A church, monastery or religious body inviting clergy from abroad: A/3 visa rules, Procedure 5.9.0001, the seven-year rule, and A/4 visas for family.
A church, monastery, yeshiva or religious organization that wants a priest, nun, rabbi or religious teacher from abroad to serve its community in Israel does not go through the standard track for employing foreign workers. Clergy have a separate track: a visa and temporary-residence permit of type A/3, granted at the request of the religious institution rather than at the request of the person themselves. A spouse and minor children who accompany the clergy member receive a separate accompanying permit of type A/4, whose validity is derived from the clergy member's own permit.
This guide is written for both sides: the inviting religious institution, which is responsible for the invitee's departure from Israel once their role ends, and the clergy member (religious functionary) and their family, whose continued life here depends on the periodic renewal of the permit and on an ongoing recommendation. We explain what the Authority checks, what changes after seven years, and how to challenge a refusal or the cancellation of a permit.
The presence in Israel of anyone who is not a citizen or a new immigrant (oleh) is conditional on a permit under the Entry into Israel Law, 5712-1952. The clergy visa itself is governed by Regulation 6(c) of the Entry into Israel Regulations, 5734-1974, which provides that "a clergy member wishing to stay in Israel to fulfill a religious role among his community in Israel at the invitation of the religious institution may have the religious institution submit on his behalf an application for a visa and temporary-residence permit of type A/3 (clergy member)," and that once the visa and permit are granted, the institution shall notify the bureau of the clergy member's entry into Israel "and shall be responsible for his departure from Israel upon completion of his role."
On the basis of this regulation, the Authority formulated Procedure 5.9.0001 (the procedure for handling the grant of an entry visa / the grant of a residence permit / the renewal of a residence permit for clergy (A/3)), in a version dated November 2011. Accompanying family members are handled under a separate procedure — Procedure 5.10.0001 (the procedure for handling the grant of an A/4 accompanying residence permit), from 2010. These procedures are administrative guidelines rather than legislation, but they bind the Authority in its work, and the tribunals examine its decisions in their light.
Procedure 5.9.0001 sets out a cumulative list of requirements: an application form for an entry visa, Form Ash/1; a copy of the clergy member's foreign passport, valid for at least six months beyond the requested permit period; and payment of a fee as set out in the fee schedule. Clause ב.3 provides that the presence of the inviting party or a representative of the religious institution is mandatory.
The two conditions around which most disputes revolve are these. Clause ב.4 requires confirmation from the religious institution where the clergy member will serve, stating that the invitee will serve there and will leave the country when the role ends. Clause ב.5 requires the recommendation of the Department for Religious Communities that the invitee will fill a role at a religious institution it recognizes. Recognition of the religious institution is therefore a threshold condition: an association or community body that is not recognized as a religious institution will not allow the visa to be granted.
The procedure further provides that if the application is approved, confirmation will be forwarded to the Israeli mission in the invitee's place of residence within three business days, and that aspiring clergy (seminarians), clergy students, and nuns are handled under the same conditions — but the visa granted to them is of type A/2.
A central rule in the procedure provides that, as a rule, a first-time clergy visa will be granted to a foreign national while still in their home country, and that a change of status to A/3 from within Israel will not be possible. An exceptional case — including one where the foreign national is already in Israel and the religious institution requests a clergy permit for them — is referred to the decision of the head of the bureau. "Exceptional" is the key word: this is not the standard route.
This carries a practical warning for every inviting institution. A clergy member arriving in Israel on a tourist visa, or with an electronic travel authorization (ETA), intending to serve here and arrange their status afterward, risks having their entry refused at Ben Gurion Airport and being removed — before the application is even examined on its merits. Regulation 5B(e) of the Entry into Israel Regulations provides that obtaining an electronic travel authorization does not detract from the Minister's authority to refuse entry to Israel to the authorization holder, nor from the authority of the border control officer.
The procedure provides that a renewal will be valid for one year and will be extended one year at a time thereafter. Clause ג.10 adds that renewal of an A/3 permit is subject to meeting the conditions, obtaining the recommendation of the Department for Religious Communities, a police database check (Matar), and a foreign passport valid for at least six months beyond the expiry of the requested permit. The renewal application is submitted on Form Ash/3, and here too the presence of the applicant or a representative of the institution is required.
