Obtaining Israeli citizenship for a foreign spouse through marriage

Although the process takes years, throughout all these years, the spouse does not remain without status: Already in the early stages, they can receive a work permit and live in the country freely as a resident in every respect.

Over time and as the process progresses, the foreign spouse receives more and more rights under their residence permit, so that their status is not much different from that of a citizen. However, there is great importance in maintaining the continuity of the process for the duration of five years, because if not, the possibility of obtaining citizenship may be canceled, or in the future, it may be necessary to start the process from the beginning, depending on the circumstances of the matter, of course.

Unlike other processes for obtaining visas or residency by virtue of partnership or other reasons, the process of obtaining Israeli citizenship through marriage naturally requires the production of a marriage certificate. It is recommended that the couple be married before submitting the application to the Ministry of Interior so that the application is initially registered as a request for citizenship by virtue of marriage.

In addition to a marriage certificate, translated and authenticated with an apostille, the couple will need to provide additional documents when submitting the citizenship application.

Among the documents that the couple will be required to provide: documents from various authorities of the foreign spouse’s country of origin proving that they meet the legal conditions for submitting the citizenship application, as well as that their personal details they attest to are true and correct.

Additionally, the Ministry of Interior asks the couple to submit documents and evidence that will testify to the sincerity and authenticity of the relationship.

Until today, to be registered as married by the Ministry of Interior in Israel, couples had two options: to marry according to religious law through the Rabbinate, or to fly and get married in a civil ceremony in another country.
Today, following the Supreme Court’s decision in the Brill case, the state recognizes Utah marriages that allow getting married in a Zoom meeting, without leaving Israel.
This welcome change allows hundreds of thousands of couples in Israel, including couples where one is Israeli and the other is a foreign national or same-sex couples, to get married without leaving Israel. This is a civil wedding by video conference and it is completely legal and allows registration as married in Israel.

Our office will accompany you in a civil wedding without leaving Israel and without leaving home – via “Zoom” – Utah marriages recognized for registration in Israel.

One of the main things that the Ministry of Interior examines to determine whether to grant the foreign spouse citizenship or a residence visa during the graduated procedure for obtaining citizenship through marriage in Israel, is the authenticity of the relationship between the spouses.

To examine the authenticity of the relationship, the Ministry of Interior will ask the couple to provide evidence of the marital relationship, such as:

Joint photos of the couple
Photos from family events
Testimonies from friends and family members about the relationship and even private correspondence between the spouses.

Interview at the Ministry of Interior
The couple requesting citizenship for the foreign spouse must undergo an interview at the Ministry of Interior.
Our office has many years of experience in accompanying couples in Ministry of Interior interviews, while ensuring that the interviews are conducted properly and legally, without discrimination, and without excessive intrusion into privacy.

During the interview, the Ministry of Interior tends to ask the couple many detailed questions about their shared life and about the lifestyle of each of them, and checks whether the couple’s answers match each other and are consistent.

In fact, even a common-law partner of an Israeli citizen can receive citizenship under another Ministry of Interior procedure, and they do not have to be married.

However, when the foreign spouse has minor children in their country of origin that they want to live with them, they must be married to their Israeli citizen spouse in order to submit an application for status for their children in Israel to the Ministry of Interior.

Therefore, in such a situation, according to Ministry of Interior procedures, the couple must be married. The request to arrange the status of children of foreign spouses is a special request in which our office has extensive expertise and experience in submitting.

For more details on citizenship applications for children of foreign spouses.

Since the graduated procedure is a long process that takes several years, there may be many situations where the foreign spouse has already lived in Israel for many years, established their center of life here in every respect and settled in the country, but the couple separated or, unfortunately, the Israeli spouse passed away.

Our office also has experience in such situations in submitting special requests to the Ministry of Interior for citizenship or residency for a foreign spouse who was widowed or divorced, from the Ministry of Interior to the Supreme Court.

The Zari Hazan & Co. Law Firm specializes in administrative and constitutional law and has extensive experience in representing in courts and filing petitions to the Supreme Court on immigration issues and granting residence visas and citizenship to married spouses of Israeli citizens.

Therefore, we will accompany you throughout the process and serve as an address and attentive ear for you even if you encounter difficulties with the Ministry of Interior and there is a need to appeal to the legal authorities to appeal its decisions or actions.

Contact our office today to submit an application for Israeli citizenship through marriage.