Online marriage in Israel is now legally accepted
How can a couple get married via an online marriage ceremony, and then register the marriage at the Israeli Ministry of the Interior? Following a ruling by the Supreme Court from March 2023, Israel officially recognizes the option of registering in the Population Registry couples who had a marriage ceremony by Zoom in the state of Utah in the USA. It is important to know that in this matter there is a distinction between the mere registration of the marriage and the recognition of its validity. This will be explained in the following article by attorney Joshua Pex, a partner in our office and an expert in family law and Israeli immigration law.
Registration of marriages officiated through the Zoom application – technological advancement has prevailed
Now it’s official – couples who wish to get married in a civil marriage will now be able to do so online, and then register their marriage in the Population Registry of the Population and Immigration Authority. The state of Utah in the USA has decided to arrange the possibility of officiating an online marriage ceremony, which will then receive official recognition. This is a global precedent, and the assumption is that it will eventually be implemented in other parts of the world as well.
Utah marriages began to be officiated online very recently, during the Coronavirus period, when restrictions were imposed on moving between states and entering the USA. Although they are a recent innovation, Utah marriages have already managed to provoke a legal dispute in Israel, which led to the Ministry of the Interior refusing to recognize these marriages for the purpose of registration. This is because the laws of the State of Israel do not allow civil marriages to be performed within its territory. The technological precedent raised questions regarding the legal interpretation of the place where the actual marriage ceremony was held. These questions were decided in March 2023 in a Supreme Court ruling (in case number AAM 7375/22), thanks to which couples can be sure that if they choose to get married online in a Utah marriage – their marriage will be registered in Israel.
What did the Supreme Court rule on the matter?
As we noted in another article published on our office’s website regarding Utah marriages, the dispute regarding the registration of Utah marriages conducted online reached the Central District Court of Administrative Affairs, which ruled on the issue in July 2022. The ruling dealt with the application of a couple that conducted an online marriage ceremony according to the laws of the state of Utah, while they were physically situated in Israel, to register their marriage in the Population Registry. Their application was denied by the Population and Immigration Authority. The couple then filed an administrative appeal against the Authority’s decision. The court accepted the appeal and determined that according to the laws of the State of Israel, a certified and valid public certificate attesting to the officiating of a civil marriage outside of Israel must be registered in Israel. The Population Authority refused to accept the court ruling, and appealed to the Supreme Court.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the appeal filed by the Population Authority, and determined that spouses who performed an online marriage ceremony in the state of Utah must be registered as married in the Population Registry. The court emphasized that although there is no unequivocal answer in the law or in the previous rulings in Israel regarding the question of the place of marriage, the laws of the state of Utah allowed the issuance of the marriage certificate, based on the fact that the marriage ceremonies conducted online in the state are performed by an authorized party on behalf of the state.
Accordingly, although the legal questions regarding the place of officiating the ceremony are complex from a legal point of view, the registry official of the Population Authority is not the party authorized to decide on these questions. This means that the mere presentation of the valid and proper marriage certificate to the registry official requires the marriage to be registered. However, the court emphasized that the mere registration of the marriage, which the registry official must perform, does not constitute taking a position regarding the validity of the marriage. This is a separate question, which can be examined, if necessary, in separate procedures.
The bottom line is that the Supreme Court set a precedent, according to which marriages officiated online according to the laws of the state of Utah must be registered in Israel. This precedent binds the Population Authority, and accordingly couples who marry in this way in the future will be able to register in Israel as married. This is a dramatic decision that can benefit couples who do not want to or cannot afford to travel abroad in order to get married, including same-sex couples, couples of different religions or nationalities, etc. These couples will now be able to get married through a convenient and relatively simple procedure, with the knowledge that they will then be able to have their marriage recognized in Israel.
Can registration of an online marriage speed up the process of family reunification at the Ministry of the Interior?
One of the main questions that remains open even after the ruling is the ability of these marriages to influence the procedures for obtaining legal status for foreign spouses in Israel. As we mentioned above, in the ruling the Court distinguished between the question of the obligation to register online marriages in Israel and the question of the actual validity of the marriage. This distinction is due, among other things, to the fact that the Court wishes to prevent cases where couples will abuse the possibility of marrying in this way, even when the relationship between them is not sincere and authentic.
This issue is important for various procedures, such as receiving benefits from the state for married couples. It is even more important for the matter of obtaining legal status for mixed couples in which an Israeli is married to a foreign spouse. When these couples wish to live in Israel, so that the foreign spouse will be granted permanent status in Israel (permanent residency or Israeli citizenship), they must go through a lengthy process at the Ministry of the Interior, known as the gradual process. For married couples, this process may take about 5 years. For unmarried couples, as well as same-sex couples, the process may be longer, lasting about 7 years.
Currently, it appears that Utah marriages will not speed up the process of family reunification at the Ministry of the Interior, and these couples, even though they will be recognized as married, will likely be required to go through a gradual process of the longer variety, that is about 7 years. This is similar to the situation when officiating a marriage according to the laws of the state of El Salvador, which can also be performed without the need for the spouses to be present. Marriages in this way have long been recognized in Israel for the purpose of registration, but they still do not allow mixed couples, as a rule, to speed up process of obtaining legal status for foreign spouses. However, in light of the complexity of the issue and in order to carry out the process in the best and fastest way possible, it is recommended to consult with an attorney who specializes in Israeli immigration law.
Online marriage in Israel – contact an attorney specializing in family law and immigration law
In this article, we have explained in detail the legal validity of Utah marriages officiated online, and the distinction between the obligation to register them (based on the Supreme Court ruling) and the question of their validity, especially regarding procedures of obtaining Israeli legal status for foreign spouses. If you have additional questions or need any advice or assistance on the matter, you can contact us and we will be glad to help. Our office, in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, specializes in representing couples and providing legal support in civil marriages, registering couples as married in Israel, obtaining legal status for foreign spouses, etc.
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