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.
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.
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!
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.
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
Priscilla Moses
competent consulting, fast processing, reliable, warm & good team. highly recommended
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
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.
Lilian Granovsky
I can highly recommend these services!
Every time we turned to Joshua we always got a professional quick and helpful respond.
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!
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.
Yossi Montrose
Very knowledgeable and professional
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
Shaltiel Devorah
Mr. Joshua Pex is knowledgeable and Professional. I really appreciate his courteous and direct approach.
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.
Halvor Ronning
Courteous, clear, efficient service.
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!
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.
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!
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
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.
lynn vonne
Excellent service, very friendly and helpful, fast responding and very patient. Highly recommend. I will choose them again next time if needed.
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.
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.
Eden Weiss
Extrmely friendly, professional and helpful. A big thank you to Irina especially from the Jerusalem office. Highly Recommended.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 (!)
How do minor foreign children who come to Israel with their parents obtain Israeli legal status? Many Israelis enter a relationship with a foreign citizen who has children from a previous marriage. When these Israelis go to the Ministry of Interior offices to arrange the legal status of their foreign spouse in Israel, the question arises as to what may be done to obtain status for foreign minor children so that they will be allowed live in Israel with their parent.
Our law firm specializes in Aliyah and immigration to Israel with foreign family members (children, parents, and spouses). In this article, Lawyer Anat Levi explains how to arrange the legal status of foreign minor children as part of their parent’s procedure for obtaining legal status, when the parent is married to an Israeli citizen or resident.
Arranging the Legal Status of Foreign Minor Children in Israel at the Ministry of Interior
Spouses who wish to establish a family together in Israel must submit a request to arrange the legal status of the foreign spouse. This request must be submitted at the Israeli spouse’s local Population and Immigration Authority office. The complex procedure for obtaining legal status is supervised by the Ministry of Interior via the Population and Immigration Authority.
It is not easy to arrange the legal status of a foreign citizen who wishes to live with their Israeli spouse, whether they are formally married or in a common-law marriage.
Arranging the legal status of the child of a foreign spouse from a previous marriage is even more difficult, both materially and procedurally, and special criteria have been established by the Ministry of Interior for arranging the legal status of minor children. Be aware that the minor children of a foreign spouse may only receive legal status if their parent is married to the Israeli spouse. There is no procedure for arranging the legal status of minor children whose parent is in a romantic relationship with an Israeli citizen or resident but not married to them.
The Normative Route: The Israeli Citizenship Law – Legal Status of Foreign Spouses of Israelis
The procedure for requesting legal status for the foreign spouse of an Israeli follows a detailed protocol stipulated by the Population and Immigration Authority, numbered 5.2.0008, which sets clear criteria for conducting the procedure. The manner in which the request is handled is determined in Section 7 of the Citizenship Law, 5712—1952, as follows:
Naturalisation of husband and wife (Amendment No. 4), 5740—1980
- The spouse of a person who is an Israel national or who has applied for Israel nationality and meets or is exempt from the requirements of section 5 (a) may obtain Israel nationality by naturalisation even if she or he is a minor or does not meet the requirements of section (5) (a).
The status of the foreign minor children of foreign citizens is determined in Section 1 of the Entry into Israel Law, 5712—1952, as follows:
“The entry of a person, other than an Israel national or an oleh under the Law of Return (5710-1950), into Israel shall be by visa, and his residence in Israel shall be by permit of residence, under this Law.”
How to Arrange the Legal Status of Foreign Minor Children in Israel
Section 7 of the Citizenship Law (also known as the Nationality Law) is intended to enable the naturalization of the foreign wife of an Israeli citizen. This naturalization is made possible so that the family unit may remain intact and the couple may continue living together in Israel as a family along with their children.
However, the right of citizens to a family life is not absolute. The foreign spouse is not automatically eligible to Israeli citizenship by virtue of being married to an Israeli citizen; rather, they must follow the graduated procedure, which takes about six years. During this period, Ministry of Interior officials examine, via yearly interviews and other methods, whether or not the applicant’s center of life is in Israel with their Israeli spouse and whether the marriage is genuine and lawful.
When minor children from a previous marriage are brought by their parent for the purpose of obtaining legal status, the rules are different depending on whether the children are aged below or above 15 years.
Minor children below 15 years of age: For children who are younger than 15, the approval of the child’s second biological parent in Israel or abroad is required regarding the child’s immigration to Israel or naturalization there, as explained below.
Minor children above 15 years of age: For children who are older than 15, the Ministry of Interior requires—in addition to all the other criteria—legal approval (a divorce ruling or agreement), as well as concrete evidence proving that the minor child has been at least two years in the custody of the parent residing in Israel.
Approval of the Second Biological Parent from Abroad Regarding the Child’s Immigration to Israel
It is very important to attach the approval of the other parent regarding the child’s permanent residence and naturalization in Israel when submitting the legal-status application. A situation in which the second parent opposes the minor child’s immigration to Israel and naturalization there may create problems in obtaining legal status for the child.
If the parent making the application claims that they are unable to obtain the second parent’s opinion on the matter, the Ministry of Interior will send a letter to the second parent’s address abroad, requesting their approval, via the Israeli consulate.
If the minor child’s second parent is dead, an authenticated translation of the death certificate must be attached.
Alternatively, if the foreign spouse applying for legal status has exclusive custody of the child, they must attach a ruling stipulating their sole or exclusive guardianship. The ruling must first be lawfully authenticated and translated by a notary public regarding custody.
The original copy of the minor child’s birth certificate must also be attached to the request. The birth certificate must be authenticated and, if necessary, also translated.
Summary — Obtaining Israeli Legal Status for the Minor Child of a Foreign Citizen
If you follow the law and the Ministry of Interior’s regulations for officially submitting an application as required; and if the Israeli and foreign spouse meet the criteria and prove that their marriage is genuine and lawful, and the invited foreign spouse receives a permit of residence in Israel—there will be no problem to include the foreign spouse’s minor children in the application, and the children will receive the same legal status as their parent.
Contact the Lawyers at Our Firm, Who Specialize in Immigration to Israel
We specialize in immigration and family law in Israel. Contact us to schedule a meeting with a lawyer from our offices in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem and get advice and legal assistance regarding the immigration of minor children and family members to Israel.
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Obtaining Israeli legal status for a foreign spouse with minor children from a previous relationship