After seven years of residence under an A/3 permit, the procedure tightens the review: a detailed, reasoned explanation is required from the Department for Religious Communities regarding the clergy member's uniqueness, expertise, role in the church, and necessity in Israel. At the same time, the pace of renewals changes — a person who has held an A/3 permit for more than seven years will have their permit renewed two years at a time, subject to meeting the conditions.
It is worth emphasizing what the permit is not. In the language of the regulation, it is granted "to fulfill a religious role among his community in Israel," and it is tied to the inviting institution and to the defined role. It is not a general work permit in Israel, and engaging in activity beyond the religious role for which the permit was granted may serve as grounds for not renewing it.
A clergy member's family is handled under Procedure 5.10.0001, which concerns A/4 permits for those accompanying holders of A/2 and A/3 permits. The application is submitted on Form Ash/3, and clause ב.2 provides that the presence of the visa holder together with the family member is mandatory. A current photograph must be attached, along with a foreign passport valid for at least six months beyond the requested period, an original birth certificate, and official documents on personal status and family relationship — authenticated and translated as required. The procedure speaks only of a spouse or a minor child, and every family member holding a separate passport files a separate application.
The most important point for family members is clause ג.5: the validity of the A/4 permit is set according to the validity of the residence permit of the relative holding the temporary permit of type A/2 or A/3. The permit is derivative and does not stand on its own, so any harm to the clergy member's permit has an immediate effect on the status of the spouse and children. It should also be noted that the procedure regulates a work-permit application only in the chapter dealing with those accompanying persons eligible under the Law of Return, and it does not set out a parallel track for those accompanying a clergy member; anyone wishing to work in Israel needs to clarify their status separately and in advance.
The procedure sets out an internal track before the door closes: where a ground for refusal exists, the matter is referred to the decision of the head of the bureau; if the head of the bureau finds that the ground requires refusal, the file and their recommendation are forwarded to the head of the visa desk at Authority headquarters, for consultation with the Department for Religious Communities before a final answer is given. If the decision is to refuse, a reasoned refusal letter is sent to the inviting institution and to the Department. Such a reasoned letter is the starting point for any challenge.
The Authority's decisions generally state that an internal appeal may be filed within 21 days of the decision. The decision on the internal appeal may be appealed to the Appeals Tribunal for immigration matters under the Entry into Israel Law, within the time set by law, together with a request for an interim order to prevent removal pending a ruling. A judgment of the Tribunal may be appealed to the District Court sitting as the Court for Administrative Affairs within 45 days.
Cancelling an existing permit is a separate matter. The Minister of the Interior is authorized under Section 11(a) of the Law to cancel a visa or residence permit that has been granted, and the tribunals have held that discretion to revoke a temporary permit is especially broad and that the cancellation process is not itself regulated in the procedure. Even so, such a decision is also subject to the grounds of administrative-law review: a proper factual basis, a hearing, relevant considerations, and reasonableness.
In Appeal (Tel Aviv) 2233-25 (21 Jul 2025), the Tribunal considered the case of a foreign national who arrived at Ben Gurion Airport with an electronic travel authorization, claiming she had been invited to stay with an order of nuns; her entry was refused over concern that she intended to settle. The Tribunal dismissed the appeal: an electronic travel authorization does not detract from the authority to refuse entry, and the State of Israel is not obliged to admit a foreign national who does not adequately explain their intentions and does not support their account with documents — even when they seek entry for religious reasons. Arriving without an entry visa amounts to an attempt to present the Authority with a fait accompli. The lesson: arrangements are made in advance, outside Israel.
In Adm. Petition (Tel Aviv) 55896-11-10 (2 Aug 2012), a foreign national residing in Israel on a caregiving-sector permit sought to convert his permit into a clergy visa. The court sharply criticized the Authority — a delay of about a year in issuing a decision and a laconic statement of reasons — but dismissed the petition: the application had been submitted by the applicant himself rather than by the religious institution, and the institution was not recognized by the Department for Religious Communities. These conditions, the court held, are "core components of the procedure, and failure to meet even one of them necessarily leads to the application's rejection."
