Free Consultation
Immigration & Aliyah

Can a stateless person obtain legal status in Israel?

There is no dedicated statelessness procedure. Israel has not joined the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons or the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, so an applicant is assessed under the ordinary Entry into Israel Law 5712-1952 and, in exceptional personal cases, through the inter-ministerial humanitarian committee. Status is normally granted first as a temporary A/5 residency permit rather than citizenship. Naturalization under Section 5 of the Citizenship Law 5712-1952 remains open, and the usual requirement to give up a former nationality falls away where there is none.

The Entry into Israel Law 5712-1952 gives the Minister of the Interior wide discretion over every visa and permit, and no Israeli statute defines statelessness or creates a route to have it formally recognized. An applicant therefore cannot file for "stateless status" as such. Files go to the Population and Immigration Authority, which refers exceptional personal circumstances to the inter-ministerial humanitarian committee. Section 5 of the Citizenship Law 5712-1952 sets the naturalization conditions: presence in Israel for three of the preceding five years, permanent residency or entitlement to it, settlement in Israel or a genuine intention to settle, and some knowledge of Hebrew.

Proof is the hardest part of these files. Gather every document a former state ever issued, written confirmation from that country’s consulate that it does not recognize the applicant as a national, and any UNHCR correspondence, all apostilled and translated into Hebrew. An applicant with no travel document can be issued an Israeli laissez-passer (teudat maavar) once temporary residency is granted, which solves the practical problem of travelling. Decisions are discretionary and reasoned refusals are common, so preserve the appeal route to the Appeals Tribunal for Entry into Israel and treat the first application as the main opportunity to present the full case, much as in other non-Jewish immigration routes.

⚖ In Practice
  • Governing law: Entry into Israel Law 5712-1952; Section 5, Citizenship Law 5712-1952
  • Competent authority: Population and Immigration Authority (Rashut HaOchlusin VeHaHagira) and the inter-ministerial humanitarian committee
  • Fees: a humanitarian status application costs approximately NIS 1,750 (2026); annual renewal of an A/5 permit costs approximately NIS 175
  • Timeline: humanitarian committee decisions commonly take 12–24 months from a complete filing
  • Appeal route: Appeals Tribunal for Entry into Israel (Beit Din Le’arurim) within 30 days of the refusal, then the Court for Administrative Affairs

From the full guide: Immigrating to Israel as a Non-Jew: Visas, Residency, and Citizenship Options

Related Questions

Related Guides

Need legal help with this topic?
Get a Free Consultation with Adv. Eli ShimonyPrepared under the direction of Adv. Eli Shimony, Eli Shimony Law Office · Editorial policy

← Browse all Q&A