonstrating that all efforts have been made to do so.

In a ruling by the Jerusalem Administrative Court, an appeal by a couple against a denial decision which included concerns of bigamy and insincerity of the relationship was accepted. The foreign spouse was from Ethiopia, and the Ministry of Interior claimed he was married at the time of his marriage to his Israeli partner (although he had since divorced). The court ruled that outright rejection should be avoided in cases where foreign spouses are or were married to others, without thoroughly examining the sincerity of the current relationship between them and the Israeli spouse.

Contact an Expert Immigration Lawyer

If you have legal questions or need assistance with status regularization procedures in Israel involving concerns of bigamy or polygamy, please contact us. An expert attorney from our firm will be happy to help. Our law firm specializes in immigration law and has extensive experience representing couples in status regularization procedures.

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