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Making Aliyah to Israel 

1/8/2015

3 Comments

 
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About a year ago in a letter to the J-weekly, a man who had converted to Judaism in California wrote about his disappointment in learning that he was not considered Jewish by the state of Israel and therefore was not eligible to make aliyah.  I am used to people taking bureaucratic processes personally so I decided to investigate. I emailed Rabbi Mates-Muchin of Temple Sinai to ask how aliyah works for an American convert. Here is her reply.  It covers ALL forms of travel to Israel, not just aliyah. Note that Rabbi Mates-Muchin is a Reform rabbi and if you are from another stream of Judaism you should check with your own rabbi.

*****

Visas and Israel
The most important thing you need to know about visas in Israel is that the process comes in two types: the “general” one that applies to everyone, and the “Jewish” one that applies if you prove you are Jewish. When you go to websites that explain what you need in order to apply for and obtain a visa, they are often giving you the details for the general visa. This information is accurate if you are either not Jewish or you are Jewish but do not want to go through the Jewish verification process.

Let's start with the general process. Here is what you need to know.

Visa for Entry to Israel
A standard B/2 tourist visa is issued at the border for countries who have visitation agreements with Israel (see the status of your country: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA_Graphics/MFA%20Gallery/Consular%20forms/VisaRequirements.pdf). This visa is usually valid for up to three months. You are not allowed to work if you enter the country with this visa. If you leave the country and then return, in most cases, you will receive a tourist visa for another three months.

If you are from a country that does not have a visitation agreement, you must obtain a visa from an Israeli Consulate prior to your arrival in Israel.

Work and Student Visas
If you are coming to Israel as a student or in order to work in Israel, you must obtain your visa through an Israeli Consulate prior to your arrival. In the general process, if you come into Israel on a tourist visa, you can not change it to a student or work visa while you are here. See the Ministry of Foreign Affair Website for all the documentation needed to secure a visa from outside of Israel. Contact your regional office (or “mission”) for specific questions.

Visa Extensions
If you want to extend your visa, you have to apply at the Ministry of the Interior (Misrad Hapanim) in Israel. This site has a listing, in English, of the Misrad Hapanim branches throughout Israel. You will likely need an appointment to begin your application process, so it is a good idea to call in advance. If that is not possible or just doesn't work, you should also be able to make an appointment in person.

The following are the requirements listed on the English forms from the office of the Ministry of the Interior in Jerusalem. You may be asked to produce all or only some of these documents, but it is best to come as prepared as possible.

A/2 Student Visa:
1. Passport, valid for a least six months beyond your stay in Israel
2. One passport sized picture
3. A completed application for you and for every member of your family.
4. Birth certificates and marriage certificates when applicable
5. A letter from your educational institution
6. Transcripts from the past year
7. Documentation of adequate funds
8. Apartment lease or dorm contract
9. 175 shekel fee

B/1 Work Visa
1. Passport, valid for a least six months beyond your stay in Israel
2. One passport sized picture
3. A completed application for you and for every member of your family.
4. Birth certificates and marriage certificate when applicable
5. A letter from your employer
6. Proof of medical insurance
7. 165 shekels for a regular visa or 330 for a multi-entry visa

B/2 Tourist Visa
1. Passport, valid for a least six months beyond your stay in Israel
2. One passport sized picture
3. A completed application, for you and for every member of your family.
4. Birth certificates and marriage certificate when applicable
5. A letter explaining your reason for being in Israel
6. If you are staying because of friends or family, provide a letter of explanation and a photocopy of their ID card(s)
7. Proof of funds and an airline ticket out of Israel
8. 175 shekels

Those are the general requirements for obtaining a visa abroad or extending a visa while you are in Israel.

To be eligible for the Jewish process, which ultimately offers more benefits, you have to verify your Jewish status.

