The Population and Immigration Authority has decided to revoke entry permits to Israel for foreign citizens, mainly from the United Kingdom, after their country of origin was added to the “blacklist” on July 30 due to the third wave. of COVID 19, invalidating the validity of the original applications. Those affected will have to reapply for their entry when conditions are favorable.
If already, the Population and Immigration Authority faces a heavy workload, with this new measure it is expected that the government office will be very overwhelmed, contributing to severe delays.
According to the Yad L’Olim organization, hundreds of UK citizens and residents with direct relatives in Israel received approval for their entry permit applications before July 30; But when government restrictions on entry into Israel for people coming from the UK, Turkey, Georgia and Cyprus came into effect on July 30, the Population Authority declared that any prior permits for these people were canceled and not it had validity.
According to the organization, those affected claim not to have received any notification in this regard, while the agency ensures that they were sent in a timely manner. However, this week, the government reversed its restrictions in several countries, including the United Kingdom, starting this coming Sunday, so the permits granted between July 16 and 30 would remain valid if the Population Authority does not I would have canceled them. The authority has insisted that the permits are void and that applications must be resubmitted.
“We clarify again that the policy for foreign citizens who enter the country during the last year and a half is that there is no entry into the country, except in exceptional cases, and giving the message that the entry of foreigners is something routine misleads the public. public.”
Rabbi Dov Lipman, founder and director of Yad L’Olim, expressed himself saying: “I cannot understand this decision. It brings unnecessary work for ministries and means unnecessary anxiety for applicants. It is not too late and I hope you will reconsider the decision. I am doing what I can to push for this decision to be reversed. ”
“All first-degree relatives can enter Israel from orange countries, as can grandparents for weddings and relatives of lone soldiers,” Lipman said. “There are hundreds of thousands of entry requests from people in these categories. This is not just a concession for extreme cases, but rather something much broader. I hope the ministry clarifies what those puzzling words mean that are contradicted by what is happening on the ground and the hard work of the dedicated ministry staff. “