As a rule, a foreign citizen can obtain status in Israel only in very specific cases – for example, if he has an Israeli spouse or a work visa for a fixed period of time.
However, there is another procedure for regulating status in Israel for humanitarian reasons, and thus it is possible to obtain permanent residency or Israeli citizenship in Israel.
The Ministry of Interior has established a special committee, a kind of “exceptions committee,” whose function is to examine applications of foreigners residing in Israel who are not entitled to status under the law to obtain status in Israel for humanitarian reasons.
The committee is comprised of representatives of various government ministries, as well as representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, representatives of the Ministry of Welfare, Health, Foreign Affairs and National Security, as well as representatives of the liaison office (Nativ) and the police.
The Humanitarian Committee deals with many and varied cases, in respect of which it is possible to apply for status, and this is not a closed list.
It is recommended to consult with a lawyer specializing in the field, whether there is room to apply, depending on the individual circumstances of each.
Thus, for example, a foreign citizen residing in Israel who is the father of an Israeli child but is not currently in a relationship with the child’s mother is not entitled to receive legal status in Israel, but he can apply to settle his status in Israel on humanitarian grounds so that he can continue living in Israel alongside his child.
Other foreigners, in accordance with their various circumstances, medical history and condition – whether before arriving in Israel or after arriving in Israel – can request to arrange their status.
Upon submission of the humanitarian application at the Ministry of the Interior offices, the interviewer was interviewed and asked various questions about his humanitarian history and circumstances, in respect of which he wishes to receive status.
It is very important that the legal counsel and the presence of an attorney be present at this stage of the submission of the application and the interview, since the applicant is not present at the hearing held by the inter-ministerial committee in his case, and it makes a decision based on the interview and the documents attached to the application.
Therefore, it is important to present the Committee with all the relevant information in order to make the decision, and to ensure that the material is properly documented and documented, and that the appropriate emphasis has been given and brought forward.
Moreover, only a lawyer who specializes in the field knows what decisions the committee has taken in the past, what precedents exist, what reasons and legal arguments should be emphasized before the committee, beyond the factual story of the applicant, in order to improve the chances of the request being accepted.
The Ministry of the Interior often rejects humanitarian applications out of hand, without bringing them before the inter-ministerial committee, and legal representation can often prevent and change this preliminary decision, and lead to a detailed discussion of the application before the committee.
Even later, legal representation is important, since the status of the humanitarian channel is often delayed and takes a long time to complete. It is often clear that the Commission did not address its decision for all humanitarian reasons, and sometimes legal proceedings are required in this matter, and strict compliance with the provisions of the law.
For example, a person who arrived in Israel as a minor, alone, after many tragedies that occurred in her short life, arrived at our office after five years in Israel, without status. She submitted a humanitarian application, but for many months the request was not examined at all by the Ministry of the Interior; On its behalf, we petitioned the court against the default, and the court ordered the Interior Ministry to examine the request. The request was rejected out of hand without being transferred to the Humanitarian Committee, and after further hearings in the court, the court ordered that the application be submitted to a private examination before the Humanitarian Committee, while ordering that until the final decision is made.
In another matter, the office represents a citizen of the former Soviet Union who came to Israel in the 1990s to visit his Israeli family with a passport from the USSR.
In the meantime, the Soviet Union fell apart, and it was left without citizenship on the one hand, and without status and the possibility of leaving Israel on the other.
His life story raises many other humanitarian reasons, and after we submitted a humanitarian application on his behalf, he was given a work permit at this stage, and for the first time after 15 years in Israel and constant fear of arrest, his status is now regulated.
His case is still being dealt with, because following petitions we submitted on his behalf to the court, the court ordered the Ministry of the Interior to re-examine its humanitarian application and to address all its arguments.