Passport Renewal or Contacting the Embassy During an Asylum Claim — Does It Hurt Your Case?

An Expiring Passport, a Required Document — and Why It's a Legal Question

Many asylum seekers in Israel reach a moment when they need a document from their country of nationality. The passport is about to expire. The Population and Immigration Authority office asks for a birth certificate or a marriage certificate. The natural step is to contact the embassy. But when an asylum claim is pending, that step carries legal significance.

An asylum claim rests on fear of what awaits you in your home country, and on your country being unable or unwilling to protect you. Approaching that country's representatives on your own initiative, using its passport, and certainly visiting it, can look like they contradict that fear. Someone already recognized as a refugee may be asked whether they have gone back to re-availing themselves of the protection of the country of nationality. This guide explains how the Population and Immigration Authority and the Appeals Tribunal for immigration matters examine such contact, when it is understandable, what to say at the interview, and what alternatives exist in Israel.

The Framework: The Definition of a Refugee, Procedure 5.2.0012 and the "Cessation Clause"

Israel is bound by the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol. Applications are handled under Procedure 5.2.0012 (the procedure for handling applications for political asylum in Israel and for those recognized by the Minister of Interior as entitled to political asylum in Israel), edition 11 dated 15 October 2024. The Refugee Status Determination Unit (RSD) interviews the applicant, and the Advisory Committee on Refugee Affairs examines the file and makes a recommendation.

The Appeals Tribunal quotes the Convention's definition of a refugee: someone outside the country of their nationality owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted, "and is unable, or owing to such fear, unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country" (Appeal (Tel Aviv) 2567-26, para. 9). The Supreme Court added that a person is eligible for refugee status only "as long as they do not fall within the cessation clause set out in article 1C of the Convention" (Adm. Appeal (Supreme Court) 1440/13 (7 Aug 2013), para. 15). Your attitude toward your country's protection is thus part of the definition itself.

The Procedure does not list the situations in which a person stops being a refugee; instead it sets out a mechanism. An A/5 permit (a temporary residence permit) held by a recognized refugee is extended from time to time. When there are "new data or new circumstances," the refugee is invited to an interview, and the file goes to the Advisory Committee and to the Minister of Interior's decision (clause 11.2.ה of the Procedure).

Contacting the Embassy While the Claim Is Pending: What It Says About the Fear

The Supreme Court explained that well-founded fear includes a subjective element — what the applicant actually feels — and an objective element — what actually awaits them (Adm. Appeal (Supreme Court) 1440/13, para. 28(א)). Contact with the embassy is examined under both.

On the subjective level, the question is whether someone who genuinely fears their country's authorities would approach them on their own initiative. Appeal (Jerusalem) 6406-18 held that this is not reasonable (para. 17). On the objective level, issuing a passport or a document without difficulty may show that the authorities have no interest in the applicant (ibid., para. 26; Appeal (Jerusalem) 2465-24, para. 19). The same is true of openly leaving the home country on one's own passport (Appeal (Tel Aviv) 2567-26, para. 12).

The weight is especially great when the fear is of the authorities themselves. But even when the fear is of a family member, the Appeals Tribunal takes a passport renewal into account (Appeal (Tel Aviv) 2781-25, para. 13). The Tribunal noted that the authority itself contacting the embassy about a particular applicant would breach the duty of confidentiality, and added that a genuine asylum seeker would not bring their case before someone who, they claim, is persecuting them (Appeal 2465-24, para. 18).

Someone Already Recognized as a Refugee: Passport, Travel and Visiting the Home Country

For a recognized refugee, the question is whether they have voluntarily gone back to re-availing themselves of the protection of the country of nationality. The UNHCR Handbook, which the Supreme Court described as a persuasive but not binding interpretive source (Adm. Appeal (Supreme Court) 1440/13, para. 28(א)), distinguishes between an actual return to that protection and incidental contact with the authorities. Under it, a refugee who applied for and received a national passport, or its renewal, is presumed to have intended to return to the protection of their country, unless proven otherwise. By contrast, obtaining a document that even a foreigner would have to apply for, such as a birth certificate or a marriage certificate, is not a return to that protection (para. 121). An act that was not done voluntarily, for example on the instruction of an authority in the country of asylum, also does not negate the status (para. 120).

