Establishment of a Government RSD Body

Following years of negotiations to transfer the responsibility of RSD from UNHCR to the Government of Israel, an inter-ministerial committee known as the National Status Granting Body (NSGB) was established in 2002. Composed of representatives of the Ministries of Interior, Justice, and Foreign Affairs, NSGB commenced its work in accordance with the Ministry of Interior’s 2001 Procedure for Handling Political Asylum Seekers in Israel (updated in 2011).

By this point, UNHCR continued to interview asylum applicants and assess their cases, but was no longer involved in refugee status decision-making. Instead, UNHCR submitted recommendations on asylum applications to the NSGB. NSGB would consider UNHCR’s suggestions and present its own recommendation to the Minister of Interior, who has the sole authority to approve or refuse an asylum request. Those recognized as refugees receive an A5 resident permit, which is renewable every one to three years.

Between 2002 and 2008, Israel received almost 30,000 new arrivals, mainly from African countries. Eritreans and Sudanese who arrived in Israel through the southern border with Egypt were not allowed to apply for asylum because of their temporary group protection regime. Instead, they received a “conditional release visa”, commonly known as 2(a)5 visa, renewable every two or three months, plus informal access to the labour market.

During these years, UNHCR was requested by the Israeli government to continue conducting RSD and to present its recommendations to the NSGB. But with the growing numbers of asylum seekers arriving in Israel, the government expressed greater interest and readiness in fully assuming the responsibility of receiving and processing asylum claims.

Beginning in March 2008, UNHCR started the process of handing over to the State the process of refugee registration, followed by a full handover of RSD work.

Thirty staff members of the newly formed Population, Immigration, and Border Authority (PIBA) were recruited to undergo extensive training and a three-month joint-work period between PIBA and UNHCR. PIBA personnel worked within the UNHCR office, where they received training by international refugee and immigration experts from Israel, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), Canada, the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, and beyond.

The final handover of RSD from UNHCR to the Israeli government took place in July 2009, with the Ministry of Interior’s establishment of a specialized RSD unit responsible for registering and assessing asylum applicants and submitting recommendations on asylum requests to the NSGB. 

 

How does Israel determine who is a refugee?

Israel has signed both the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol, but provisions of these agreements have not entered domestic law. Rather, Israel’s RSD procedure is regulated by the 2011 Procedure for Handling Political Asylum Seekers in Israel, (i.e. The Procedure). The Procedure is an internal ministerial guideline pursuant to the authority of the Minister of Interior to issue policies under the Law of Entry into Israel. The Procedure is occasionally updated, most recently in October 2019.

Responsibilities for receiving and registering asylum applications, conducting eligibility interviews, and preparing recommendations for a decision rest with PIBA’s RSD Unit. Some cases may be referred to the NSGB, while others may be decided by the RSD Unit alone. Applications are handled through one of the following four procedures:

  1. Rejection ‘out of hand’ procedure: Applicants who apply after one year from their date of arrival in Israel without providing sufficient justification, fail to establish their identity or nationality, or whose claim does not raise a 1951 Convention ground for refugee status fall under this procedure.
  2. Fast-track procedure for nationals of a ‘Safe Country of Origin’: Applicants who are nationals of a “safe country,” as designated by the Director of PIBA (currently Georgia, Ukraine, and Russia), and whose applications lack individual circumstances different from those under the “safe country” designation, are channeled through this procedure.
  3. Summary/short procedure: This is used for applicants who are deemed not credible, whose claims are considered groundless, or whose fear is determined to be not well-founded. The RSD Unit sends its negative recommendation to the Chair of the NSGB, who reviews the cases and submits his negative recommendation to the Director of PIBA for decision.
  4. Regular procedure: Claims not processed through one of the above procedures, including complex cases with negative recommendations and all cases with positive recommendations, are sent to the Regular procedure. In this procedure, the plenary of the NSGB discusses the case and submits its recommendation to the Minister of Interior for decision. In practice, very few decisions reach the plenary of the NSGB, which normally meets once a month and discusses approximately 8 cases per session.

Aside from unaccompanied minors and victims of trafficking, asylum seekers do not enjoy access to State legal aid in their asylum adjudication or other non-criminal proceedings. To facilitate the legal process for asylum seekers, UNHCR cooperates with a number of NGOs and pro-bono lawyers providing legal assistance and representation. Interpreters are provided by the State during all interviews, although a recent amendment to the Procedure allows asylum seekers to bring their own interpreters if the State is unable to provide one in the relevant language.

There are no time limits for processing asylum applications, other than a requirement that cases under the regular procedure be transferred to the NSGB within two months of the RSD interview.

Appeals against negative asylum decisions may be submitted within 30 days to the Appeals Tribunals, which has jurisdiction over almost all immigration issues, including asylum. Decisions of the Appeals Tribunal may be appealed to the District Courts, whose rulings may in turn be challenged before the Supreme Court, if leave is granted. Notably, neither the tribunals nor the courts normally conduct a review de novo (on the merits) and instead return the case to the RSD Unit or the NSGB for re-examination.

As of 14 June 2020, asylum applicants must fill out an RSD Online Application Form. The form may be filled out in English, Hebrew or Arabic. After the application is examined by PIBA, the applicant will be notified of the date on which they must appear at the Border Control Unit in Bnei Brak. If the applicant is not present on the day of the appointment, their right to apply for asylum will be voided. After Border Control confirms the applicant’s details, the applicant will be able to finalize the submission of their asylum request and be interviewed by the relevant authorities. The applicant will be provided a visa in accordance with the asylum procedure.

As of December 2020, the RSD Unit office has moved to Lod. The new address is: Beit Arpel, Yisrael Zmora 1, Lod (Northern Industrial Zone) 71293, 3rd floor. Arrival is by appointment only. The office is accessible by public transportation: Bus lines: 1 ,150, 462, and 475. Email: [email protected]. Click here to download and share the update in Arabic and Tigrinya.

 

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