Status in Israel for Foreign Spouses

As you may know, couples can only marry and be officially registered as married within the borders of Israel if both partners are of the same religion. Couples can only marry in Israel through a recognized religious institution – if both are Jewish, then through the Rabbinate, Christians in a church, and so on. There…

How is the verification of official documents from an enemy state (such as Iran or Lebanon) or a country without formal diplomatic relations with Israel conducted? Submitting documents from an unfriendly country in Israel is a complex legal situation that requires a verification process involving several representations across multiple countries. Our law firm in Jerusalem…

In this series of articles, we provide extensive legal information regarding the immigration of foreign spouses and how exactly the can obtain legal status as citizens or residents of Israel. This article addresses questions such as: how much does a joint life application cost in Israel, what fees are involved, and when should the payment…

What happens when foreign partners residing in Israel seek to regularize their status, but their Israeli partners (often the male partner) are serving a prison sentence? While Israeli law does not explicitly prevent granting legal status spouses of prisoners, imprisonment can hinder the ability to maintain a normative family life. This, in turn, may lead…

Status regularization procedures in Israel with the Ministry of Interior, Aliyah to Israel under the Law of Return, work visas, student visas, volunteer visas, or any other visa, as well as acquiring Israeli citizenship for family members of Israeli citizens or requests for legal status in Israel for foreign spouses of Israelis, all require the…

What happens to a  Foreign spouse status in Israel when their Israeli partner’s citizenship is questioned? In other words, the couple contact the Ministry of Interior in order that the foreign spouse may start the process of becoming a citizen \ resident in Israel. However, MoI officials find that the citizenship of the Israeli spouse…

This article addresses cases in which a request is made to regularize the status of a foreign partner of an Israeli citizen, but it is revealed that the foreign partner has engaged in prostitution in Israel. How does the Foreign partner being convicted of prostitution affects opening a joint life file and obtaining citizenship \…

How does an Israeli partner being convicted of pimping (solicitation for prostitution) impact the status of their foreign partner for the purpose of establishing a joint life in Israel? This largely depends on the circumstances of the conviction, the time that has passed since, and other factors. Attorney Michael Decker, an expert in Israeli immigration…

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…