- How to Obtain Israeli Citizenship - Turning to the Laws
- The second important document is the Israeli Citizenship Law
- Naturalization is an important procedure for acquiring citizenship
The very first answer that comes to mind when faced with the problem of how to obtain Israeli citizenship is to find your own Jewish roots. With a certain amount of humor, we can say that one of the branches on the family tree of any citizen of the Russian Federation will definitely turn out to be "from there", and therefore the chance to become a full-fledged inhabitant of the Promised Land is quite high.
Speaking seriously, as in any other state on the planet, before acquiring citizenship, you must go through a number of procedures, comply with certain conditions, collect a set of documents. In this article, we will try to highlight the existence of what other grounds, besides Jewish roots, can give an opportunity to become a citizen of Israel.
How to Obtain Israeli Citizenship - Turning to the Laws
Today in Israel there are several regulatory legal acts that determine the conditions and possibilities for obtaining the citizenship of the country. The fundamental documents are the Law on Return and the Law on Citizenship.
The first document was approved by the Knesset back in 1950, it proclaimed the right of every person of Jewish nationality to return, in legal terms, to repatriate to Israel.
Simply put, a person who dreams of becoming a citizen of Israel needs to prove that he is a Jew, or he has Jewish roots. On the basis of the Law of Return of July 5, 1950, everyone has the right to acquire citizenship. There are also exceptions to this rule, the articles of the law do not apply to a certain circle of persons. The list of those who cannot become a citizen of this country, even if there is clear evidence of belonging to the nation, includes the following persons:
- engaged (engaged) in activities against Jews;
- posing a threat to national security or public order;
- those who have committed crimes outside Israel and are trying to escape punishment in this way.
In all other cases, the procedure for obtaining Israeli citizenship has no obstacles. There are a few more nuances - this law covers family members up to the third generation, which means that a person whose great-grandfather was a Jew does not have the right to obtain citizenship. He has the opportunity to come to Israel and receive only a residence permit.
The second important document is the Israeli Citizenship Law
This is the second legal act, which should be followed by persons when they wish to move to Israel for permanent residence and acquire all rights - the Citizenship Law, adopted in 1952.
This regulatory document sets out the procedure and conditions for obtaining citizenship. The methods of its acquisition are listed, as well as the grounds that the special bodies will be guided by when depriving such a right. The first chapter of the law lists the grounds for acquiring citizenship:
- repatriation of persons with Jewish roots;
- living in Israel;
- birth in this country or birth and residence;
- adoption of a child from another state.
There are other grounds for granting Israeli citizenship, as defined in Articles 5-9 of the 1952 Law.
An interesting fact: for a child born in Israel to be recognized as a citizen of this country, the fact of birth on the territory is not enough. It is important to comply with other important conditions, for example, one of the parents must have Israeli citizenship, and it does not matter at all whether it is the father or mother of the baby.
Naturalization is an important procedure for acquiring citizenship
Anyone who is not an Israeli citizen can try to undergo naturalization. Of course, for this, certain conditions must be met, the first of which is the age of majority of the person who wants to become an inhabitant of the Promised Land. At the time of application, the person must be in the country, have lived in Israeli territory for at least three years (in total) over the past five years.
Among other conditions for naturalization, the desire to settle in Israel, knowledge of Hebrew. It is interesting that the level of knowledge is not clearly specified, the law itself uses the definition of "some knowledge", which is associated with the complexity of the language and the problems that arise in the learning process for many people. A prerequisite is the renunciation of the citizenship of the previous country of residence or the provision of guarantees that a person will renounce the rights of a citizen of any other country in the world upon obtaining the corresponding rights in Israel.
There are also a number of persons who are granted the citizenship of the country by the Minister of Internal Affairs by issuing an appropriate certificate. The first on this list are minor children of Israeli citizens. A special category of persons who have the right to this method of obtaining are those who have served in the Israeli armed forces, who have fulfilled important tasks for the state in the field of economy, defense, and security. In this case, the next of kin - parents, spouse, children, brothers and sisters - also have the right to acquire citizenship.
