Coronavirus Outbreak: In response to BBH Law’s inquiry, Israel’s Ministry of Interior clarified its policy regarding visas held by foreigners working in international humanitarian non-governmental organizations in Israel and in the Territories
As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, many questions have arisen regarding the status of foreigners residing in Israel. On April 5, 2020, our office petitioned the Ministry of Interior (MOI) on behalf of international humanitarian non-governmental organizations working in Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt). These INGOs employ local and international staff, residing in Israel according to the Ministry of Interior’s policy regarding INGO workers. The policy mandates a two-step process, in which the INGO worker must first receive an approval from the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services (MOLSA) to work in Israel and the [...]
Coronavirus Outbreak: in response to BBH Law’s recent inquiry, COGAT announces that visas held by foreign nationals in the West Bank will be automatically extended until June 30, 2020
As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, many questions have arisen regarding the entry to and exit from the West Bank of foreigner nationals (neither Israeli citizens nor Palestinian I.D. holders), as well as their residence in the West Bank. Our office represents many internationals living in the West Bank, and on March 24, 2020, we contacted Israel’s Civil Administration and the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) with several demands. We demanded that visas and visitor permits held by internationals be renewed automatically until the end of the Corona state of emergency and that internationals with expired [...]
Coronavirus Outbreak: Our office approached the Civil Administration and the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) regarding entry to and exit from the Occupied Territories and extensions of visas for those foreigners living in the Occupied Territories.
As we all know, the world is grappling with the Coronavirus pandemic. Many questions have arisen regarding the entry of foreigner nationals (neither Israeli citizens nor Palestinian I.D. holders) to the West Bank, their residence in the West Bank, and their exit from the West Bank. Our office, representing many foreign nationals living in the West Bank, wrote to the Civil Administration and COGAT on March 24, 2020, demanding that visas held by such foreigners be renewed automatically until the end of the Corona state of emergency. We also demanded that such foreigners requesting to leave the Occupied Territories be [...]
Israel’s First Investor Visa Goes into Effect
On May 1, 2019, Israel launched its first Investor Visa policy for citizens of the United States. The policy was launched together with a parallel U.S. immigration policy allowing Israeli investors to receive E-2 investment visas for the U.S. Who is eligible for an Investor Visa? The following class of people are eligible for an investor visa: U.S. investors and those employees who either hold holding senior management positions or are "essential experts." All must be U.S. citizens or hold a valid U.S. passport, and their purpose in pursuing a visa must be to work in Israel temporarily for the [...]
Supreme Court rules: an East Jerusalem couple and their two children will receive permits to reside in Israel
A 10-year legal battle to grant permits to a Palestinian family from Jerusalem finally reached its end. On 9 December 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that a couple and their two children, residing in Jabal Mukaber, should be granted permits to reside in Jerusalem in accordance with a Prime Minister’s decision from 2007. The appellant was born in 1955 in Al Sawahre, a Bedouin village in East Jerusalem, where the Western portion of the village is governed by Israeli law. The appellant’s family first lived in caves and tents in the village, located on the seam line between East Jerusalem and [...]
As a result of our office’s intervention, a foreign journalist’s work visa was renewed, after the journalist’s request had originally been denied on grounds that she had praised the boycott of Israel and that she “supports terrorist organizations.”
Our office represents a foreign journalist with 25 years of experience in her field, who has been covering the Middle East for many years. Since 2011, she has been working as a journalist in Israel and the oPt. The Ministry of Interior recently denied her request to renew her work visa. In its decision, the Ministry of Interior argued that from information brought to its attention it learned that she is active in the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement. The Ministry of Interior’s claims were based exclusively on one misleading and biased article on the website of an organization [...]
