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Can you apply for an Israeli passport before your one-year aliyah anniversary, to be used after the one-year anniversary?
I recently experienced a situation at the Misrad HaPnim (Interior Ministry) while trying to get passports for my family whose resolution is apparently not in the office's protocol.
While the laws and regulations promulgated in any government system seek to streamline daily life by clearly spelling out the rules that apply in any given situation, because rule-makers cannot anticipate every situation lawyers and courts exists to fill in the gaps. But sometimes there are situations where lawyers and courts are not practical. That's where blogs come in. In case anyone has the same issue, here is my experience:
According to Nefesh B'Nefesh, a nonprofit organization established in 2001 to help North American and British Jews make Aliyah, "You are entitled to apply for an Israeli passport one year after your Aliyah, provided that you have spent 365 cumulative days in Israel." If you are traveling outside of Israel before the one-year anniversary of your aliyah, you need to apply for a teudat ma'avar (travel pass).
But what if... you are leaving Israel 10 days after the one-year anniversary of your aliyah?
On the one hand, you are not entitled to apply for a passport until your one year is up. On the other hand, you are not traveling within the one year so you don't need a teudat ma'avar.
This is the question that had the clerks stumped and required 3 trips to the Misrad HaPnim. On the first trip, approximately 20 days before the scheduled flight, the clerk (Clerk 1), after discussing it with a supervisor, said we should come back on the first day of the calendar month of the flight and we can apply for passports. On the second trip, the clerk (Clerk 2) stamped our paperwork and after discussing it with the first clerk and two supervisors, told us to come back the day after our one-year aliyah anniversary and apply for the passports because the computer system cannot process a passport request before that time. So, on the third trip I hope to complete the process.
*UPDATE* On the third trip- the clerk (Clerk 3) started to give me a hard time even though the paperwork was already stamped. She asked me who stamped the papers. Luckily, I remember what she looked like and Clerk 3 went to find Clerk 2 and brought her over. After Clerk 2 said she remembered me, Clerk 3 told her that next time she should write on the top of the page "This child appeared before me" and then stamp it. Clerk 3 said that had I not been able to identify Clerk 2 we would have had a problem. So just to safe, I surreptitiously took a photo of both clerks standing together.
I have to go back for a fourth time now to pick up the passports.
*UPDATE 2* On the fourth trip- I told the woman in the office I was there to pick up my passports and she asked if I had a receipt. No, I didn't have a receipt, they just told me to come and pick them up. So she checked the box and voila they were there.
*UPDATE* On the third trip- the clerk (Clerk 3) started to give me a hard time even though the paperwork was already stamped. She asked me who stamped the papers. Luckily, I remember what she looked like and Clerk 3 went to find Clerk 2 and brought her over. After Clerk 2 said she remembered me, Clerk 3 told her that next time she should write on the top of the page "This child appeared before me" and then stamp it. Clerk 3 said that had I not been able to identify Clerk 2 we would have had a problem. So just to safe, I surreptitiously took a photo of both clerks standing together.
I have to go back for a fourth time now to pick up the passports.
*UPDATE 2* On the fourth trip- I told the woman in the office I was there to pick up my passports and she asked if I had a receipt. No, I didn't have a receipt, they just told me to come and pick them up. So she checked the box and voila they were there.
Conclusion: You cannot even apply for a passport until the one-year anniversary of your aliyah has passed. Had our flight been scheduled for the day after our one-year anniversary we would have to shell out money for a teudat ma'avar and a passport.
FYI: The Misrad HaPnim branch in Jerusalem on 1 Shlomzion HaMalka St. is open S, M, Tu, Th from 8-12 and Monday and Wednesday afternoons from 2:30-5:30 (but not for visas and citizenship).
The bureaucracy involved with visa issues and passport issues, is really a pain. One of the few negatives I can say about Israel, which I otherwise consider an extremely fascinating and diverse country.
ReplyDeleteI am a non-jewish atheist (which means: not religious and no jewish ancestry). Still, I would love to relocate to Israel and settle in Israel. The country is so fascinating and diverse, and the history is so clearly indicating that Eretz Israel was a cradle of civilisations regardless of religion... so you don't have to be Jewish to feel a longing to want to be in Israel and settle in this unique country.
I have contacted the Misrad HaPnim and NEVER got any response whatsoever. I know that usually they deal with Aliyah requests (thus Jews moving to Israel), on the other hand the Ministry of Interior is also the office to contact to request residence permits and such when a non-Jew moves to Israel (for example the mixed couples I know, one being Israeli/Jewish but the partner neither Israeli nor Jewish) but the partner of the Israeli person eventually had to deal with the Ministry of Interior as well to get paperworks sorted out (they had to prove that they had been in a long term relationship, but in the end it was that same Ministry of Interior who issued the permit to the non-jew after sufficient proof of a long term relationship with an Israeli citizen was proven)
So clearly the Ministry of Interior deals with emigration issues overall, including non-jews. They however never even bothered to answer a simple question I directed to them :( The question was a very simple one: under which circumstances can a non-jew still legally reside in Israel when he has good intentions and a sincere interest in Israel ; which criteria have to be met to apply for a residence permit as a goi? Even a sîmple "This is hardly possible" answer would have been appreciated but they never answered anything at all. The Israeli embassy in my native country on their terms said they didn't know the rules because they rarely deal with non-jews wishing to emigrate ; odd to represent your country as staffmember of an embassy, but claiming you have no detailed knowledge of the laws regarding emigration... Isn't an embassy supposed to provide help or info in those situations which are less common and require specialised advice? If they only know the law regarding Jews moving to Israel, then we talk about rules that are clearly specified on numerous places, but for embassy staff you'd expect they'd also know of more exceptional requests and how to answer them.
On a discussion forum about moving to Israel (I have to add though that the overwhelming majority of members were Jews making aliyah, non-jews who were married to a Jew or Israeli citizen, or converts who wished to emigrate following Giur) one of the most re-occuring discussions was the procedure, since even for these people (all Jews or married to a Jew) got contradicting information from Misrad HaPnim. Especially in the case of a non-jew married to a Jew, several forum members went through several procedures which added to the confusion (in one case the non-jew was even registered als "oleh hadash" as if he made aliyah, which is in fact impossible for a non-jew , it was his Jewish wife who made Aliyah and he entered Israel on family reunion basis, nevertheless the term "aliyah" was used in his application file too!)
It seems bureaucracy is a problematic issue at the Misrad HaPnim. But well, those who don't give up will eventually get there hopefully. Od lo avda tikvateinu :)
שׁלוֹם ל׳שׁראל
could you apply on the same day as your Aliyah?
ReplyDeletefor example 1st of september was the aliyah in 2013 and 1st of septmeber 2014 you apply! its exactly 365 days completed