Marrying during the Gradual Process: what changes and what to submit

Written by Alon, founder of IsraelVisa · Based on the procedures of the Population and Immigration Authority

Published: 5 November 2026

The short answer

Procedure 5.2.0008 has a clause for this situation. An Israeli and a foreign partner who are in the Gradual Process on the basis of shared life under procedure 5.2.0009, and who marry during it, may after the marriage apply under procedure 5.2.0008 and have their process converted into the Gradual Process for married couples. No additional fee is charged, subject to the conditions of procedure 5.2.0008.

The clause is an option the couple takes: you file the application. It sets no deadline, but your duty to report any change in your circumstances, even before the licence expires, covers a marriage too.

First, register the marriage

The married-couples procedure is for a foreign partner married to an Israeli citizen; first, register the marriage in the Population Registry. Under procedure 2.11.0001 this is done in person at an office of the Authority, on the notice-of-change-of-personal-status form, with the identity card and passport; it is free, and the Population Registry Law requires the notice within 30 days. You bring:

The original marriage certificate, authenticated as required and translated into Hebrew by a notary (a certificate in Arabic needs no translation).
A certificate of the foreign partner's previous personal status (single, divorced or widowed); a marriage certificate from the country of citizenship that records it is enough, and where none is issued, a notarised declaration.

gov.il: registering a change of personal status (a marriage held abroad)

What to submit for the transfer

The transfer is an application under procedure 5.2.0008, filed online on the Authority's service page; the Israeli partner is then invited to the office. The office may ask for current versions of documents already in your shared-life file, and for any further document it finds necessary:

Form ASH/6, two recent passport photographs each, the Israeli partner's identity card and appendix, now showing the marriage, and the foreign partner's passport, valid for at least two years.
The marriage certificate and the foreign partner's documents from abroad, original, authenticated and translated under procedure 1.3.0001: birth certificate, any name-change certificate, a personal-status certificate issued in the last six months, and a police clearance certificate for every applicant over 14.
A letter signed by both of you about the relationship, and the affidavit on page 3 of ASH/6.
Evidence of a shared centre of life from at least the last year, such as a lease, joint bills and a bank statement.

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

How your time so far is counted

The married-couples track is four years of A/5 temporary residency: one year, then extensions of up to two years at a time. For a couple transferring from the shared-life track, procedure 5.2.0008 sets two rules, by the licence held on the day of the transfer. That is all the text says: it does not say that years on B/1 are deducted from the four years of A/5. Ask the office how it counts your file before you decide.

Holding a B/1 licence: the status is upgraded to A/5 and the handling continues under procedure 5.2.0008, but in any case the full period of the Gradual Process must be completed.
Already holding an A/5 licence: the handling continues under procedure 5.2.0008, and four years of A/5 must be completed from the date the A/5 was first given.

Registration in the home country is not a condition

In the current editions of both procedures, updating the foreign partner's personal status in the country of origin is not a condition for opening the process; it may be provided at any time during it.

It still matters at the end: if the update was not made, the foreign partner must, as a condition for ending the Gradual Process, present once more a current certificate of personal status from the country of origin, issued in the last six months, original, authenticated and translated.

Married abroad, online, or as a same-sex couple

The transfer clause in procedure 5.2.0008 speaks of an Israeli and a foreign partner of the opposite sex. Same-sex couples who marry remain within procedure 5.2.0009, which covers same-sex couples who married: four years of A/5, with the marriage certificate required and checked under procedure 2.11.0001. The procedure does not say how an existing shared-life file is converted after the marriage; report the marriage and ask the office.

Marriages in El Salvador have their own rules in procedure 5.2.0009: two years of B/1 then four years of A/5, and a referral to procedure 5.2.0008 if both partners were physically present at the ceremony abroad. The procedures say nothing specific about marriages held online; see our article on marrying abroad.

Married abroad and applying in Israel

What does not change

The end: after four years on A/5 you apply, both present, to end the Gradual Process, having told the office three months earlier which status is requested, citizenship or permanent residency.
Renewals: filed online three months before each licence expires; after 180 days only a new application is possible. Both of you are interviewed before each extension.
The duty to report any change, including a separation, even before the licence expires.
The documents: the process cannot end until every required document has been provided; with documents missing, only permanent residency can be given, not citizenship.

The end of the Gradual Process: citizenship or permanent residency

How IsraelVisa helps

IsraelVisa helps you keep both files in one place: the documents already submitted, the ones to renew for the transfer, and the dates of each licence, 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

Do we pay a new application fee when we marry during the process?

No. Procedure 5.2.0008 says the shared-life process is converted into the married-couples process without an additional fee, subject to meeting the procedure's conditions.

Does the time on a B/1 licence shorten the four years of A/5?

The procedure does not say so. It says a B/1 holder is upgraded to A/5 and must complete the full Gradual Process, and that an A/5 holder completes four years of A/5 from the date the first A/5 was given. Ask the office how it counts your file.

Must the marriage be registered in my home country before we transfer?

No. The update of the foreign partner's status in the country of origin is not a condition for opening the process. If it is never made, a fresh certificate of personal status, issued in the last six months, is required as a condition for ending the process.

We are a same-sex couple and married abroad. Which procedure applies?

Procedure 5.2.0009, which covers same-sex couples who married. Its Gradual Process for a married same-sex couple is four years of A/5, and the marriage certificate is checked under procedure 2.11.0001.

Related guides

Sources

Build my checklist – free, about 2 minutes

The information in this article is general and does not constitute legal advice. The procedures are updated from time to time; check the current version on the website of the Population and Immigration Authority.