Step-by-Step Process for Foreign National Partners/Spouses to Acquire Permanent Residence Status/Citizenship in Israel

General Background

This summary describes the step-by-step process for a foreign national to be granted permanent residence status Israeli citizenship, who is not otherwise eligible for citizenship under the Law of Return, and who is sharing his/her life with an Israeli partner, whether the foreign national and the Israeli partner are married or living together unmarried.

Step-by-Step Process for Married Couples

This process is composed of a number of steps that is meant to test the sincerity of the relationship. It is mainly relevant to an Israeli citizen that married a foreign national in Israel or abroad, regardless of whether the Israeli citizen met the foreign national in Israel or abroad.

The Ministry of Interior has set a number of preliminary conditions that must be met prior to beginning each stage of the process:
• The marriage between the couple was not done fictitiously in order for the non-Israeli partner to receive citizenship and establish a permanent residence in Israel.
• The couple must show sincerity, not hide pertinent facts, nor provide false and/or unsatisfactory details.
• The couple must prove that their shared lives are based in Israel.
• The Ministry of Interior must be convinced that the foreign spouse presents no risk to public health, public security, or national security.

Procedural steps for married couples

1). Stay pursuant to a visitor visa
The foreign spouse, requiring a visa to visit Israel prior to entrance as a result of his/her nationality, must receive a B-2 visitor visa from the Israeli consulate in the place of his/her residence abroad, on the basis of the foreign spouse's request for status submitted to the Ministry of Interior. A visitor visa granted under this step-by-step process is generally authorized for two months.

2). Stay pursuant to a work visa
After a period of two months, and at the discretion of the Ministry of Interior, the foreign spouse will receive a B-1 work visa for a period of 6-10 months, which permits them to work legally with any employer in Israel, without needing to receive an employment permit from the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor.

3). Stay pursuant to a temporary resident visa
After a period of 8-12 months, the foreign spouse is issued an A-5 visa, which gives the foreign spouse temporary residence status in Israel. The A-5 visa is given for a period of 1 year, and during the step-by-step process, it is extended for 4 years in 1 year increments. The visa provides full social benefits to the foreign spouse from the National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi), health insurance according to the law, as well as an Israeli identity card (Teudat Zehut).

4.) Stay pursuant to permanent residence status
After 4 1/2 years at least from the beginning of the step-by-step process, the foreign spouse may apply for Israeli citizenship, with the same status as that of an Israeli spouse.

Step-by-Step process for non-married couples

To protect family life and the integrity of the family unit, applicable to foreign citizens as well, the Ministry of Interior has established a "common-law partner procedure" that recognizes the concept of "common-law marriage" as a legitimate status for couples who are not married but nevertheless share a life together as a couple. This procedure allows the foreign national, subject to certain conditions and preliminary inspections, to be granted a status in Israel as the life partner of an Israeli citizen, even if they are not married. This procedure also applies to same-sex partners.

The procedure permits the foreign national partner in a "common-law marriage" to receive the status of a permanent resident after a cumulative period of 7 years. However, the foreign national partner is ineligible to submit a request for citizenship and will not receive the status of an Israeli citizen.
The preliminary procedures for both married and non-married couples are identical in terms of inspections conducted prior to each stage in the process: testing the sincerity of the couple's relationship, shared life in Israel, and absence of security risk. The difference between the processes for a married couple and a non-married couple relates to the length of the process, the different types of visas granted at each stage throughout the process, and the end result (Israeli citizenship v. permanent residence).

While foreign spouses married to Israeli citizens receive temporary resident status after a period of 6 months on average, and receive citizenship after a period of about 4 years. Until recently, common-law partners of Israeli citizens received temporary resident status after a year and permanent residence status after 6 years.

Recently, the Ministry of Interior made the procedure more stringent for foreign national partners and same-sex partners (common-law partners). Under the new procedure, common-law partners of Israeli citizens will be forced to wait 3 years before receiving temporary resident status that will provide them with social rights such as bituach leumi and health insurance.

KTA Visual Guide: Step-by-Step process to becoming an Israeli National (Israeli partner/spouse)

List of required documents for Step-By-Step process to becoming an Israeli National