Citizenship for a foreign spouse

The process of obtaining citizenship for a foreign spouse of an Israeli citizen, also known as the “graduated process,” is a procedure that lasts several years and involves many stages until citizenship is granted. It begins with submitting an application to the Ministry of Interior and scheduling an appointment.

After that, the collection of documents begins for submitting the application for recognition of the couple at the Ministry of Interior, a central process in which couples often encounter difficulties and during which they may even have to manage without a work permit for the foreign spouse for many months.

To receive Israeli citizenship for a foreign spouse, the couple must prove the authenticity of their relationship to obtain a B/2 type residence visa for the spouse, which grants the foreign spouse applying for citizenship a permanent residence permit and work permit in the country.

After this significant stage, the Ministry of Interior continues to conduct an annual review of the relationship, in order to grant the visa renewal each year until citizenship is obtained for the foreign spouse.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Interior’s procedure for granting citizenship to a foreign spouse also applies to common-law partners and even same-sex couples, almost in the same way it applies to married heterosexual couples.

The Ministry of Interior often creates difficulties for couples – the rigidity of the procedure for granting status to spouses, its complexity, and the weight of its impact require strict adherence to its conditions and often necessitate legal representation for the full realization of the couple’s rights, and to enable them to live together in Israel and earn a living with dignity until full citizenship is obtained.

Proving the authenticity of the relationship to the Ministry of Interior can be an obstacle on the way to citizenship for the foreign spouse, as the tests set by the Ministry of Interior are very specific, and it is important to be familiar with the Ministry’s examination methodology, understand how it examines the authenticity of the relationship, and bring appropriate evidence of the relationship’s genuineness, according to its requirements.

It should be noted that the first and central condition for proving the authenticity of the relationship and the existence of a spousal relationship between partners is cohabitation.

Beyond that, each relationship is examined according to its circumstances, and therefore personal legal accompaniment throughout the process, from the beginning, will help ensure that couples requesting citizenship for the foreign spouse will pass the Ministry of Interior’s tests in the best and shortest way possible.

Our office is well-versed in all the stages that couples must go through together at the Ministry of Interior on the way to citizenship ; from collecting various documents from the countries of origin of the spouses, continuing with interviews of the couple at the Ministry of Interior and home visits, up to the final decisions on the matter and appeal procedures regarding them.

Our office specializes in preparing couples before meetings with the Ministry of Interior, explaining and accompanying the process, and providing legal advice when necessary.

Zari Hazan Law Firm also has extensive experience in filing appeals against Ministry of Interior decisions on issues of granting Israeli citizenship to a foreign spouse.