Dual Citizenship in Israel

Dual citizenship offers many advantages. The legislation allows granting this status to foreigners in compliance with certain requirements. Israel allows to retain the first one when applying for citizenship upon repatriation. Can you have dual citizenship in Israel? A detailed description of all possible options and related nuances is set out in the article.

What is Dual Citizenship?

It guarantees people of countries between which mutual recognition agreements have been concluded. These people receive the rights and obligations of all parties. The absence of international agreements on dual citizenship implies the status of a second citizenship. There are no prohibitions in the law on this issue. But there is a small limitation. While staying on Israeli territory, a man with Israeli passport will be considered exclusively as the owner of Israeli citizenship. He is obliged to comply with the laws of this particular country.

The Israeli Law of Return and Dual Citizenship

According to the Israel law of return, Americans can become citizens of this country without losing their first status. There are small limitations. Citizenship can be obtained by Jews and their descendants up to the third generation:

• Children and grandchildren and their spouses;
• Widower or widow of a Jew;
• Spouse.

In addition, people who have converted also have the right to Israeli citizenship. They are considered Jews by right of conversion to Judaism.

For repatriation, it is necessary to prove the Jewish origin. We will also have to officially confirm the family ties. All documents must be authentic, because when hiding data or providing false information, it will not work to cross the border. And we’ll have to forget about moving at all.

Distant relatives are not taken into account when considering the status.

The right to automatically obtain two passports applies to children whose one or both parents are Israeli citizens, regardless of the place of birth. In this case, you will not have to collect evidence. The child can get his status only automatically. If a person was born in Israel or one of his parents was already a citizen at the time of the child’s birth, then the child automatically receives this status.

The country has a strict law regarding religion. If a person wants to immigrate to Israel, but first he or his parents changed their religious affiliation, he cannot count on leniency. He will be refused in any case, even if he proves a close relationship with Jews.

Dual US-Israeli Citizenship

For more than forty years, the US relationship with Israel has been one of the most prominent features of its foreign policy. America does not have such close ties with any other country on the planet. Support is provided through both the executive and legislative branches. They stand in solidarity at all major international forums.

Relations between two countries are characterized by deep and comprehensive interconnectedness.

Their quality is emphasized by highly developed bilateral military-technical cooperation, trade and economic cooperation, as well as close political and social ties that have passed the test of time for more than half a century.

US law allows its citizens to have a dual or plural.

A person with dual citizenship of the United States and Israel is not considered a foreign citizen in accordance with the Security Service Law and, therefore, will be subject to mandatory military service. The passport can be updated once every ten years. For minor children, citizenship must be renewed every five years.

When all the official part is completed and the permit is received, you can not only regularly enter and leave the country, but also visit many countries without problems.

Benefits

Does Israel accept dual citizenship? Yes, it the first advantage. Anyone who has thought about getting a second passport knows that before you go and start collecting documents, you need to weigh the pros and cons. It’s obvious: there are much more pluses and often they overlap the minuses. But for the record, we have written out a few of them.

Pros:

But there are also disadvantages. In particular, many are afraid of compulsory military service or high prices. But firstly, there are exceptions. Secondly, these disadvantages pale against the background of all the advantages.

Requirements

The path to a second citizenship can be quite long. There is a long list of Israeli dual citizenship requirements. Even in the case of repatriation, it takes about 6 months.

The most important and crucial moment, on which the whole further procedure of registration and verification of documents is then based, is the confirmation of Jewishness. It has been established that Jewish nationality is transmitted through the female line, therefore, if a person has documentary evidence of the Jewish origin of his mother or grandmother, it will be easier for him to get the coveted passport. The situation is less clear if the Jewish roots go deep into the male line, but even in this case there is an opportunity to use the repatriation procedure.

Evidence in this case can serve as obvious official documents (birth, marriage or death certificates), as well as other options for confirming citizenship. When searching for all these documents, it may take not only time and effort, but also access to the relevant archives and state institutions of the country where the applicant’s ancestors lived for citizenship.

Once you’ve completed your application and uploaded the required documents, company notifies the Jewish Agency to review your application and decide whether to invite you for an interview. It is the third important step to an Israeli passport.

There you will be questioned to identify the true reasons for moving and personal goals, attitude to religion, as well as the peculiarities of family life over the past few generations. If everything was successful with the second citizenship, for a person it means the beginning of a wonderful period in life when you can use all the bonuses from both states. Paperwork causes a lot of difficulties for new repatriates due to its specifics.

Obtaining Israeli Dual Citizenship

Jewish roots are not the only way. There are also alternative options, but not everyone can bypass the main method. It will be more difficult but it is still possible.

There are some ways to become a citizen without Jewish roots:

1. Pass the giyur. It is a ritual of acceptance of Judaism. Preparing for it is a serious step that takes a lot of time and effort. You need to dive deep into Judaism, learn a lot of new information and require deep knowledge about Judaism and a sincere desire to convert to this religion. By law, every Jew has the right to be repatriated.
2. Naturalization. This is a gradual entry into society as a full-fledged citizen. In the case of naturalization, when making decisions, they are guided by how much the applicant can be useful for the country. In this case people receive absolutely all political and civil rights. But they are not subject to the benefits and monetary state payments provided for new repatriates.
3. Marriage. To do this, it is necessary to go through the procedure of legalization of foreign spouses and civil law partners.

The birth of a child is one of those arguments that further confirm the conclusion of a love marriage. You can independently show joint photos, receipts from the cafe — this is only encouraged. And if there is a crisis in the relationship, it is better not to leave, otherwise the residency status will be deprived with a greater degree of probability.

Military Service

It is mandatory for everyone. Young boys and girls are subject to conscription upon reaching the age of 18. People who live abroad have the right to a postponement. But it needs to be issued in advance, otherwise, the next time you visit Israel, you may find a ban on leaving the country. There are a lot of nuances here and you cannot go through the service. Health plays a big role — if you cannot serve in the army for medical reasons, then you will not have to serve.

The draft age is up to 28 years. Citizens who repatriated after 22 years are not liable for military service, but service is possible on a voluntary basis. Pregnant and married girls, person with children receive full withdrawal from service, and for married men, the service life is reduced from the standard to 18 months.