Documents for the Gradual Process: how recent, authenticated and translated

The short answer

The foreign partner's documents are filed as originals, duly authenticated and translated. Two of them have a time limit: the certificate of personal status and the police certificate must have been issued in the last six months. The foreign passport must be valid for at least two years. Plan the order: renew the passport first if it needs it, then order the certificates, so that none of them is out of date on the day you file.

This article is based on three procedures of the Population and Immigration Authority: 5.2.0008 for spouses of citizens (edition 16, 20.07.2026), 5.2.0009 for shared life and same-sex couples (edition 17, 16.07.2026), and 5.2.0011 for spouses of permanent residents (10.12.2020).

Original, authenticated, translated

Under the procedures for spouses of citizens and for shared life, the foreign partner's documents are filed as originals, duly authenticated and translated, subject to the Authority's procedure 1.3.0001, which sets how documents are authenticated and translated. This article does not cover that procedure; check it on the Authority's website before you order authentications and translations.

There are exceptions. An original birth certificate issued in a CIS country up to 1998 does not need authentication. Under the procedure for spouses of permanent residents, an original birth certificate needs no authentication, and documents are translated where needed.

Which documents have a time limit

When the country issues no status certificate

If the foreign partner's country does not issue a certificate of personal status, the procedures accept a notarial declaration by the foreign partner about the personal status in the country of origin, signed before an Israeli consul abroad, a notary abroad, a notary in Israel, or the consul of the country of origin in Israel. If the marriage certificate was issued in the foreign partner's own country and records the status before the marriage, that is enough as proof of the earlier status.

If a document is missing or not in order

If the documents filed are not enough or not in order, the office sends a written list of everything to file again, usually through the online system. You have 45 days from receiving it, and the head of the visa team may extend this by up to 45 more days. If the documents do not arrive in time, the application is rejected out of hand. A new application then means a new fee, the missing documents and all the current documents again.

In exceptional cases, the regional manager may waive a document for entering the Gradual Process, on a reasoned request backed by documents, when objective circumstances prevent getting it, you made sincere efforts and you have official confirmation of the problem. An asylum application is not such a circumstance. The waiver covers entry into the process only: all the documents are required to finish it, and without them the process can end in permanent residency only.

Documents asked for again at the end

If, during the process, the foreign partner did not update the personal status in the country of origin, a fresh certificate of personal status, issued in the last six months, original, authenticated and translated, is required at the end. Both partners attend in person, and the office checks that every document required from the start to the end has been filed.

The end of the Gradual Process

How IsraelVisa helps

IsraelVisa helps you keep track of the date each document was issued and of the passport's validity, so that nothing is out of date on the day you file, and keeps your documents and the evidence of your shared life in order, yourselves and at your own pace. IsraelVisa does not give legal advice; if you wish, you can find independent lawyers through IsraelVisa.

Frequently asked questions

How recent must the police certificate be?

Issued in the last six months, and it must include all the foreign partner's name changes. Under the procedures for spouses of citizens and for shared life, everyone over 14 in the application files one.

How long must the passport be valid?

At least two years when you file, for the foreign partner and for an accompanying minor.

Does the birth certificate need authentication?

Usually yes: original, authenticated and translated. An original birth certificate issued in a CIS country up to 1998 needs no authentication, and under the procedure for spouses of permanent residents an original birth certificate needs none.

What if my country does not issue a certificate of personal status?

A notarial declaration of the foreign partner's personal status is accepted instead, signed before an Israeli consul abroad, a notary abroad or in Israel, or the consul of the country of origin in Israel.

Related guides

• Documents for the Gradual Process: what to collect, and in what form
• The Gradual Process: how a foreign partner gets status in Israel
• Married couples: the Gradual Process

Sources

• Procedure 5.2.0008 - status for a foreign spouse married to an Israeli citizen (edition 16, 20.07.2026), sections A, D.2, E.2 and H.1 (Hebrew)
• Procedure 5.2.0009 - applications for status on the basis of a shared life (edition 17, 16.07.2026), sections A, D.2, E.2 and H (Hebrew)
• Procedure 5.2.0011 - status for a foreign spouse married to a permanent resident (10.12.2020), section C.2 (Hebrew)