When we speak about family reunification we are dealing with rights. Israel decided to protect the right of a person to have family and family life. Each person has a right to have a family and Israeli citizens have the right to have their family in Israel.
We are going to talk about rights related to marriage. The purpose is to protect these rights. Israelis who want to marry foreigners should address the ministry of Interior for the legal status of their foreign spouse. There are basically two main criteria that the ministry of interior will check:

1. If the relation is honest and genuine
2. If the life center of the couple is in Israel

The Procedure for Married couples
We are talking about 4.5 years procedure and at every stage the Israeli state will ask for more and more proofs. After you submit your initial request the foreign spouse will receive a work permit (B1 visa) for half a year. This visa allows him to work everywhere and at any kind of work. After that, if you continue with the process, the foreign spouse will receive a temporary residency (A5 visa) that he will have to extend every year for 4 years. 6 months after receiving the A5 visa, the foreign spouse is entitle to the national health insurance services. He is also entitled to all the social benefits that Israelis are entitle to.

If you manage to complete this procedure, you can apply for citizenship.

Marriage Possibilities
It is only possible to get married in Israel if the spouses are from the same religion. Inside Israel a Jew can marry only a Jew, a Muslim only a Muslim and a Christian only a Christian. If a couple that does not have the same religion would like to get married, they must do it outside of Israel. The Israeli government recognizes any marriage certificate that the country in which the marriage was conducted recognizes. For example, if an Israeli citizen goes with a citizen of the Philippines and get married there. If the Philippines government recognizes the marriage, the Israeli government will recognize it as well. After the marriage, there is a need to stamp the marriage certificate with apostil. In some countries, you cannot get this apostil and in these cases there is a need to reaffirm the certificate at the Israeli embassy at that specific country. The document must have this apostil before addressing the Israeli ministry of Interior with a request for legal status as a spouse.

Another possibility is that only one of the spouses will leave Israel to perform the marriage. It can be done in countries like the Philippines, Paraguay or Al Salvador. Before doing it, you must locate a lawyer in Israel who is familiar with the law of that specific country and is able to give you information regarding the demands of the local law. This possibility is extremely expensive and is good for couples that have no financial problems and one of them cannot leave the country from some reasons.

What the Ministry of Interior demand at the application stage?
After the marriage and arranging the documents, you will apply to the Ministry of the Interior and they are going to demand a long list of forms that you can get out of the internet and documents that you need to prepare.

All official documents should have apostil. They will check for criminal record from the country of origin of the foreign spouse and there is a need to present passport valid for at least two years. For the application, you need to prepare letters from friends that know you as a couple, from your employers, parents, a mutual Bank account can help, a contract of a flat rented together, photos of the two of you in different places and periods, print of your phone bills to show that you call each other and so on.

Second step
After completing this first step, every year you will need to bring papers proving that you still live together and that you still live in Israel. From time to time the clerk will question you separately. Please note that they are not allowed to ask you intimate questions. They will probably ask you about the favorite T.V. program of your spouse, or how much sugar you put in your coffee and so on – questions that a couple who live together should be able to answer. If everything is ok, and you replied correctly, you will be given A5 visa which look like Israeli Identity Card ("Teudat Zehut"), just the color inside is different. At this stage, the foreign spouse still need to extend his passport since the Interior will not extend the visa without having 2 years valid passport.

Collecting all the demanded papers and documents involves a lot of work. There are countries that serve their citizens well and the work is easier and there are countries that will make it impossible to collect all the necessary documents. It also depends how much the Interior believe your relation. If the clerk believes, he might cause less difficulties with the documents.

The clerks must accept your application no matter what. If you do not have a valid passport, he might tell you that a request cannot be accepted without passport. You should know that it is not true. Tell him politely that you were informed that the main office in Jerusalem has the authority to check requests of foreigners with no valid passport and demand politely to exercise your right to apply.

When you come to extend your visa, you better apply 3 months before the expiry date. In some places in the country (like Tel Aviv, for example), you need to register in advance and get an appointment. It is common that it takes time for the renewal of the visa. It is common that there is a gap of time during which you have no legal status. In these cases – it is extremely important to keep the receipt you received from the Interior since this is your proof that you are in the middle of the procedure. It is also extremely important to write everything you do, say, give and receive from the Interior since they tend to loose papers easily. It is important that you will be able to say that you gave them that specific paper on that specific day. Make a diary of all your actions.

common law marriage
Since there is no civil marriage in Israel and since many couples don't have money to go abroad or others just don't want to get married, there is another possibility: Israel recognizes common law marriage ("Yeduim Batsibur"). The procedure at the interior is longer than the one described above, and more difficult. The demands of the interior are the same. You need to prove that you are not using the procedure as an immigration tool. Again, you need to prove that you are a genuine couple and that the center of your life is in Israel.

