Registering a marriage with an Israeli citizen does not immediately give the foreigner the right to citizenship, or even free entry into Israel.
Spouses need to go through the StePro procedure to legalize their relationship. Typically it takes 5 years and takes place in Israel. Only after passing StupPro will the foreign spouse become a full citizen of Israel.
StePro stands for “stepped procedure”. Families undergo it when one of the spouses is an Israeli citizen at the time of marriage, and the other is not. It is needed to legalize this marriage in Israel. If the spouses fail to convince the Ministry of Internal Affairs officer of the sincerity of their relationship, then in the second year of verification, their case is transferred to the central office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Jerusalem.
A criminal record, marks of visiting prohibited countries, deportation from Israel or violation of the regime of stay in the country can greatly complicate the finalization of the StePro procedure.
There is also StePro for new repatriates whose marriage is less than a year old (“young marriage” or “fresh marriage”). In this case, the procedure will be called “shortened StePro”.
The shortened StePro differs from the regular one only in terms of timing. It takes on average 1.5-2 years versus the standard 5-6 years. Documentary requirements and requirements to prove the sincerity of the relationship will be the same.
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Package of services «Registration for the STEPRO procedure»
Population Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Israel