Entering Israel during the Corona lockdown and information on visa extensions – January 2021 update
Joshua Pex
Joshua Pex
Наталья Мажуга
Great lawyers Joshua Pex and Nechama and Michael Deker who really want to help you and I have very trustful relationships with them. All my cases they took they won. Thank you and let’s keep working together
Paul Prince
The team of lawyers and assistants are incredibly professional. Aiming to give their clients the advice possible regarding the normative and the law of Israel. With well trained and professional secretary at the front desk to the lawyers team, I could say that I had one of the most professional services possible. I'm super glad of choosing Joshua Pex of Law office for immigration solution, lawyers to advise in my case, to me, it is remarkable.
Adi Katina
Great Team. With no doubt, this office is actually thee best-leading office in Israel. Simply put, if you want your case to win, just join them, hand in your documents, and celebrate the victory.
Kindest regards,
Adi k.
Arielle Bosch
Incredibly knowledgeable, approachable, accessible, and evident across the board that they truly care about the people they are helping. They are quick to respond, engaged, and obviously top-notch lawyers. I couldn't recommend them highly enough. Thank you, Joshua and Itamar for your help with our Joint Life Application. You were a calming energy during a storm - always breathed a sigh of relief after speaking with you. It is so difficult to get straight answers from the Misrad Hapnim, but you guys are straight shooters. I appreciate your candor and evident integrity. Hope to work with you in the future, and will send everyone I know in need of legal aid your way. Thank you for your guidance and support.
Priscilla Moses
competent consulting, fast processing, reliable, warm & good team. highly recommended
Morgan Jones
The team at Decker, Pex & Co have been awesome to work with in helping our US company establish banking in Israel and in providing counsel for legal needs in Israel. I highly recommend!
Lilian Granovsky
I can highly recommend these services!
Every time we turned to Joshua we always got a professional quick and helpful respond.
Marce Ruth St. Rey
Party time in the heart, my beloved husband received his residence after so much time of battles and faith. Gratitude, God has blessed us with wonderful beings who have accompanied us, including a "precious angel" who touched our hearts, our excellent and fantastic lawyer: Maria Chernin Dekel, sweet and wonderful human being, who has guided us and stayed On our side. side in this intense legal transit whom we bless on every occasion. God bless you dear Maria, you have exceeded your professional duty by containing us and collaborating with us in hard times, very hard, for that we want to thank you publicly, you are unique!!!
We bless and thank the entire team at Decker Pex Tal Ofir Law Firm.
Matthias Oppliger
I have been receiving services from this Law Firm for several years now and I want to say THANK YOU to the team, especially Joshua Pex. They are doing outstanding work. The services I have received for both our Israeli non profit association but also our social business have helped us solve many issues at hand and provided solutions in complicated situations. Personally, I am grateful for support in visa issues as a foreigner living now in Israel for many years.
Schruuf
We were very pleased and content with the services of this law firm. They supported us 100% and solved our case successfully, we couldn't be happier.
Yossi Montrose
Very knowledgeable and professional
Prima Lorenzo
I admire the Austrian citizenship team in Tel-Aviv branch! They deserve more then 5 stars!! They are very friendly and professional. I've got Austrian citizenship in 4 months for all family members which consists of 12 people! The entire team is very friendly and responsive. They are always answering questions and support during the process. I recommend to everyone. Was 100% satisfied.
Esty A
I had a consultation with Batya and she was very helpful. She made sure I understood all the information I needed, and was patient with me in gathering documents I needed.
Eden Weiss
Extrmely friendly, professional and helpful. A big thank you to Irina especially from the Jerusalem office. Highly Recommended.
Sveta Vashkevich
We (myself and my husband) came to Mr. Joshua Pex – for his professional advice – and we received such human warmth and caring attitude, that our hearts melted …
His attention to our details and our situation peculiarities, combined with his professionalism and knowledge, helped us to map out what needs to be done on our part: we appreciate and recommend You, Mr. Joshua!
Michael and Ariellah Waizman
For Advocate Joshua Pex.
We were in a devastating situation when my wife received an order from the immigration office to leave Israel within 30 days, without any explanation, after we have been married and in the process for six and a half years. We heard of Advocate Pex through a friend of a friend. We contacted Mr. Pex and he was ready to help us when he heard of our situation.
The service is amazing! Always ready to assist without regard to the time it takes. The advice Mr. Pex gave us was great, such as what to do, he gave useful links, and advice about which officials to contact. The price for the service was great!
The process until we received the extension for another year for my wife was not long (3 months). Things started moving once Mr. Pex came into the picture.
We highly recommend Advocate Joshua Pex! We achieved our goal and the fear of deportation has been lifted!
