The Law of Return

The Law of Return gives every Jew and their spouse, children, and grandchildren the right to Israeli citizenship. It has been the foundation of Israeli immigration law since 1950. What the law does not tell you is how the process works, what documents are required, where the process typically goes wrong, and what it takes to complete it from the United States without moving to Israel. That’s what this page covers.

Basic Provisions of the Law of Return

The Israel citizenship law of return defines the basic rules for the Jew repatriation. The document consists of only 6 sections. The entire procedure of returning the lost brothers and sisters to their historical homeland is built on the Jewish Law of Return to Israel. Section 1 clearly defines that every Jew has the right to repatriate.
At the time of the formation and discussion of the document, a proposal was made to introduce two changes:

1. A Jew living in the State of Israel can be expelled from the territory of the country under any circumstances.
2. Section 1, which states that every Jew is entitled to immigrate to Israel, cannot be changed even through a vote of the Knesset.

The additions proposed by the opposition were not supported by the majority of parliamentarians. As a result, both propositions were rejected.

Article 1 – the basic right of the Jews 

Article 1 establishes the foundational principle of the Law of Return by affirming the inherent right of Jews worldwide to settle in Israel. During the drafting process, two additional proposals were put forward: one suggested prohibiting the expulsion of any Jew residing in Israel under all circumstances, while the other proposed making Article 1 unamendable, even by a vote of the Knesset. Neither proposal was adopted, and the article ultimately remained in its original concise form.

Article 2 – to whom a repatriate visa is issued

A repatriate visa is a document that allows a person who has proven their Jewish roots to enter Israel. The visa is issued following an interview. Americans and Europeans receive permission from the Jewish Agency.

According to section 2 of the Israeli right of return, the visa may be issued to any person who is Jewish and wants to move to Israel. Exceptions are those persons who may pose a security threat to the citizens of Israel and the country as a whole. Only people who might be seen as the threat to Israel and its citizens can be the exceptions to the Law of return Israel. 

Meaning the visa can be denied to those applicants for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return with a criminal record (each case is considered individually), as well as applicants who, are found to have infectious diseases that pose a danger to public health. These are the law of return requirements and they can vary from case to case. That’s why it’s always best to have professional help by your side.

Article 3 – immigration after arrival in the country

The third article states that any Jew can come to Israel and express a desire to settle here. In such a case he is also entitled to citizenship if he can prove his Jewish ancestry.

Article 4 – who can claim the rights of a repatriate

The document gives an exceptional and clean definition of who can be considered a real “Jew”. This is a person born of a Jewish mother or a person who has undergone conversion. An important note is that a person cannot profess any other religion except Judaism. This strict definition of belonging to the Jewish nationality has caused numerous misconceptions and criticism about the category of people eligible for repatriation. For example, some think the right to return is reserved only for halachic Jews.

The Israeli Law of Return eligibility has a defined list of people eligible for automatic Israeli citizenship:

• Direct descendants, that is, children born of a Jewish father.
• Grandchildren of Jews (if the grandmother, great-grandmother is Jewish).

In addition, by the power of Israeli citizenship law of return, the possibility of repatriation is provided to the spouses and the children of the eligible people mentioned above.
It does not matter whether the holder of the right to repatriate is alive or not—children and spouses can obtain Israeli citizenship. The only exception is for the people who decided to change their religion.

Amendments to the “Law of Return”

The Jewish right of return defining the basic rules for Jew repatriation has been up and running for 70 years now. During this time, Israel’s citizenship law of return practically has not changed.

The most significant were the three changes:

• 1958 Jew is that who has proved one’s Jewish roots and is related to Judaism.
• 1970 The definition of a “Jew” was changed.
  From that date forward it was the name of a person born of a Jewish mother, as well as a person who converted to Judaism.
• 1999 Amendment on obtaining citizenship through marriage with an Israeli citizen. In this case, the repatriation rules do not apply anymore. Now you can get an Israel passport only through the naturalization program. Thus, the possibility of obtaining Israeli citizenship through fictitious marriage was excluded.

The spouse of a Jewish citizen is subject to repatriation if the marriage was concluded before the moment of entry into Israeli citizenship.The marriage must take place before applying for Israeli citizenship.

The Law of Return is not a normative act that defines the rules for obtaining Israeli citizenship. It only establishes the circle of people entitled to repatriation to their historical homeland. The Israeli citizenship law of return lets you take a DNA test if you are not sure whether you have Jewish ancestors or not. But it won’t be a proof or the basis for citizenship.
Israel’s law of return process is quite complex, so WRAI is ready to guide you through this process and to claim your citizenship.

Legal intricacies of applying the Law of Return

Since the Jewish law of return defines the circle of people who are entitled to claim the repatriation right, the main problem is the honesty and accuracy of establishing the presence of Jewish roots in an applicant. Who is eligible?

The law of return application can lead one’s family from both mother and father. There are some nuances in this matter, we are talking about the Jewish roots established in the third generation.

If belonging to the Jewish nation is determined by the male line, then the father or grandfather is presented as the Jewish relative. According to the rules of aliyah (repatriation), Jewish roots are determined up to the third generation. In this case, the son or the daughter of a Jew belongs to the second generation.

A completely different story unfolds when the nationality is transmitted through the female line. In this case, the son or the daughter of a Jewish woman belongs to the first generation. This means that mother, grandmother and great-grandmother can act as Jewish relatives.

If you are interested in more detailed information on how to obtain Israeli citizenship or want to know about the rules of repatriation, Israel law of return dna test, please contact our citizenship specialists for advice. Their experience handling a wide range of cases helps clients make the most of the Law of Return. Professional support and supervision of our specialists will help you get Israeli citizenship as easily and quickly as possible.

The Gap Between Having the Right and Getting the Passport

These are not rare edge cases. They’re the standard outcome for self-managed applications. WRAI exists specifically to close this gap — managing the entire process so the legal right you already have becomes a passport at your US address in approximately six months. The alternative to working with us isn’t free. It’s two or three unplanned trips to Israel when something goes wrong. It’s a failed consulate interview and starting over.