A foreign spouse in the graduated process can add children from a prior relationship as an accompanying minor: documents, parental consent, and age-15 rules.
A key question for a foreign spouse entering the graduated process with an Israeli partner is what will happen to children from a previous relationship. The Population and Immigration Authority's procedures — Procedure 5.2.0009 (the procedure for regularizing the status of spouses of Israeli citizens, including same-sex spouses) and Procedure 5.2.0008 (the procedure for granting status to a foreign spouse married to an Israeli citizen) — set out an "accompanying minor" track: the child receives status alongside the foreign parent, and that status is extended together with the parent's status throughout the process. But the track includes a unique mechanism that many people are unaware of — obtaining the position of the child's other parent — along with different rules depending on the child's age. Preparing the right documents early on can save months.
Alongside the parent's application documents, the child requires: an original, apostilled, and, where necessary, translated birth certificate; a foreign passport valid for at least two years; and a certificate of good conduct for a child aged 14 and above. While the application is being reviewed, the accompanying minor may receive an A/2 visa for a period of up to six months — a period that does not count toward the graduated process.
Regularizing an accompanying minor's status is conditional on obtaining the position of the child's other parent. The inviting parent must present an apostilled public document showing the other parent's current address, and the Authority sends that parent an official notice — by registered mail if he is in Israel, or through an Israeli diplomatic mission if he is abroad — posing two questions: whether he objects to the child's immigration to Israel, and whether he objects to the child receiving permanent status (or citizenship, in the married-couples track) at the end of the process. From the time the notice is sent, the Authority waits up to six months for a response; during that period the child may stay on a B/2 visitor visa, and may not be upgraded to an A/5 visa — even if the parent has already begun the graduated process. If no response is received within six months, this is treated as an absence of objection, and the process continues as usual.
Two types of objection must be distinguished. An objection to the child's immigration to Israel: in this case, the child's status cannot be upgraded, the B/2 visa cannot be extended, and the child will be required to leave Israel when it expires. By contrast, an objection only to the final status (permanent residency/citizenship), without an objection to immigration: the child will be upgraded only to an A/5 visa, subject to the parent's graduated process being approved. In the common-law-partner track, the child cannot obtain permanent residency while still a minor, even if the parent has obtained it; in the married-couples track, the child cannot obtain citizenship while still a minor (even if the parent has naturalized), but may obtain a permanent-residency permit. It should be clarified that under clause ז.5 of Procedure 5.2.0023, an accompanying minor's application for a permanent-residency permit will not be approved unless the child has completed at least two years on an A/5 visa.
If the inviting parent claims that the other parent is deceased, he must present an apostilled public document proving this. If he claims sole custody, he must present an original, apostilled court judgment, or a court-approved divorce agreement, establishing sole custody, together with proof of actual custody of the child. In these cases, the mechanism for notifying the other parent is not required — but be careful to properly apostille and translate the documents from the country of origin.
Several important age rules apply. For an accompanying minor over the age of 15: proof is required that the child has been in the inviting parent's custody — both legal custody and actual custody — for at least two years before the application is filed; without such proof, the application will be denied. For a child who has turned 17.5 at the time the application is filed: the application is referred to the district manager's decision. For a child who reaches majority (turns 18) during the process: a separate application for permanent status must be filed, meeting the conditions applicable to the parent, with an examination of the child's center of life and ties to the parent he or she accompanied (clause ח.5 of Procedure 5.2.0009). In addition, an accompanying minor's application for a permanent-residency permit will not be approved unless the child has completed at least two years on an A/5 visa. The practical implication: the older the child, the more important it is to file early and document actual custody.
In Adm. Appeal (Supreme Court) 9102/12 Kuzmina v. Ministry of Interior (2014), the Supreme Court held that section 8(b) of the Citizenship Law, 5712-1952, is satisfied by the mere absence of objection from the other parent and does not require his active consent to permanent residency and naturalization, and that a procedure imposing a stricter condition than the statute cannot stand. It was further held that the Authority must act reasonably to ensure that the other parent is aware of the application and of his right to object, and that the "window of opportunity" to object is limited to the period of minority: once the child reaches majority — provided no objection was voiced beforehand — the process may be completed without his position.
This is also where the limit lies. In Appeal (Tel Aviv) 3902-23 (17 Jul 2024), the Tribunal dismissed an appeal by a family that had never notified the biological father abroad at all, and which, after the son reached majority, sought to treat this as an exemption from the requirement. The Tribunal held that the duty of notification is not retroactively erased, and that a situation cannot be permitted in which a parent brings a child to Israel without the other parent's knowledge and waits for the child to reach majority. The practical lesson: a genuine attempt to locate the other parent and send him lawful notice must be documented; a bare assertion that his details are unknown is not enough.
Conversely, in Appeal (Jerusalem) 2687-24 (23 Oct 2025), an appeal was granted concerning a child whose formal application for inclusion was filed only after he turned 15. The Tribunal noted that the accompanying-minor procedure is internal guidance requiring flexibility and individualized discretion, and held — based on documents showing an ongoing effort to regularize his status even before age 15 — that his status would be regularized as an accompanying minor. The lesson: real-time documentation of every inquiry, trip, and document can be decisive.
In the opposite direction, in Adm. Appeal (Tel Aviv) 50687-01-24 (15 May 2024), an appeal concerning a child over 15 was dismissed, and the court clarified that since the procedure was amended in 2018, an ongoing relationship with the parent in Israel is no longer sufficient: actual custody is also required, since the purpose of the arrangement is to preserve an existing family unit. Once it was found that the parent had chosen to immigrate to Israel without the child, the condition was not met — though the possibility of requesting status on humanitarian grounds was preserved.
Not necessarily. The Authority sends an official notice to his address (through an Israeli diplomatic mission abroad) and waits up to six months. If no response is received, his silence is treated as an absence of objection — both to the immigration and to the permanent status.
An objection to immigration blocks the status upgrade, and even the extension of the B/2 visa. In such a situation, proceedings in the competent forums on the child's custody and relocation are usually required, and immediate legal advice is advisable — both in immigration law and in family law.
If you present an original, apostilled court judgment (or an approved divorce agreement) establishing sole custody, together with proof of actual custody, the mechanism for obtaining the other parent's position is not required. Make sure to obtain a proper apostille and translation.
No, but over the age of 15, proof of legal custody and actual custody for at least two years before the application is required, and from age 17.5 the decision passes to the district manager. A child who reaches majority during the process will file a separate application. So the earlier you file, the better.
Not necessarily, but the cost is high. In Appeal (Tel Aviv) 1361-25 (3 Jun 2026), an application to include a child over 15 was dismissed because the custody judgment was submitted only after the refusal decision. Even so, the Tribunal ruled that a new application could be filed, and since the child had passed age 17.5, it would be referred to the district manager's decision — who is also authorized to waive submission of a required document in exceptional circumstances. The practical rule: meet the deadlines and do not rely on later completion of documents.
As a rule, the child's status is extended alongside the parent's status, and at the end of the process the child is entitled to permanent status together with the parent — provided the other parent did not object to the final status, and provided the child has completed at least two years on an A/5 visa.