Proving your Jewish Status
First, the benefits. As a Jew in Israel, you are not just a tourist, you have some rights. You can stay on a tourist visa for at least a year, if not more. You will be able to go from a tourist visa to a student or work visa. For any visas you obtain in Israel, the fees are waived. Additionally, you only have to go through the process once. After you prove your status as a Jew, you are in the system as a Jew, even for the purpose of making aliyah.

Next, the process. To get the benefits, you have to prove that you are Jewish. Though you apply through the Ministry of the Interior, the confirmation process goes through the Jewish Agency. The Agency doesn't differentiate between their approval of someone's Jewish status for the purpose of aliyah or if someone is applying for a two week tourist extension, so, be prepared that it may take some time.

The basic form of proof is a letter from a recognized rabbi verifying that you are Jewish. “Recognized” means a member of one of the rabbinic professional organizations, such as the CCAR(Reform) or the RA (Conservative). If your rabbi pays dues to one of these professional organizations, she/he should appear on one of the recognized lists.* The letter must state that the applicant is “Jewish by birth”, is a member of the rabbi's congregation (or whose parents are members of the congregation) and that the rabbi knows that the applicant's mother, father or both parents are Jewish. The letter has to be written on letterhead that includes the name of the congregation, address, phone number, and the rabbi's name. Keep in mind that every application is different and the Agency may ask for more information.

If you have converted to Judaism through the Reform movement, you will also need to produce all of your conversion documents. The process will be more complicated and will likely take more time. It is best to contact attorney Nicole Maor at IRAC (center@irac.org) in advance of your travel to Israel so that you know what to expect and you can bring the necessary documentation with you.

For the purpose of a visa, if you prove you are a Jew by patrilineal descent**, you will be accorded all of the rights of Jews under the Law of Return's second amendment that gives rights to members of Jews' families. Spouses, children, spouses of children, grandchildren and spouses of grandchildren of verified Jews would all fit into the category of members of Jews' families. The definition of a Jew under the Law of Return, however, is someone born to a Jewish mother or someone who has converted to Judaism and is not practicing another religion. Unless you went to the mikveh and have additional documentation, as a patrilineal Jew, the Jewish Agency will consider you a non-Jew. In light of this, you may want to weigh the benefits of initiating the “Jewish process” depending on the kind of visa you need. If you have questions, contact attorney Nicole Maor (center@irac.org) of the Israel Religious Action Center.

If you are applying for a visa or visa extension as a Jew, or as one of the aforementioned relatives of a Jew, you will need your proof of Judaism documents as well as all other items listed in the general process section above.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not feel pressured into proving your Jewish status. You will encounter people who will assume you will want to go through the process, but remember, it is your choice. If you are simply extending your tourist visa for three months, you might prefer to just pay the fee. If, however, you plan to be in Israel for longer than six months, or if you plan to apply for a student or work visa in Israel, the benefits will likely outweigh the burden of the extra time and effort. If there is a chance you will opt to go through verification, it is recommended that you bring all of your
documentation with you to Israel.

If you encounter issues with the process of proving your Jewish status, feel free to contact attorney Nicole Maor at center@irac.org.

*Note from Dawn: To my knowledge the rabbis from the Renewal movement have not yet applied to the Jewish Agency to have their status and the status of their converts recognized.  Before you begin conversion it is a good idea to check with the rabbi you want to work with to find out whether they are on the list as a Recognized Rabbi. Orthodox rabbis will have a somewhat different process since they want their conversions to be accepted not only by the Israeli government, but also by the religious authorities.

**Close relatives of someone who is Jewish up to a grandchild-in-law have a right to make aliyah under the Law of Return. So, they could go and become a citizen, but they would not be considered Jewish. It may be a significant distinction because it would prohibit them from things like getting married, but at the moment lots of Jews are also not able to do that. So patrilineal Jews are not considered Jewish by the Israeli rabbinate but can make aliyah. They should know that because people will tell them they are eligible as a relative of a Jew not because he or she is a Jew. Again, I think the trauma of all this would be greatly reduced if people know what to expect. At the Ministry of the Interior, people will say you are not Jewish but can come because your father is, assuming you can prove that. If you want a visa or if you want to make aliyah, just know what they are going to tell you as they complete their paperwork so that it doesn't shock or insult you in the moment. The clerk you are talking to can't do anything about it. It will just make the process less emotionally traumatic for you if you understand that this is a bureaucratic function. 

