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Legal Residency for Children of Foreign Workers in Israel

Michael Decker
Michael Decker

Shaltiel Devorah

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Legal residency status for children of foreign workers in Israel has changed over the years following various government resolutions on the issue. What does this imply in practice for foreign workers and their children? Our Law Firm, which specializes precisely in the issue of entry and immigration into Israel, tends to this question below.

Advocate Michael Decker, a partner in CDPB law firm, briefly reviews the various government resolutions and the options available to family members of foreign workers’ children to upgrade their temporary status to permanent one (as this pertains today to many families whose children earned temporary residency in Israel). In addition, we will review in this article how permanent residents can upgrade their status to Israeli citizenship.

This article was translated into English courtesy of Tomedes Translation.

Children of Foreign Workers in Israel – Relevant Background information

Legal Residency Status for Children of Foreign Workers in IsraelThe Israeli economy invites many foreign workers to work in Israel in the fields of nursing, construction, restaurants and other businesses on a yearly basis. In many cases, the workers who come to work in Israel meet their spouses in Israel and consequently have children. In other cases, foreign workers arrive with their spouses and their children are born in Israel. These children enroll in Israeli schools (from kindergarten to university) and become integrated in Israeli society. They often know no other culture except the Israeli culture in which they were raised.

This complex situation has resulted over the years in various Israeli government resolutions that were passed to regulate the granting of legal residency to children of foreign workers and their family members. Each of these resolutions always considered the child, who had established himself in Israeli society, as the anchor for his family. Upon meeting certain criteria, the child earned a permanent residency status in Israel and consequently his family earned an A-5 temporary residency status, which in time would be upgraded to permanent residency.

However, unlike laws enacted by the Knesset, these government resolutions had only a temporary effect. They were indeed a brief window of opportunity that were opened to enable families with children who had become part of Israeli life to apply for permanent residency for the minor who was born and raised in Israel (the “anchor” in the application) and temporary residency to his family members. As noted, these options were open for a limited period, and therefore they are no longer in effect (as of 2019), unless the Government of Israel passes new resolutions.

The First Foreign Workers’ Children Resolution

Government Resolution 3807, passed on 26 June 2005, was the first government resolution regulating legal residency of foreign workers’ children. It was passed during the term of Ophir Pines-Paz as Minister of the Interior, although the initiative began to form during the term of his predecessor, Avraham Poraz.

GR 3807 established that the family’s anchor (the child) will be recognized as such if he meets the following criteria:

  1. The child was born in Israel, had lived in it continuously and was present in Israel at the time GR 3807 was passed. A brief excursion outside of Israel would not be considered a break of continuity for the purpose of this clause.
  2. By 31 December 2005, the child would be ten years old, at least.
  3. The entry of the child’s parents into Israel was lawful with a visa and permit issued under the Entry into Israel Law, 5712-1952, prior to the child’s date of birth.
  4. The child was attending school in Israel or had completed his studies, spoke Hebrew, and removing him from Israel would be tantamount to “cultural expulsion” to a country to which he had no cultural affinity.

The anchor of the first government resolution would receive a permanent residency status and his related family members will received A-5 temporary resident status.

The Second Foreign Workers’ Children Resolution

Government Resolution 156, passed on 18 June 2006, was the second government resolution on legal residency of foreign workers’ children. The Minister of the Interior was Ronnie Bar-On, and it essentially directly continued the first foreign workers’ children resolution, with some specific changes and amendments.

The resolution determined that the anchor, the child, would be recognized as such if he met the following criteria:

  1. At the time of resolving, the child had been in Israel for six years consecutively, provided he entered Israel before the age of 14. A brief excursion outside of Israel would not constitute a break of continuity for the purpose of this clause.
  2. The entry of the child’s parents into Israel was done lawfully with a visa and permit issued under the Entry into Israel Law, 5712-1952, prior to the child’s date of birth or his entry into the country.
  3. The child spoke Hebrew.
  4. At the time of resolving, the child attended the first grade or a higher grade in an Israeli school, or had completed his studies.
  5. For the purpose of this arrangement, the applicants will be required to furnish clear evidence supporting their application, including by way of a hearing, and provide documentation of their place of residence in Israel, the date of entry into the country or the birth in the country, and the place of study in Israel.

The child who served as the anchor of the first government decision would receive a permanent residency status and his related family members will receive an A-5 temporary resident status.

The Third Foreign Workers’ Children Resolution

Government Resolution 2183, passed on 1 August 2010, was the third government resolution on the issue. The Minister of the Interior then was Eli Yishai, and it was passed despite his objection.

The resolution asserted that the anchor in this third resolution would be recognized as such if he meets the following criteria:

Aׁׁ) In the 2009/10 academic year, the child studied within Israel’s educational system, including mandatory kindergarten (preschool) education under the Supervision of Schools Law, 5729-1969.

B) In the 2010/2011 academic year, the child was registered for studies in the first grade or a higher grade in Israel’s educational system, or his enrollment in the first grade was postponed having attended mandatory kindergarten education in the preceding year and was diagnosed by the Psychological Service as not ready to attend the first grade, or who had completed the twelfth grade in Israel’s educational system during the 2009/2010 academic year.

Additional criteria

Sections A and B define “Israel’s National Education System” to include “recognized and informal” institutions for the purpose of mandatory kindergarten and the tenth to twelve grades only, provided the child attended the first to ninth grades in the formal educational system.

  1. At the time of resolving, the child had resided in Israel for a period of five consecutive years, at least, provided that if the child was not born in Israel, he entered the country before he turned 13 years of age.
  2. The child spoke Hebrew.
  3. The child’s parents entered Israel with a B-1 visa and work permit (foreign worker), B-2 visa (tourist) or B-4 visa (volunteer) under the Entry into Israel Law, stamped on a foreign passport that was issued by a state that maintained diplomatic relations with Israel prior to the entry of the child into Israel.

The anchor of the third government resolution is granted permanent residency status and his related family members would receive an A-5 temporary residency status.

Upgrading Temporary and Permanent Residency Status Pursuant to these Government Resolutions

As can be seen, all three government resolutions described above grant the child who is the anchor in the application permanent residency (contingent on criteria that varies from one resolution to another), and the family members of the child are granted A-5 temporary residency. When the child reaches the age of 21, the related family members can apply for permanent residency, if they have not done so yet by virtue of the Soldiers’ Parents Residency Procedure.

In addition, permanent residents can be naturalized in Israel under the provisions of the Nationality Law, 5712-1952.

Furthermore, service in the Israel Defense Forces exempts permanent residents of Israel from most of the conditions listed in Section 5 of the Naturalization Law (including renunciation of the other citizenship, which is a very restrictive condition to citizens of western countries who are permanent residents in Israel).

Contact the Israel Immigration Experts

Our Law Firm specializes in all aspects of immigration to Israel. We are here to assist anyone who received temporary or permanent residency by virtue of the government resolutions regulating the status of foreign workers’ children and their families. We can provide legal information and assistance for their status upgrade in accordance with the description in this article and in any other legal manner.

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