Andreas Kelling
We have been working with Decker, Pex & Co - Law Firm in Tel Aviv for many years very well. Because we appreciated their lawyers services, we recommended businesses and individuals again and again to go there as well.
Josh W-S
The firm had a quick response to my last-minute needs, they were helpful in communicating with me in English, and they fulfilled my needs in a timely fashion.
Israel iluz
We were very satisfied with the service of Nehama. She was very professional in all her dealings and kept us informed all the way.
We highly recommend this law firm. They proved to be reliable, efficient and pleasant to work with.
Shurouq Hajyassin
We were very satisfied with the consultation we had.
You were very straightforward with us , You tried to help us in every way you could . we really appreciate that.
And of course the fast reply we got from you on our emails and the appointment you gave us .
You deserve more than 5 stars????
Michelle Long
Josh has been helping me on and off for a few years now. I have needed legal advice and assistance with immigration due to a complex situation of mine, and he has been extremely available and responsive, honest and clear about my route and how to proceed. Very much recommended!
TarcisioePotira Freitas
I really recommend the law office's services. The service is very professional and efficient, the price is right. I am satisfied with the services I needed and happy to have known them.
Gáspár Erőss
If you need to solve any complicated legal issue in Israel, don't hesitate to contact them. Otherwise you will loose hours/days/weeks with things that they can solve in minutes. They helped me to obtain my expert working visa in Israel and even after that they responded further questions and gave me advices related to administrative issues in Israel which saved me a lot of time. Irena Rosenberg and Michael Decker worked on my case, they are very professional and helpful. They will not let you down, feel free to contact them.
Michael Soffer
I would like to recommend Attorney Yehuda Elcharar. He assisted both me and my company in a complex lawsuit. He handled negotiations that led to a favorable outcome much quicker than expected.
I am extremely pleased with choosing Attorney Elcharar. Many thanks also to the office team, Oz and Chaya, for their assistance throughout the entire process.
Thanks again ????
Joshua Pex was both an amazing human being and an inspiring human rights attorney. I reported directly to him for various activities I performed as in intern. I was impressed with his incredibly solid character. He is trustworthy, fair, and goes above and beyond to advocate for the vulnerable. He is completely trustworthy and high caliber in his work. His partners and employees are very blessed to work with him. I am honored to know them.
Heather Lebrun
Sergei m Vashkevich
We came to Mr. Joshua with so many questions (and most of all, with so many concerns and worries) …
When we explained our case to him, first of all, he calmed us down and helped us to see the big picture, which took away our fears;
Then he presented us with a detailed explanation and a few options to explore, and a timeline, how things work and necessary steps to undertake on our part,
We thank and highly recommend Mr. Joshua for showing us so much empathy, care and professionalism (!)
Lauma Zariņa
This is definitely the best lawyer I know!!! very honest and super helpful he really helped me a lot dealing with immigration issues in Israel and it was very successful!
I highly recommend
Greg Olson
We highly recommend Adv. Mike Decker and have know him for many years. He has helped our family with many battles over the years. We recently received our permanent residency after 23 years in Israel. We so much appreciate Mike’s representation of us.
Tomer Hila Birnbach
I received a recommendation from friends about the firm, and indeed every word is correct, a service team, professional, welcoming, a fair price for the work I requested, I am satisfied
Alexander P Gutterman
EU PASSPORT ! Big news! Thanks to Michael Decker and the other good people at the law office, as well as to the virtue of my ancestors, the cruelty of the Inquisition, reparations issued in the Iberian Peninsula, and etc, I am delighted to be on track for Portuguese and European Union Citizenship! A truly incredible development and one which brings me deep joy.
lynn vonne
Excellent service, very friendly and helpful, fast responding and very patient. Highly recommend. I will choose them again next time if needed.
Jacob Newberry
A really excellent firm. They knew exactly how to handle my situation effectively and efficiently, and we got the result I needed without much fuss. Adi Berger was a wonderful advocate for me and I am deeply grateful for her help!
Amir Abt
The best lawyer firm I’ve had dealt with. I would like to thank Anat Levi and Ariel Galili from the Jerusalem branch for all of their efforts and patience, we could not have been Able to reach to where we are now without them
Halvor Ronning
Courteous, clear, efficient service.
Stuart Safft
I am delighted to report that my wife and I have just obtained our Israeli citizenship. We will be forever grateful for all of the help, guidance and support which Ariel Galili of Decker, Pex & Co. provided through this process.
