Family reunification in Israel

How and why do you submit a family reunification request in Israel, how does the Ministry of Interior handle the request, and what is the role of a family lawyer in the process?

In short, although the term “family reunification” refers to two different processes—obtaining status in Israel for spouses from Gaza and the West Bank, and obtaining status in Israel for foreign spouses of Israelis from anywhere else—the procedures, once managed similarly, have been legally separate since 2002. In professional jargon (though not in legal definitions and regulations), the term “family reunification” usually refers to the first process. Obtaining citizenship or residency for foreign spouses from Russia, Europe and the rest of the world (excluding countries hostile to Israel) is generally referred to as “obtaining legal status in Israel” or “the graduated process”.

However, from the perspective of many foreign clients, using familiar terms, “I want to bring my spouse and minor children to Israel” is indeed a family being unified. Therefore, it makes sense to be precise with the terms. Having settled this pedantic point, we can get to the core of the article – explaining how to bring the foreign spouses of Israelis and their children to Israel, what they need to do to achieve “legal status” (citizenship or residency in Israel), the common mistakes made during this process, and why the assistance of a family reunification lawyer may prove necessary.

What is Family Reunification?

For our purposes, it involves the immigration to Israel of foreign spouses of Israelis and their minor children. Let’s explain what each part means practically:

• Foreign Spouses:

Foreign citizens who are not residents of the territories (the West Bank and Gaza). They can be married to Israelis or be recognized as common-law partners (not married but in an established romantic relationship). However, the process of obtaining status in Israel (see below) for those who are not married, as well as for same-sex partners, who receive status according to the same procedure as unmarried partners, takes longer.

• Of Israelis:

Citizens or permanent residents of Israel. This does not refer to those eligible to make Aliyah and their family members, which is a completely different process, based on the Law of Return. A point worth emphasizing – the vast majority of those who receive status in Israel as spouses of Israelis are not eligible for Aliyah – if they were, they could receive status in Israel as Olim much more quickly and easily than through the family reunification procedure.

• And Their Minor Children:

The couple’s joint child, born to the Israeli and the foreign spouse (children of Israelis can receive Israeli citizenship separately from the family reunification procedure, even as adults, but it is easier to obtain status for the entire family rather than for each member separately) or children of the foreign spouse from a previous relationship, who are not biologically related to the Israeli. Children from a previous relationship cannot obtain status in Israel separately from the family reunification process – meaning they can immigrate to Israel only together with their parent, the Israeli’s partner, to avoid separating the family during immigration. They lose the eligibility to obtain status in Israel after turning 18, if they did not immigrate to Israel with the family as minors. Additionally, the consent of the other parent to the children’s immigration to Israel must be obtained, or at least they must be contacted and given an opportunity to object to the immigration – provided that parent is alive and the Israeli’s partner does not have sole custody of the children.

Why is the Family Reunification Process More Complicated and Lengthy Than the Aliyah Process?

On one hand, this is due to the Ministry of Interior’s reluctance to encourage immigration to Israel of those without Jewish roots. On the other hand, every immigration system in the world seeks to ensure that those immigrating with a marriage visa (which is roughly what the gradual status process provides) are indeed in a genuine, long-term relationship with a citizen or resident of that country and genuinely wish to live in that country.

How Does the Family Reunification Process Work?

The Israeli spouse approaches the Ministry of Interior (the office responsible for immigration matters in Israel) to issue a request to invite the foreign spouse (and minor children, if any). Since the Ministry of Interior assumes that a significant portion of the invited spouses are in a fictitious relationship – not truly in love with the Israeli but only seeking status in Israel – substantial evidence must be presented to prove that the relationship is genuine. Identity documents, criminal records of both partners, and a marriage certificate, as well as documents proving that the foreign spouse is not married to someone else, are just the starting point. Additionally, documents proving the couple shares a household (bills, contracts, certificates) or frequent visits, correspondences, and phone calls, testimonies from friends of the couple, and more must be provided. If the invitation is approved, the foreign spouse arrives in Israel and starts the “gradual process” to obtain status.

 What are the stages in the process? Various visas, which are upgraded every few years. Starting with a B-1 visa, which allows the foreign spouse to live, work, and study in Israel, upgrading after some time to an A-5 visa, for temporary residents, and eventually obtaining permanent status – residency or citizenship. Permanent residency is mainly granted to spouses of permanent residents who cannot or do not wish to naturalize. However, some spouses from countries that do not allow dual citizenship prefer to obtain permanent residency in Israel rather than renounce their existing citizenship.