In Appeal (Jerusalem) 4846-19 (12 Aug 2020), the Tribunal considered the case of three monks, one of whom had entered Israel on an A/3 permit as early as 1994. Following an internal church dispute, the Archbishop in Jerusalem announced that they had ceased to be part of the church, the Department for Religious Communities recommended cancelling their permits, and the Authority cancelled them. Despite letters of support from the head of the church abroad, the appeals were dismissed: it is the State that determines who is the authorized body to give the religious-institution confirmation, and arguments about the division of authority within the community are not examined by the Tribunal. The lesson: the permit lives by virtue of the religious institution's ongoing backing, and a long period of residence does not immunize it.
In Appeal (Jerusalem) 3365-17 (24 Jan 2018), the Tribunal considered the case of a nun who had immigrated to Israel in 1976, had resided for many years on an A/3 permit, and for decades had been caring for terminally ill children at a monastery. Her application for status on humanitarian grounds was rejected in a laconic decision stating that she "does not meet the criteria." The Tribunal set aside the decision and ordered that her case be referred to the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Humanitarian Affairs, in light of Adm. Appeal (Supreme Court) 2357/14 Asbrook v. Minister of Interior (2015), under which it is enough that the application raises "some prospect" of success. Prolonged residence and charitable activity do not confer an automatic upgrade in status — but they open the door to the residual humanitarian track.
Our office guides religious institutions, monasteries and religious organizations that invite clergy from abroad, as well as clergy members and their families residing in Israel. We build the application in advance so that it meets the conditions of Procedure 5.9.0001 — drafting the religious institution's confirmation, liaising with the Department for Religious Communities, preparing for renewals and for the stricter review after seven years, and arranging A/4 permits for family members under Procedure 5.10.0001. In cases of refusal, non-renewal, or cancellation of a permit, we act through an internal appeal, an appeal to the Appeals Tribunal, and an administrative appeal, including applications for interim relief. If you have received a decision you disagree with, it is worth reviewing it as early as possible — the deadlines are short.
No. Regulation 6(c) of the Entry into Israel Regulations provides that it is the religious institution that may file an application on his behalf for an A/3 visa and permit, and the institution is also responsible for his departure from Israel once his role ends. In Adm. Petition (Tel Aviv) 55896-11-10 (2 Aug 2012), a petition was dismissed in part because the application had been filed by the foreign national himself rather than by the institution. In addition, the presence of the inviting party or a representative of the institution when the application is filed is mandatory under the procedure.
As a rule, no. The procedure provides that a first-time clergy visa will be granted to a foreign national while still in their home country, and that a change of status to A/3 from within Israel will not be possible; exceptional cases are referred to the decision of the head of the bureau. In Appeal (Tel Aviv) 2233-25 (21 Jul 2025), an appeal against a refusal of entry at Ben Gurion Airport was dismissed, and the Tribunal held that arriving without an entry visa amounts to an attempt to present the Authority with a fait accompli. An electronic travel authorization does not guarantee entry either.
Under the procedure, a renewal is granted for one year and extended one year at a time thereafter, subject to meeting the conditions, the recommendation of the Department for Religious Communities, and a passport valid for at least six months beyond the requested period. After seven years of residence under an A/3 permit, a detailed, reasoned explanation is required from the Department regarding the clergy member's uniqueness, expertise, role, and necessity in Israel. Anyone who has resided for more than seven years will have their permit renewed two years at a time.
The accompanying A/4 permit is a derivative permit. Procedure 5.10.0001 provides that its validity is set according to the validity of the residence permit of the relative holding the permit of type A/2 or A/3. So cancellation, expiry, or non-renewal of the clergy member's permit directly affects the status of the spouse and minor children. In such circumstances, it is important to act on both fronts at once and to request interim relief in time.
The procedure does not provide an automatic track for upgrading status after years of service. The customary route is an application for status on humanitarian grounds, examined by the Inter-Ministerial Committee. In Appeal (Jerusalem) 3365-17 (24 Jan 2018), the Tribunal ordered that the case of a long-serving nun be referred to the Committee, in light of Adm. Appeal (Supreme Court) 2357/14 Asbrook, under which "some prospect" of the application succeeding is enough to clear the threshold hurdle. Each case is examined on its own merits.