3 Comments
Bobby Harris
12/6/2016 02:53:07 pm

I am writing on response to the comments above that I have read and I am a convert to.judaism through reform synagogue this was done in March of 2009 and I have since send all of the documents to interior ministry and I was told different sides here one was I was okay ans looked good toake aliyah the other side was no word since then no response since all this time it's been very very quiet. And now it's December 2016 as we get closer to 2017 and still habentade aliyah.i was very shocked to hear one of them who is from USA made aliyah he doesn't even know how to speak Hebrew and does not have job hr had no income nothing and he was allowed to make aliyah I was like ok there is something going on with this I was told that everything looked good so was not very happy and very very very disappointed and I have been jewish now for 8 or 9 years already and very observant to all high holy days on our calendars and never miss out on it.i feel that something is being hidden from me.inhad in past good jobs one on a cruise ship working with passengers who came onboard for cruise and other was therapeutic recreation for disabled kids and youth in parks and recreation.was planning to introduce that to Israel for kids who are olim and others as well I have waited patiently and still nothing I have moved all my mail to my cousins mailbox for safety due to mail thefts in my neighborhood that still happens. But up to now it had been disappointing about that I send all of papers letters everything. Still waiting and I have gone on my very first trip to Israel I believe October 2014 and found place for job work to introduce that and my thought about aliyah is still high and important to me and have never given up and I don't intend to give up on it
It is very serious sst on the heart about it I hope to get something soon I just hope so I ve gone through so much with this for all his time till now.

Reply
Diesel Estate
7/1/2019 06:11:23 pm

Dear Mr. Harris,

Your comment seems to seethe with anger which may well be misplaced. Please allow me to clarify some facts you provided.
You converted to Judaism in March 2009. You posted your comment in December 2016. 7 years & 9 months, which makes it three months short of eight years. Not '8 or 9 years already'. This is important because exaggerating hurts you alone because it increases your frustration, needlessly. It also serves to make you look impatient, and possibly disingenuous, regarding your real reasons for converting to Judaism. It could be said that converting to Judaism then applying for aliyah very soon afterwards, implies ulterior motivation for conversion, other than the religious.
Very few people get sympathy or understanding by attempting to tear others down or, mud slinging. Obviously, the 'something going on' regarding the other chap who 'doesn't even know how to speak Hebrew and does not have job he had no income nothing' is that somebody sponsored him (maybe his family, of which you may know nothing).
Unfortunately, you do not give a date for when you applied for aliyah. In which case, let's say you applied a year after your conversion, 2010. I am astounded to read that you waited six and a half years for an application to be processed, without making further official enquiries or representations. Would you do that if, say, you had applied for a passport? I would like to think not. Yet, aliyah is so much more important than a passport application. Mr. Harris, with respect, things happen in busy government offices and departments. Anything could have happened to your application. Papers slip down the sides of filing cabinets. Or fall out of folders. Or get caught up in snafu in any number of mishaps. Exactly the same things happen electronically, too: All of which go unnoticed in busy government offices and departments.
Mr. Harris, it is you who wish to make aliyah. The onus is upon you to enquire on a regular basis on the status of your application. This burden is not on the state of Israel which again, with respect to yourself, has a world of business to attend to on a daily basis. It is your responsibility to decide how important aliyah really is to you. Quite rightly, you are already quantifying the value that you, as an individual, would take to the nation of Israel and, I applaud you for that. However, in the meantime, perhaps your energy would best be directed to the correct channels, ie, the government agency dealing with your aliyah application, rather than having a rant in a comments section.
Shalom

Reply
liana link
12/7/2022 06:54:47 pm

thanks for info

Reply



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