Throughout the entire gradual process – 5 years for married couples, 7 years for common-law partners, 9 years for common-law partners of permanent residents – it must be proven to the Population Authority (the part of the Ministry of Interior handling immigration and status issues for those within Israel) that the couple is maintaining a joint household (living together), is in a genuine relationship, and has not separated. To this end, certain documents must be presented, and periodic interviews must be passed to prove the sincerity of the relationship.

Our advice regarding the process:

There are several important points to know in advance if you want to invite a foreign spouse to Israel:

First of All – Issue an invitation

In the past, Israelis tended to “skip” the invitation stage. They would bring the spouse to Israel for a visit for some reason, usually without mentioning that they are a partner of an Israeli, and then submit a family reunification request to the Ministry of Interior. The invitation stage takes months or even years if the Ministry of Interior suspects that the relationship is fictitious. Throughout this time, the partners may have to live in different countries, and their relationship is naturally affected by the separation. So why not start the process when both partners are already in Israel?

The Ministry of Interior now takes a particularly severe view of attempts to skip the invitation stage. When visiting Israel, you are asked to state whether you have an Israeli partner, and if the partner invites you for a visit, they are required to declare that they do not intend to start a family reunification procedure at this stage. Ministry of Interior representatives do not take kindly to attempts to deceive them, and given that the success of the process depends on their goodwill, it is not advisable to start a family reunification in Israel this way. Currently, issuing an invitation while both partners are abroad is easier than ever, so there is no need to separate while the request is being processed.

Proof of Relationship Sincerity

An important point for both the invitation process and the family reunification process in Israel. Going out for a fun activity? Keep receipts and photos, and remember where you went in case you are asked about it in an interview. Meet friends and relatives, so that they can testify that the relationship is genuine. Communicate via WhatsApp, Zoom, email? Keep the correspondence. Living together? Keep the bills that were issued for both spouses. Joint bank accounts, flight tickets – there is a lot of evidence that you are in love, meeting, talking, living together. It is worth keeping, organizing, and being ready to present them in an organized manner.

Staying in Israel and Staying Together

As mentioned above, throughout the entire family reunification process, the Ministry of Interior wants to ensure that the partners wish to live together in Israel. In other words, the relationship is not fictitious, solely for the purpose of obtaining Israeli citizenship, and the partners do not intend to separate once citizenship is obtained (at which point, usually, no one will bother to revoke the foreign spouse’s Israeli citizenship, although it was allegedly obtained fraudulently). Additionally, they want to ensure that the partners want to build their home specifically in Israel—otherwise, the Israeli partner could move abroad and there would be no reason to grant status to the foreign partner.

Therefore, it is important to show the Population Authority that the partners are indeed maintaining a joint household in Israel, and the foreign partner is not spending long periods abroad. In the early years of the process, it is still reasonable to stay a few months abroad to “tie up loose ends,” but the last few years before obtaining citizenship should be spent in Israel. In case of a family emergency or something similar, the officials might take it into consideration… or not. It is worth consulting with an immigration lawyer to Israel – perhaps, for example, it is easier to invite the foreign partner’s mother to Israel with a humanitarian visa rather than for the partner to leave Israel for a long time to take care of her, resulting in the graduated process being restarted from phase one.

Additionally, it seems obvious that the partners need to stay together for the foreign partner to obtain status based on the relationship. On the other hand, there are cases beyond the foreign partner’s control – the Israeli partner dies, is imprisoned, becomes violent and abusive.

If the crisis occurs close to the end of the gradual process, especially if the partners have joint children, there is a chance to obtain status in Israel even though the foreign partner is no longer in a relationship with an Israeli.

What Is the Role of a Family Reunification Lawyer?

Our office has extensive experience in assessing the chances and risks of submitting a family reunification request, assisting with submitting the required documents and evidence, overcoming the Ministry of Interior’s refusal to approve the invitation of the spouse – or even attempt to deport her from Israel if you tried to submit the request yourself or encountered an unexpected problem – guiding you through the relationship sincerity interviews, and overcoming difficulties in the process. Essentially, we can accompany you from the moment you decide to invite the spouse to Israel and until the Israeli passport is in their hands.

Contact a family reunification lawyer’s office in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv for consultation, legal assistance, and help bringing your loved ones to Israel.

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03-3724722

055-9781688

office@lawoffice.org.il