Permit in Israel for Humanitarian Reasons

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The conditions for immigrating to Israel are unique in several aspects. First, the country is defined as both Jewish and democratic. When it comes to immigration conditions, there is a clear preference for Jews, which is reflected in the legislation of the Law of Return, 1950. However, it is possible to obtain a residence permit in Israel for humanitarian reasons, and in very specific cases, one can even become a permanent resident and citizen after residing in Israel for over 15 years.

Non-Jews will find it difficult to obtain citizenship in Israel, but the Citizenship Law, 1952 defines the situations in which it is possible:

A person with permanent resident status who has lived in Israel for at least the last three years.
Has settled in Israel or intends to do so.
Has a reasonable knowledge of the Hebrew language.
Has renounced their previous citizenship or has proven that they will do so upon becoming an Israeli citizen.

If all these conditions are met, the Minister of the Interior, who has the ultimate authority on granting citizenship, may grant citizenship but is not obligated to do so. The Citizenship Law gives the minister the right to waive some of the conditions and grant citizenship even if not all conditions are met. Therefore, these are only guidelines, and ultimately, the decision rests with the Minister of the Interior.

Request for Residency on Humanitarian Grounds – Who Can Apply for Asylum and What Is the Process?

Any foreign national who believes that returning to their home country poses a tangible threat to their life can submit an application online.

After receiving confirmation of the form submission via email, the applicant will be notified of a meeting with the Border Control Commissioner at the Enforcement Facility in Bnei Brak, and physical attendance on the specified date is mandatory. Failure to attend will be considered a withdrawal of the application.

The commissioner will verify the applicant’s details and invite them for a comprehensive follow-up interview to complete the process, during which a visa will be issued according to the procedure for handling asylum seekers.

Conditions for Submitting an Asylum Application

The conditions are based on the procedure for handling asylum seekers, and the main points are:

An asylum seeker who has been in Israel for over a year without a valid residency permit will receive a temporary visit visa and be prohibited from working for six months from the date of the application submission. The visa will be extended periodically until a decision is made. If no decision is made within six months, the individual may work.
An asylum seeker who has been in Israel for less than a year without a valid residency permit will receive a temporary visit visa but will be prohibited from working for three months. As in the previous point, the visa will be extended until a decision is made, and they may work after three months.
If one partner’s asylum application is rejected, the other partner may request that their spouse not be deported until the processing of their own application is complete.
The applicant’s criminal background will be checked by the Israeli police. If the applicant has a criminal history that poses a threat to public safety, their application will be denied.
Generally, asylum seekers from enemy or hostile countries will not receive a residency permit, and their applications will be rejected.

Residency Approval in Israel

The interview with an officer from the Population and Immigration Authority is the most crucial part of the application process and should be conducted after proper legal consultation with an immigration attorney. At the conclusion of the interview, a decision will be made on whether to approve or deny the application. A rejection means that the applicant must leave Israel within seven days if his application is rejected outright, or within 30 days if his application was rejected after a prolonged review process.

The interview will be conducted in the official language of the applicant’s country of origin or another language understood by them, and if necessary, a translator will be present. The interview will be recorded in writing and on video.

If the interviewee is represented by an attorney, the attorney may be present during the interview but may only comment before or after the interview, not during it.

Reasons for Immediate Rejection After the Interview:

If the application was submitted after the applicant had been in Israel for more than a year, unless special reasons justifying the delay are provided. The longer the delay, the less likely the application will be accepted.
If the application was submitted by a foreign worker and the claims made during the interview were found to be baseless or unfounded.
The claims are justified but do not meet the criteria outlined in the Refugee Convention.

It is important to note that any rejected application can be appealed to the Appeals Tribunal under the Entry into Israel Law, 1952.

If the application is not dismissed outright, a discussion will take place in the committee on these types of requests. If the committee’s recommendations support the application, they will be forwarded to the Minister of Interior, who will make the final decision. If it is decided to grant refugee status to the applicant, they will receive a residency permit type A/5 for one year. It is important to emphasize that less than 1% of all asylum seekers in Israel are recognized as refugees and granted temporary resident status (A-5).

Up to three months before the permit expires, the applicant must return to the Population and Immigration Authority to schedule an appointment for an extension. If no significant changes have occurred, including criminal activity during their stay, the permit will be extended for another year, with a second extension for two years, and a third for three years. If no decision is made on the refugee’s case for reasons beyond their control, the visa will be automatically extended by three months.

According to the procedure for handling applications for humanitarian residency, a person who has held a B-1 visa for 63 months in Israel can apply for temporary resident status. After at least 10 years of residing in Israel with an A-5 temporary resident visa, they may apply for permanent resident status.

However, the overwhelming majority of such applications are rejected for various reasons, and only a few dozen foreigners have ever received humanitarian status and become Israeli citizens since the founding of the state.

Changes in Case Law Regarding Asylum Seekers

The issue of immigration to Israel has undergone changes since the establishment of the state, and today the Supreme Court pays close attention to human rights and the fact that Israel is a signatory to the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees, which obligates it to grant visas to those fleeing their country if their return could endanger their lives.

This shift is evident in a series of Supreme Court rulings that have struck down and mitigated laws intended to limit the granting of visas to refugees. For instance, in September 2013, the court overturned the amendment that allowed illegal residents to be detained for up to three years, citing disproportionate harm to the constitutional right to freedom.

In August 2015, the court ruled for the third time, stating that the 20-month stay in the Holot detention facility was unconstitutional. However, the judges allowed new infiltrators to be detained for up to three months, but those who had been at Holot for over a year were released.

The then-Chief Justice, Miriam Naor, wrote in her ruling: “Placing infiltrators in a detention center may help reduce negative immigration-related phenomena, but prolonged restriction of freedom for such an extended period, even if aimed at a worthy purpose, cannot be accepted. The threshold set is disproportionate and must be canceled… As a citizen, I would have liked to see my country show more compassion, even towards those suspected of infiltrating Israel for sustenance.”

In August 2017 and again in April 2020, the Supreme Court struck down the “Deposit Law,” which required infiltrators to transfer a fifth of their salary into a special fund to be returned upon their departure from Israel, as a means to encourage them to leave.

A Goat Instead of a Queen

One of the more amusing cases that was recently heard involved an African princess, born in 1978, a Christian, married, and childless, who applied for asylum in Israel because she was expected to take on the role of queen in place of her sister.

The princess’s mother passed away in 2018, and her sister was appointed queen, but she died two months after their mother, leaving the applicant next in line for the throne. However, the princess did not seem keen on the position, preferring instead to continue running her salon. She traveled to the capital, obtained a passport, and entered Israel as a tourist, but upon arrival, she submitted an asylum application.

The Asylum Applications Unit at the Population and Immigration Authority within the Ministry of Interior examined the case and concluded that it was unlikely that her refusal to accept the throne would endanger her life. According to local law, anyone who refuses a traditional position can appoint a goat or sheep to take their place, and since there is no penalty for refusal, there was no need for political asylum.

Since this request, two more asylum applications have been submitted by a man and a woman, separately, both claiming that they refused to take on royal duties in their respective African countries.

Changes in Refugee Status Law

The eligibility criteria for refugee status in Israel change according to the times and legal rulings and require appropriate legal guidance. Our office specializes in immigration to Israel, status regulation, and administrative law. We represent clients in courts such as the Detention Review Tribunal, the Appeals Tribunal, the Administrative Court, and the High Court of Justice in appeals and administrative petitions regarding decisions made by the Ministry of Interior on refugee status and other immigration issues. Our team of experienced immigration lawyers would be happy to meet with you, advise you, and answer any questions you may have.