I am a Jewish, 80-year-old American, and my wife is not Jewish. We had started the process on our own back in November 2020 via the Jewish Agency and Nefesh B’Nefesh, but soon became entangled in the delays and often-changing regulations due to Covid-19. The pandemic also caused delays in obtaining the required apostilles for various documents from various state agencies and the US State Department.
We found Decker, Pex & Co. On the internet and began working with Ariel in late November 2021. Ariel did a superb job of leading us through the process, helping us to understand which documents were essential, which would most likely be required, and which, though included on the list of required documents, were rarely required. He helped us several times to understand what was likely and unlikely to occur as “the next step.” Helping us manage our expectations was extremely useful to us.
Besides his knowing the laws, regulations and procedures, Ariel also made us feel that he was truly interested in helping us to successfully work through this process in as smooth, timely, and frustration-free manner as possible.
My wife and I strongly recommend anyone planning to go through this process seriously consider hiring Decker, Pex, Ofir & Co. and, specifically, Ariel Galili.
Kfir Cohen
We were searching for a law firm that will be honest with us and really work hard for a satisfying result, it wasn't an easy task
We found them online; they were the only law firm from all of our searchings which were completely honest and NOT gave us just what we wanted to hear
Using them guaranteed honesty above all. A legal team that is friendly and cares for a superb result
They really care about helping their customers without any other interest
Nadia gave us service behind what we expected; she was professional which lead to fast and easy process with great result
We definitely recommend using them
David De La Rosa
Very friendly, professional, and effective, highly recommended
Shaltiel Devorah
Mr. Joshua Pex is knowledgeable and Professional. I really appreciate his courteous and direct approach.
YK C
We had a pleasure of working with Irena Rosenberg who assisted in getting our two U.S. born children registered in Israel and supported visa process for my wife in 2021. During the pandemic, my wife and I decided to move to Israel where I am originally from after living in the U.S. for over 20 years, but we had no idea how to go about securing visas before and after arriving in Israel. Irena is knowledgeable, reliable and competent lawyer who always had answers to all our questions which made us feel confident that everything would be fine with her assistance. We are now happily living in Israel and are so grateful to have Irena who is a genuinely nice person as our lawyer.
Dumitrascu Cristina
Best lawyer house from Israel! I couldn’t dealt with my situation without their professionalism and effectiveness. Their dedication to every legal aspect and their drive it’s how a true lawyer house can be!
Working in European market and international now, I couldn’t dare to let myself wide my wings on countries unknown to me. Definitely they’ll be the lawyers representing me, my business at every international aspect and on personal development.
When you hear Decker,Pex,Ofir &Co, you hear 10+ class services, luxurious professionals, confidentiality and exclusive attention to your needs.
Sophie Cooperman
Oded Ger did an excellent job by reviewing a modeling contract I was offered. Explained the bad clauses in the contract, and their possible consequences. Thank you for your amazing job, your professionalism, your consultation and honesty. You showed me from your experience how it can be done differently. It was the best decision choosing you as my lawyer.
I highly recommend this firm, especially Oded Ger.
Dongdiet & Nellie
We are very happy with the services. Somehow they managed to translate the law lingo into language we actually understand 😉 and their outstanding YouTube videos helped us to have a better grasp of what process we had to go through. Their patience, clear explanation and experience are very valuable. It's also very nice to know that you will receive response promptly; it made us feel we can really trust their services. We recommend all those looking for immigration lawyers to get in touch.
Genaan Abdelall
I cannot recommend Nechama enough! Her expertise, professionalism, and dedication to her clients is unparalleled. From the moment I reached out to her, she provided clear and concise communication, and helped me navigate through a complex legal issue with ease.
Throughout the entire process, Nechama went above and beyond to ensure that I was informed and comfortable with every decision. She demonstrated a deep knowledge of the law, and was able to offer sound advice that ultimately led to a positive outcome.
What sets Nechama apart is her compassionate and empathetic approach to her clients. She truly cares about the well-being of her clients, and it shows in the way she handles every case.
If you are in need of a lawyer, I highly recommend Nechama.
As a result of the lockdown imposed in January 2021, foreigners’ entrance to Israel was severely curtailed. At the same time, the airport was closed and operations of the Population Authority and government offices were widely interrupted. Beyond the restrictions on entering Israel in the wake of the Corona lockdown, temporary residents in Israel face questions regarding visa renewals. There is great confusion regarding legal status in such situations. In this guide (written on 28.1.2021 and updated periodically), an attorney from our office who specializes in immigration law will try and sort things out for you.
For any question regarding entering or leaving Israel during the Corona period, you can turn to the immigration experts in our offices. Our office has over 30 years’ experience in immigration to Israel and emigration from it. Particularly in this complicated time, we are assisting our clients to obtain entrance and immigration visas, as well as representing them before the authorities and the various courts.
