Israeli Birth Certificate woes
February 5, 2009 4:27 PM Subscribe
Can you get a copy of an Israeli Birth Certificate without having your Israeli ID number?
Sorry for the long explanation.
My hubby was born in Israel in 1953. His father was an Israeli citizen and his mother Austrian. The family moved to Brazil when he was 2 yrs old. When he was 14 yrs old, his parents divorced, and he and his mom moved to the UK.
We are now going through the immigration process for him to live and work permanently in the US and need his Israeli birth certificate. The only existing copy of his birth certificate is back in England. A friend has looked for it but cannot find it. Hubby knows he can find it, but he is here and cannot leave without permission. We do plan to file for permission for him to travel, but we are trying to come up with a back up plan just in case he is denied permission or, otherwise, can't find the birth certificate.
He has emailed the Israeli Consulate and been told that they need his Israeli ID number in order to obtain a copy of his birth certificate. He didn't even know he had an Israeli ID number. They told him that the number was on his birth certificate.....and around and around we go! A helpful woman at immigration suggested he get in touch with the US Department of State to see if they could help out, so he did. They sent him back info on how to obtain a US birth certificate.
I might be wrong but I just do not believe that someone needing their Israeli birth certificate but not having their Israeli ID number is a unique situation. I also do not believe that desiring immigration but being unable to produce a birth certificate is a unique situation with US Immigration. He is planning on contacting the Israeli Consulate again next week, hoping to set up a meeting with someone.
FWIW, this is our second attempt at immigration. We had an expensive lawyer. The lawyer screwed up royally, and hubby's application for immigration was completely denied for not supplying the birth certificate. He had just been issued permission to travel which was promptly revoked with the denial. This all happened two days before he was supposed to leave . . . to get the birth certificate, as a matter of fact. Lawyer was promptly fired, and this time we are relying on ourselves and the services of a charitable organization which already seems to know more than the lawyer, who came with outstanding credentials, btw. We live and learn sometimes.....
Any advice on either getting the birth certificate or working around having to have it (legally, of course) would be much appreciated.
Sorry for the long explanation.
My hubby was born in Israel in 1953. His father was an Israeli citizen and his mother Austrian. The family moved to Brazil when he was 2 yrs old. When he was 14 yrs old, his parents divorced, and he and his mom moved to the UK.
We are now going through the immigration process for him to live and work permanently in the US and need his Israeli birth certificate. The only existing copy of his birth certificate is back in England. A friend has looked for it but cannot find it. Hubby knows he can find it, but he is here and cannot leave without permission. We do plan to file for permission for him to travel, but we are trying to come up with a back up plan just in case he is denied permission or, otherwise, can't find the birth certificate.
He has emailed the Israeli Consulate and been told that they need his Israeli ID number in order to obtain a copy of his birth certificate. He didn't even know he had an Israeli ID number. They told him that the number was on his birth certificate.....and around and around we go! A helpful woman at immigration suggested he get in touch with the US Department of State to see if they could help out, so he did. They sent him back info on how to obtain a US birth certificate.
I might be wrong but I just do not believe that someone needing their Israeli birth certificate but not having their Israeli ID number is a unique situation. I also do not believe that desiring immigration but being unable to produce a birth certificate is a unique situation with US Immigration. He is planning on contacting the Israeli Consulate again next week, hoping to set up a meeting with someone.
FWIW, this is our second attempt at immigration. We had an expensive lawyer. The lawyer screwed up royally, and hubby's application for immigration was completely denied for not supplying the birth certificate. He had just been issued permission to travel which was promptly revoked with the denial. This all happened two days before he was supposed to leave . . . to get the birth certificate, as a matter of fact. Lawyer was promptly fired, and this time we are relying on ourselves and the services of a charitable organization which already seems to know more than the lawyer, who came with outstanding credentials, btw. We live and learn sometimes.....
Any advice on either getting the birth certificate or working around having to have it (legally, of course) would be much appreciated.
It might be a good idea to contact consulates of Brazil or the UK. Your husband would not have been allowed residency without papers of identity. They probably have a copy of his Israeli birth certificate (with the id number) in his file.
posted by mirileh at 3:57 AM on February 6, 2009
posted by mirileh at 3:57 AM on February 6, 2009
Response by poster: Great suggestions. Thanks!
Further info: both of his parents are deceased and there are no known relatives such aunts, uncles, older cousins, etc. from which to to get affidavits concerning his birth. We have his dad's Israeli passport but don't see his Israeli ID number on it, though it does list my hubby as a child traveling on the passport as well.
posted by sapphirebbw at 10:00 AM on February 6, 2009
Further info: both of his parents are deceased and there are no known relatives such aunts, uncles, older cousins, etc. from which to to get affidavits concerning his birth. We have his dad's Israeli passport but don't see his Israeli ID number on it, though it does list my hubby as a child traveling on the passport as well.
posted by sapphirebbw at 10:00 AM on February 6, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
Other than that, here is what I can think of:
- is he in touch with his father? His father might know his own ID number, which will help the Ministry of the Interior track down your husband's number. Also, his mother probably had some kind of ID if they lived there for a while.
- if the Consulate is not helpful at all, the Jewish Agency might be of use (they help people who want to move to Israel, which probably includes people with similar situations). If they can't help... try to see if you can get some connections through a local synagogue.
- you could call the Ministry of the Interior. 972-2- 6701411. 972-1-2223450 might also work. Fax: 972-2-6294755. Email address: info@moin.gov.il . This route is likely to be time-consuming and frustrating, but it's there and in the end they're the ones who have the information you're looking for.
- possible places to track down his or his parents' numbers: hospital records, Israeli passport, Brazilian immigration documentation, visas, bank account information, old leases, old bills, old CVs, driver's licences, etc. Any formal and sometimes not so formal documentation, in short.
- seriously, if nobody helps you: try to establish personal connections with people. Be nice but very persistent. If one person doesn't help, stay in the building, go around them and find someone else.
Best of luck.
posted by egg drop at 3:40 AM on February 6, 2009