The burden of proof is higher. Without legal marriage, the foreign spouse will receive at first a working visa (B1 visa) for 1 year. If progressing in the process, after one year he will receive temporary residency (A5 visa) for 6 years during which you need to continue showing every year that you are still a couple living together. Only then, the foreign spouse will receive permanent residency.

It is not obligatory, but having a premarital financial agreement can assist in proving the common law marriage. It is also advisable from practical aspects. Such agreement can be prepared by private lawyer and also by some organizations like:
I.R.A.C. – Tel: 03-6958218
Naamat – Tel: 03-6921940
Vitso – Tel: 03-6923791
The cost of such an agreement is about 1,500 NIS.

In case of common law marriage – the foreign spouse has less rights: the state claims that he will not be able to bring his former children, unlike if married, then you can bring children under the age of 15 automatically. The foreign spouse will not be able to bring old parents as well. After 5 years as a permanent resident – the foreign spouse can apply for citizenship.

When the foreign Spouse reside in Israel illegally
All these procedures refer to illegal residents as well. One can apply and his application must be accepted even if he resides for long years in Israel with no permit. If the foreign spouse was arrested before applying the interior, his request will not be convincing and he will have to leave the country. He will be able to return, upon request of the Israeli spouse, but it will be more difficult. In these cases, the Israeli spouse should go after the foreigner, get married, return alone with all the documents and apply the interior to invite their foreigner as a spouse. In these cases as well there is a need to prove the connection, and it is much harder when living apart.

In case of breaking up in the middle of the process
If from some reason you will not complete the procedure, the foreign spouse will be demanded to leave Israel.

There are only 3 exceptions that the state recognizes for allowing the foreign spouse to stay in Israel despite not completing the procedure:

1. Widows. If the Israeli spouse dies in the middle of the process, the state of Israel allows the foreign spouse to stay if he has A5 visa for at least 3 years and has no first relative in his home country. If the Israeli spouse dies – it is not obvious that the foreign spouse will be allowed to stay in Israel. Only if you stand in the narrow criteria, the clerk will send your file to a committee in Jerusalem. It usually takes more than a year to receive an answer, but the clerks are supposed to renew your present visa until you receive the official answer from Jerusalem's main office. The committee has the authority to renew your visa for more than one year but they don't do so. They will also never suggest to complete the process, even of the Israeli spouse died and therefore there are not going to be any changes in the circumstances. In all cases – it is you that have to suggest that it is time to complete the process and move on to the next stage – citizenship.
   
   
2. Victims of domestic violence – Foreign women who left their Israeli spouses because of domestic violence are also entitled to stay legally in Israel. A year ago, the government recognized it. If the couple has children, it is enough to be in the process for 1 year. If there are no children – you must be in the process for at least half of the process towards cotozenship and have A5 visa. There is also a need to prove the domestic violent by addressing the police or being accepted to a women shelter.
   
   
3. Having Children - if the couple that broke up has children together. For years Israel argued that even if you have children it is not enough reason to stay. If the couple was in the process and there is A5 visa and they can show that the foreign parent has a connection with the children and holds A5 visa for at least 2.5 years – there is a possibility for him to stay. The file will be sent to the committee in Jerusalem for decision. The foreign spouse chances to stay increase if there is an understanding between him and the Israeli parent and if they raise the children together with mutual respect.

Foreign spouses from other countries – might not always get permission for their request to be checked with no valid passport. Some embassies demand letters from the Interior that it is needed in order to extend or issue new passport.

When the Israeli Spouse is a permanent resident
If the Israeli spouse is a permanent resident in Israel and not a citizen, there is a different process: it takes longer: 5 years and 3 months. The foreign spouse will be granted B1 working visa for 27 months and, if the process continues, he will be granted A5 visa every year. All the other details are the same.

Consular Marriage
Only lately the Supreme Court allowed it and there is not much experience. Consular marriages are for citizens of the same country. Even if they are from the same country and they are both Jewish it is not sure it will be recognized by the State of Israel.