Israel’s Passport Law
Israel’s Passport Law regulates the conditions for obtaining and using an Israeli passport and an Israeli “let-pass” travel document (Laissez-Passer), which are used by Israeli citizens and residents to exit Israel and travel abroad. The State of Israel began issuing passports as soon as it was established and, in 1952, the Passport Law was enacted. Based on Section 10 of the Passport Law, the Minister of Interior legislated the Passport Regulations, 5740–1980, which detail (among other things) the costs of obtaining a passport and the proper way to enter identifying information into the certificate.
In this article, attorney Joshua Pex, a founding partner of our firm who heads our department for immigration to Israel, explains about some of the main sections of the Passport Law, especially the procedure for obtaining an Israeli passport for eligible Olim (Jewish immigrants under the Law of Return) who have not yet settled in the country.
WHAT IS AN ISRAELI PASSPORT AND WHAT IS AN ISRAELI TRAVEL DOCUMENT ACCORDING TO THE PASSPORT LAW?
Section 1 of the law defines a “passport” as an Israeli passport that is not a diplomatic passport and is not a service passport—the law does not refer to passports that are granted to representatives of the State of Israel and are needed for their jobs. In addition, Section 1 of the law defines a “travel document” as an Israeli ID and travel card that is not a passport.
According to Section 2(a) of the Passport Law: A passport shall be granted to an Israeli citizen on request, while, according to Section 2(b) of the law, a travel document shall be granted—(1) to a person who is not an Israeli citizen or whose citizenship is undefined or questionable; (2) in special cases—to a senior citizen on request. It follows that the State’s default and preferred option is that Israeli citizens use passports—not travel documents, which are granted only in special circumstances.
WHAT IS UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE INTERIOR MINISTER, ACCORDING TO THE PASSPORT LAW?
The Minister of Interior has broad authority. Among other things, the minister is authorized, according to Section 6(a) of the law: (1) to refuse to grant a passport or a travel document, and to refuse to renew them; (2) to define conditions under which a passport or travel document will be granted or renewed; (3) to cancel a passport or travel document that have been granted, or to shorten their validity period and require them to be returned; (4) to limit the countries for which the passport or travel document will be valid, whether at the time of granting or later; (5) to decide that a passport or travel document must include biometric identification means, biometric identification information, or other computerized matter.
ARE NEW IMMIGRANTS UNDER THE LAW OF RETURN AUTOMATICALLY ELIGIBLE FOR AN ISRAELI PASSPORT AND ISRAELI CITIZENSHIP?
Section 2(a) of the Citizenship Law, 5712–1952 stipulates that “Every ‘oleh’ under the Law of Return, 5710-1950, shall become an Israel national by return unless Israel nationality has been conferred on him by birth under section 4” or by adoption under section 4(b). It follows that, in principle, new immigrants under the Law of Return are entitled to an Israeli passport and Israeli citizenship immediately upon their arrival in Israel. However, this issue is controversial, and the policy concerning it changes frequently—below we explain the situation.
Until 2017, Section 4(a) of the Passport Law stated that the validity period of a passport shall be ten years from the time when it was granted, but the minister may grant an Israeli citizen who has not settled in Israel a passport for a period that is less than ten years, or a travel document; the minister may order for a certain passport or certain type of passport to be issued for a period that is less than ten years.
This has led the Interior Minister to regularly refuse to grant regular Israeli passports, valid for 10 years, to new immigrants under the Law of Return who have not settled in Israel and have not made Israel their center of life. Accordingly, new immigrants under the Law of Return who had not yet settled in Israel were forced to make do with a travel document.
In 2017, the Knesset added Amendment 9 to the law, an amendment that limited the scope of the above-mentioned Section 4(a): the minister shall not refuse to grant a first passport to anyone who has naturalized under Section 2 of the Citizenship Law, 5712–1952, for the sole reason that the citizen has not yet settled in Israel (Section 6[b] of the law). However, since the amendment, several media investigations were conducted, which uncovered eligible immigrants under the Law of Return who had come to Israel to receive their Israeli passport and then returned to their country of origin (some of them after receiving the absorption basket for new immigrants under the Law of Return, and some of them immediately upon receiving their passport). Therefore, a new directive was issued by the Minister of Interior, according to which new immigrants under the Law of Return shall receive a passport that is only valid for one year; after living in Israel for a year they shall receive a passport that is valid for five years; and after that they shall receive a passport that is valid for ten years.
As of February 2023, when this article was written, and according to media reports, it is possible that the situation will soon be reversed to what it was before 2017—i.e., new immigrants under the Law of Return will initially have to make do with a travel document. The reason for this, inter alia, is that the Ministry of Interior claims that Israel’s security forces have raised the concern that the 2017 law amendment may lead to the exploitation of the Law of Return for the purpose of providing Israeli passports to hostile factors who will engage in activities intended to harm the security of the State of Israel.
THE PASSPORT LAW CONTAINS PUNITIVE PROVISIONS
Section 8 of the Passport Law stipulates a maximal punishment of up to two years of imprisonment, in addition to a fine, for anyone who (1) has forged a fake passport or travel document, has added, changed, erased, torn out, or otherwise destroyed any writing or stamp in the passport or travel document without being authorized to do so, or has performed an action aimed at faking, adding, changing, erasing, tearing out, or otherwise destroying the aforementioned; (2) has used or held a passport or travel document that is fake or in which writing was added, erased, or changed by someone who is unauthorized to do so, and no proof was presented showing that the passport or travel document was used or held innocently; (3) has unlawfully used a passport or travel document not belonging to the user or not containing the name of the user; (4) has unlawfully given their passport or travel document to another person to use who does not own the passport or travel document and whose name does not appear in the passport or travel document; (5) has knowingly provided false information regarding an important detail for the purpose of obtaining a passport or travel document, extending their validity, changing them, or correcting them.
WHICH BODY AT THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR IS AUTHORIZED TO MAKE DECISIONS REGARDING ISRAELI PASSPORTS?
Section 9(a) of the Passport Law stipulates that the minister is authorized to transfer all or some of their rights under this law to someone else, except the right to cancel a passport and the right to pass regulations. This transference of rights shall be publicized in the Reshumot. Based on this section, the Minister of Interior transferred some of their rights to lesser Ministry officials at the Population and Immigration Authority’s Population Administration.
TO WHOM CAN YOU APPEAL AGAINST A DECISION REGARDING THE PASSPORT LAW?
Section 9(b) of the Passport Law stipulates that anyone who believes that they have been wronged by a decision based on Section 6, (1)/(2)/(3), a decision that was issued by an official to whom the Minister of Interior has transferred the right to decide, may turn to the Minister for a final verdict.
In accordance with the provisions of this section, anyone who believes that they have been wronged by a decision of a junior official whom the Minister of Interior authorized to make the decision under the Passport Law may ask the Minister for a verdict. After the Minister of Interior gives the verdict, this verdict may be used to rightfully appeal against the decision before a regional court (in the relevant region) serving as a court for administrative matters. In rare cases it is possible to receive approval to appeal against the decision of the regional court before the Supreme Court.
IN SUMMARY—CONTACT A LAWYER WHO SPECIALIZES IN ISRAELI PASSPORTS:
Our firm, which specializes in obtaining Israeli passports, represents new immigrants under the Law of Return in the process of obtaining their first Israeli passport. In addition, we regularly submit appeals with the Minister of Interior concerning the Passport Law, as well as appeals with the relevant courts. Contact an immigration lawyer in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv for help with this issue. You can contact a lawyer from our firm via the phone numbers or email address listed below.
This article was composed in collaboration with lawyer Adam Jonsson.
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