Many Israelis today maintain relationships with foreign spouses that consummate in marriage. However, being a foreign partner of an Israeli citizen does not automatically grant you a status in Israel.
The process of acquiring citizenship for a foreign spouse of an Israeli citizen, which is also referred to as the ‘Gradual Process’ is one that takes years and consists of many steps until receiving citizenship.
Our office is proficient with all the stages the couple must go through in the Ministry of Interior on the way to the citizenship including; the collection of documents from the spouse’s country of origin, interviews of the couple in the Ministry of Interior and house calls, final decisions of the Ministry and appeals thereon.
The primary proceeding of collecting and submitting documents is a central one, in which many couples encounter difficulties, and are forced to manage for months without the foreign partner having a work permit.
In order to acquire a B/2 visa, the couple must prove the sincerity of their relationship, after which the Ministry of Interior performs a yearly review of the relationship for the ongoing renewal of the visa until acquiring citizenship.
It is known that many times the Ministry of Interior piles up difficulties on the couple; the severity of the procedure, its intricacy and the extent of its influence, require diligent fulfillment of its terms. In manifold occasions, legal representation is needed in order to achieve the full execution of the couple’s rights, for them to live together in Israel and support themselves in honor until acquiring full citizenship.
It should be noted that the procedure of the Ministry of Interior for providing nationality for foreign partners applies also to common-law spouses (unmarried couples who live together) and to homosexual couples almost the same way it applies to heterosexual married couples.
Zari Hazan and Co. Law Office represented various cases of acquiring citizenship for foreign spouses of Israeli citizens and gained multiple experience in this process with the various Ministry of Interior bureaus.