Actually using the passport, and above all traveling to the home country, are the most dangerous steps. Even for asylum seekers, they are held against them: in Appeal 2781-25, it was weighed against the applicant that she renewed her passport at the embassy and even returned to visit her country after the threats she alleged (para. 13). If the authority regards such a step as a new fact, the refugee will be invited to an interview before a decision is made on extending the permit (clause 11.2.ה).

When the Document Is Needed in Israel: When the Contact Is Understandable

Not every contact with an embassy is examined the same way. Three questions recur in the case law: who initiated the contact, what the need was, and what was disclosed to the state's representatives. In Adm. Petition (Jerusalem) 729-09-11, contact that the applicant had not initiated actually supported her claim, and Appeal 6406-18 stressed the difference between that and a self-initiated approach (para. 26). In Appeal 2465-24, the Tribunal weighed the fact that the appellant held a permit under section 2(a)(5) of the Entry into Israel Law, 5712-1952, that is, a temporary stay permit, and therefore had no "genuine need" for the document (para. 19).

Before contacting the embassy because an Israeli authority demands it, check whether the Procedure offers an alternative. Under clause ה.3 of Procedure 5.2.0008 (the procedure for handling status for a foreign spouse married to an Israeli citizen), an asylum seeker whose claim was filed before the marriage-based application and is still pending will submit the documents already in their possession, and processing will begin without the rest. If the asylum claim is denied, there are 45 days to complete the documents, and the visa team leader may extend this to 12 months in total if satisfied that efforts were made. If the applicant is recognized as a refugee, processing continues without requiring documents. A similar arrangement applies to unmarried partners (clause ה.3 of Procedure 5.2.0009). In Appeal (Beer Sheva) 2074-23 (5 Jun 2025), the Tribunal did not intervene in the document requirement after the asylum claim was denied, but ordered that a B/1 permit be issued pending the decision on the asylum appeal (paras. 9-10).

Before Any Contact, and at the Interview: What to Do in Practice

Before contacting the embassy: find out in writing whether the document is really needed, and whether an exemption or postponement is available. Keep the Israeli authority's written demand. Do not give the embassy details about the asylum claim. Do not travel to the home country and do not use its passport for travel before getting advice. In 2009, the then-chair of the Advisory Committee noted that an asylum seeker should not be required to meet with representatives of their country's embassy without their prior consent (as recorded in Adm. Petition 729-09-11, paras. 6 and 34).

At the interview: tell the truth, even if it is uncomfortable. Interviewers ask about the passport, about leaving the country, and about contact with the authorities, and decisions rest on the applicant's own answers. Concealment does more harm: in Appeal 2465-24, concealing a prior stay in Israel, together with entry on false details, created a presumption of unreliability (para. 14). Detail when you made contact, why, who initiated it and what you received, and attach documents. The interview is held under conditions that ensure confidentiality (clause 3.ד of Procedure 5.2.0012).

An alternative to a foreign travel document: a recognized refugee holding an A/5 permit is among those entitled to apply for the Israeli travel document for foreigners (laissez-passer) (clause 1.6.4 of Procedure 3.2.0006). For someone not registered in the Population Registry, Procedure 3.2.0016 allows this only in exceptional cases. The conditions and how to challenge a refusal are set out in a separate guide on the site.

If the Claim Was Denied or the Status Is Being Reconsidered

Since edition 11 of Procedure 5.2.0012, there is no longer a request for reconsideration of a denial (clause 14.ב). The route is an appeal to the Appeals Tribunal (clause 9.א), within 30 days of the day the decision was published, the day you were notified of it, or the day you became aware of it, whichever is earliest (section 13כד(ב) of the Entry into Israel Law). If the decision was also served on the lawyer, the period runs from the earlier service (clause 8.א of the Procedure). The Tribunal's judgment may be appealed to the District Court sitting as the Court for Administrative Affairs within 45 days. Alongside the appeal, interim relief against removal can be requested.

