In less than a month, Interior Ministry to reinstate one-year residency test before issuing new Israeli passports to immigrants, rolling back policy to pre-2017 era.
TOI reports that starting July 10, immigrants who gain their Israeli citizenship through the Law of Return will have to prove their center of life is in the Jewish state before receiving their passports, ending the practice of passport on arrival.
Following a multi-hour filibuster staged by opposition parties, the Knesset passed a law that ends a legislative agreement the government made with the Yisrael Beytenu party in 2017 to allow immediate passports for new citizens who immigrate to Israel by claiming legally-recognized Jewish heritage.
The Interior Ministry-sponsored change is expected to reinstate a one-year residency requirement to prove that Israel is the center of a new citizen’s life. Until then, new arrivals can receive temporary travel documents.
Source - TOI/Twitter - Image - Gideon Markowicz/Flash90