Border closures raise difficult questions
Were you or your relatives planning to come to Israel and your flight was cancelled at the last minute? You are not alone. The closure of Ben Gurion Airport, which was one more step in the restrictions and lockdown imposed in January 2021, caught everyone unawares. As of this writing, the airport closure was expected to continue until at least 31.1.2021. Yet, no plan for exiting lockdown has yet been announced, and the restrictions are expected to continue for at least a few more weeks.
Many Israelis who left the country did not manage to get back before the closure of the airport, and are now left in foreign countries without knowing when and how they will return. Not to mention Jews who were supposed to make Aliyah to Israel at this time, and foreign citizens who were planning to come to Israel. Some hoped that entrance would continue to be permitted at least via the land transit points, from Jordan and Egypt. On 27.1.2021, however, the Interior Minister announced that these borders would be closed as well.
Likewise, questions arise regarding foreign citizens who were residing in Israel and planned to leave in the near future. Due to the lockdown and closure of the airport, they expect to stay in Israel. Some of them hold visas which have expired or are about to expire, but without the ability to renew them, due to the emergency regime under which the Population Authority is currently operating. Thus their legal status in Israel is in question.
These are only some of the problems that many are facing in the wake of the confusing situation in Israel at the moment. Conflicting media reports only increase the confusion about what is permitted and what is forbidden. We have fielded many questions on this issue, from both Israelis and foreign citizens. For that reason, we considered it important to publish this article on our site. Below we will explain the legal solutions available to you at present.
Entering Israel – as of January 2021
Commercial flights are currently legally forbidden to arrive in Israel. Accordingly, flights that were scheduled to arrive in Israel have been cancelled. Yet, as a rule, private flights can still land in Israel. Israeli citizens can organize for themselves a private flight and enter Israel that way. Likewise, a few rescue flights are being organized by Israeli airlines, from Israel to a central destination in Europe and back to Israel. Such flights require submitting an application to the Ministry of Health and obtaining a permit in advance.
For foreign citizens, at this stage, entrance will be permitted in one of two cases. One is to attend the funeral of a first-degree relative. Entrance will be permitted for only 24 hours, without possibility of attending the shiva. The second is the case of medical tourism, and then only to receive life-saving treatments. In all cases, for both Israelis and foreign citizens, entering Israel involves undergoing a Corona test (PCR) and obtaining a negative result within 72 hours before arrival in the country.
Mandatory quarantine for arrivals to Israel
Starting in December and until further notice, anyone entering Israel from any country in the world must go into quarantine. The official obligation is to undergo the quarantine in a hotel provided by the government. Alternatively, however, it is possible to agree to a Corona test upon arrival in Israel, and another test 9 days after arrival. In such a case, the quarantine can be carried out at home. Yet, for those arriving from Portugal, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Zambia, quarantine in a government-sponsored hotel is mandatory. This is due to an outbreak of mutations of the Corona virus in those countries.
What solutions are available for Israelis who cannot enter Israel because of the current situation?
At present, no decision has yet been made on coverage or compensation for hotel expenses for Israelis whose planned return was cancelled because of the lockdown. Yet, the issue is under discussion and it is very likely that a systemic solution will be found soon. In any case, a request for coverage of expenses may be submitted to the authorities for specific cases. Such cases are those in which entrance to Israel was planned but was prevented by the Corona lockdown and changing guidelines.
Extending visas for foreigners staying in Israel
Many foreign citizens holding Israeli residence visas wonder what will happen to their visas, given the reduced activity of the Population Authority offices and the inability to physically apply for a visa renewal at the moment. It is important to note that for foreign citizens whose Israeli residence visa has expired, the visas will be automatically renewed, according to the Emergency Law that was legislated on this issue. This is true of all existing types of visas. Yet, for additional clarification regarding personal status, you can consult with an attorney specializing in immigration law.
Contact an attorney specializing in immigration law
In summary, entrance to Israel is extremely restricted during the Corona lockdown. Yet, there are exceptional solutions which we have discussed above. If you have additional questions on this issue, you can contact us and an attorney from our office will be happy to help you. The attorneys at our office specialize in immigration law and, on an ongoing basis, handle applications to enter Israel, even during this confusing and complicated time.
Were you or your relatives planning to come to Israel and your flight was cancelled at the last minute? You are not alone. The closure of Ben Gurion Airport, which was one more step in the restrictions and lockdown imposed in January 2021, caught everyone unawares. As of this writing, the airport closure was expected to continue until at least 31.1.2021. Yet, no plan for exiting lockdown has yet been announced, and the restrictions are expected to continue for at least a few more weeks.
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