In the appeal, a mere denial is not enough. Explain the contact with the embassy against the full background of the circumstances, and attach documentation of the need. A recognized refugee will present it at the interview held before the decision. New facts arising after a denial justify an application to reopen the matter with the unit, which is addressed in a separate guide.

What the Case Law Shows

In Adm. Petition (Jerusalem) 729-09-11 (26 Dec 2011), an asylum seeker from Ethiopia, while in detention, met with representatives of her country's embassy. She mistakenly believed they were UN representatives and gave them details about her family. The District Court held that the meeting, which she had not initiated, established a well-founded fear that arose after she had left her country (a "refugee sur place" claim), and ordered that she be recognized as a refugee (paras. 33-37). The lesson: contact that is coerced or made by mistake does not necessarily hurt a claim, and can sometimes even strengthen it.

In Appeal (Jerusalem) 6406-18 (16 Apr 2020), an asylum seeker from China contacted the embassy to renew a passport, even though, he claimed, it might have had information about his activities. The Tribunal held that the self-initiated contact eroded the alleged fear, and that leaving the embassy unhindered showed a lack of interest in him. It also distinguished this from the Ethiopian case (paras. 17 and 26). The lesson: initiative is at the heart of the matter.

In Appeal (Jerusalem) 2465-24 (10 Jul 2024), an asylum seeker from Turkey received a new identity document from the embassy at a time when, by his own account, he already knew of criminal proceedings against him at home. The Tribunal saw this as an absence of subjective fear, given the lack of any genuine need for the document, and an absence of objective fear, since the document was issued without obstacles (para. 19). The lesson: contact without a real, documented need is held against the applicant.

In Appeal (Tel Aviv) 2567-26 (28 Jun 2026), an asylum seeker from Sri Lanka said he had contacted the embassy twice to renew his passport, and said he was told it had no authority to issue a passport to someone who had applied for refugee status. The Tribunal held that someone who fears their country's authorities would not approach them for a passport, and dismissed the appeal (para. 12). The lesson: even contact that did not yield a passport is examined as evidence.

How Our Office Can Help

Our office accompanies asylum seekers and recognized refugees before and after contacting an embassy. We check whether the document is truly needed and whether the Procedure offers an alternative, help document the need and prepare the explanation for the interview, and, if the claim is denied, file an appeal with the Appeals Tribunal and an application for interim relief. We work in Hebrew, English and Russian.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will renewing a passport at the embassy definitely lead to the asylum claim being denied?

Not necessarily. The Tribunal examines the full circumstances: who initiated the contact, what the need was, when it happened, and what was disclosed to the embassy. Still, a self-initiated approach without a genuine need has often been held against the applicant, especially when the fear is of the authorities themselves. It is therefore best to get advice before making contact, not after.

I have been recognized as a refugee. Am I allowed to visit my home country briefly?

Traveling to the home country is the most dangerous step for the status. It can be seen as re-availing yourself of your country's protection and can raise questions about the continued need for protection. If the authority views this as a new fact, the Procedure provides that you will be invited to an interview before a decision on extending the permit. Do not travel before getting individual legal advice.

The Population and Immigration Authority is asking me for a birth certificate for a marriage-based application. Must I contact the embassy?

Not always. Under clause ה.3 of Procedure 5.2.0008, an asylum seeker whose claim was filed before the marriage-based application and is still pending will submit the documents already in their possession, and processing can begin without the rest. If the asylum claim is denied, 45 days will be given to complete the documents, with a possible extension. Ask for the demand and the decision in writing.

Should I tell the asylum interview that I renewed a passport or contacted the embassy?

Yes. Interviewers ask about this, and the Tribunal relies on the applicant's own answers. Concealment that comes to light harms credibility more than the fact itself. Explain when and why you made contact, who initiated it and what you received, and attach documents that record the need.

My passport has expired and I need a travel document. What are the options in Israel?

A recognized refugee holding an A/5 permit is among those entitled to apply for the Israeli travel document for foreigners (laissez-passer) under Procedure 3.2.0006. For someone not registered in the Population Registry, Procedure 3.2.0016 allows this only in exceptional cases. Before contacting the embassy, it is worth checking the Israeli alternative and getting advice.

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