Certificate of non-service in the IDF – when is it required?
In the State of Israel, most citizens are required to serve mandatory service in the IDF. If you are interested in acquiring foreign citizenship and are eligible for it, there are cases in which serving in the IDF can prevent you from obtaining a foreign citizenship, such as Polish citizenship. If you are a descendant of a person who was a former Polish citizen and who was forced to leave the country, you will have to prove that that person did not serve in the IDF, as long as they left Poland before 1951. To prove their lack of army service, you will need to present, among the various documents in the citizenship application, a confirmation of non-service in the IDF.
In this article we will examine when a certificate of non-service in the IDF is required, how it can be obtained, when service in the IDF may lead to the loss of foreign citizenship, and what the rule is regarding career army service in the IDF. We will also examine when a notarized translation of the certificate is required and how to perform the translation in the optimal way.
Our office specializes in assisting descendants of Polish citizens obtain Polish citizenship, in accordance with the eligibility conditions. In addition, we assist clients in obtaining other foreign citizenships such as German, Austrian, French and more. If you are interested in obtaining a foreign citizenship and are not sure whether you are entitled to it, or are interested in learning more about the relevant procedure for your case, you are welcome to contact us and we will be glad to help with any question.
When is a certificate of non-service in the IDF required?
Many Israeli citizens are descendants of former Polish citizens, who were forced to leave the country and give up their citizenship. The Polish Citizenship Law states that Polish citizenship can be obtained on the basis of a familial relationship. That is, if you have a parent or an ancestor who was a citizen of Poland, there is a chance that you too can obtain Polish citizenship.
In the case of Polish citizenship, there is no generational limit between the Polish ancestor and the applicants. That is, even if the person who was a Polish citizen is your great-great-grandfather, you can still apply on the basis of a familial relationship, as long as your grandfather and father are entitled to Polish citizenship as well. That is, it is important that the chain of generations is continuous, meaning that the Polish citizenship has been passed down from generation to generation. You will be required to prove this as part of the application for citizenship.
According to Polish law, there are several conditions for obtaining citizenship. First, if your ancestors immigrated from Poland before 1920, you will have to prove that before immigrating they were indeed citizens of the country. Also, you will have to prove a familial connection between you and your Polish ancestors. In addition, your ancestors need to have left Poland between 1920-1951. Before 1920, as we explained earlier, additional proof will be required that your ancestors were Polish citizens prior to their departure. It is important to know that Poland recognizes eligibility only on the father’s side, except in cases where the father’s identity is unknown, and then citizenship can be obtained on the basis of the mother’s citizenship.
Finally, if the person on whom the citizenship application is based served in the IDF or any other foreign army before 1951, you will not be eligible to receive Polish citizenship. In addition, the right to citizenship will also be denied in cases where the ancestor worked in a governmental public office and became a citizen of a foreign country before the Polish citizenship law was enacted in 1951.
In order for you to be eligible for Polish citizenship, you will be required to present a certificate of non-service in the IDF for your ancestor, until 1951. Without this certificate, you will not be eligible for Polish citizenship.
How does one obtain a certificate of non-service in the IDF?
To obtain confirmation of non-service in the IDF, contact the Public Information Officer (PIO) of the IDF by phone or email. To complete the application, you will need to send the Public Information Officer a death certificate of the person on whose behalf you are requesting the certificate, along with an inheritance order or a probate order. In the body of the email, you must state the name of the requested certificate and the dates for which the certificate must be valid. For example: “Confirmation of non-service in the IDF from May 15, 1948 to January 1, 1951.”
It is important to know that the information for these years is not stored in a computerized manner, therefore an in-depth search in the archives will be necessary, an operation which may take several months. After receiving the certificate, you can submit the application, together with other relevant documents of course such as the birth certificate of the ancestor who was a Polish citizen, marriage certificates, identity document and more.
For each case a slightly different composition of documents may be required. Therefore, it is recommended to consult a law office like ours, which specializes in finding the necessary documents and drafting the application in the most professional manner, to ensure its chances of success.
When may IDF service lead to the loss of foreign citizenship and what is the rule regarding career army service?
There are cases in which service in the IDF may lead to the loss of foreign citizenship. For example, in the case of Austrian citizenship, those who become career soldiers in the IDF, after acquiring Austrian citizenship, will have their citizenship revoked and it cannot be returned. It is important to know that service in the army reserves is not considered career army service. You should know that in the case of student soldiers (“atudaim”), their final years in the IDF are considered career army service, and therefore they face the danger of losing their Austrian citizenship. In this case, it would be advisable if possible to go through the process of obtaining Austrian citizenship only after you have completed the career army service.
In the past, those who tried to obtain Austrian citizenship after being career soldiers could not do so, but this law changed in 2019 and now it is possible to benefit from the right to obtain Austrian citizenship even for those who performed career army service in the IDF in the past.
Also, there are cases in which if a person wishes to serve in certain elite military units, for example in a submarine unit, he will be required to give up his foreign citizenship, whatever it may be. The reason for this is often the requirement for a high security classification, which is not compatible with the possession of two citizenships – Israeli and an additional citizenship.
When is a notarized translation of a certificate of non-service in the IDF required?
As a general rule, when submitting an application for foreign citizenship, the documents required for the application must be translated into the language of the country in which they are submitted. For example, if you are applying for Polish citizenship, you will have to present various documents, including a certificate of non-service in the IDF, translated into Polish and notarized. A translation by a notary not only grants proof that it is an official and authentic document, but also guarantees that the translation of the document is done carefully to ensure compatibility between the original text and the translated text. A translation that is not done professionally may endanger the approval of the application.
In addition to the required notarized translation, there are many countries that are members of the Hague Convention, including Poland, which require that all official documents submitted to them be signed with an apostille stamp. The apostille stamp is given in many cases by both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Magistrate’s Court. The stamp of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms that the translation of the document is correct and that it is an original official document. The apostille stamp from the Magistrate’s Court confirms that the notary translator or the notary who approved the translation is indeed authorized to do so. In the event that the original document was issued in a language corresponding to the country in which it is submitted, then it is sufficient to stamp the document with an apostille on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At our law firm, we offer notary translation services in a variety of languages, by highly experienced notaries. If you have the required documents and you need to perform a professional and exact notarized translation, you can contact us and we will be able to provide you with the required service efficiently. In addition, we can help you get the documents stamped with an apostille stamp, which is required by countries who are members of the Hague Convention.
Confirmation of non-service in the IDF – consult the experts
As you can see, service in the IDF can in some cases have consequences for the acquisition or possession of foreign citizenship. In the State of Israel, the Mandatory IDF Service Law came into effect as early as 1949, so it is possible that you are a descendant of a person who served in the IDF. If so, if you are interested in obtaining Polish citizenship, you will be obligated to prove that that person did not serve in the IDF, in order for you to be eligible to obtain citizenship.
In this article, we have also examined the consequences of serving in the IDF for those who already hold a foreign citizenship. For example, if you hold Austrian citizenship, it is important that you be aware that serving as a career soldier in the IDF will lead to your citizenship being revoked.
In our law offices located in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, we deal with all issues related to obtaining foreign citizenships. We have the expertise and experience to deal with the various naturalization procedures required by the different countries, having accompanied countless clients on their way to obtain the desired foreign citizenship, including Polish citizenship that requires presentation of proof of non-service in the IDF.
If you are required to obtain a certificate of non-service in the IDF or if you have the certificate and must have it translated by a notary, our skilled staff will gladly be at your service. If you are not sure whether you must provide a certificate of non-service, you are welcome to contact us and we will advise you based on your specific case.
:
:
מאמרים מומלצים