Israeli citizenship
Hi everyone! I've been seriously thinking about Israeli citizenship - my grandfather on my mother's side was Jewish, born in Odessa, then moved to Leningrad after the war. He died in the 90s, all we have left is one old certificate from his archive and a few photos. My dad is not Jewish, but as far as I understand, according to the Law of Return, this can still work if you prove kinship. I came across the WelcomeIsrael website, where they offer turnkey assistance in obtaining Israeli citizenship, and they even seem to take on complex cases. But I've never encountered this and I'm afraid of running into scammers.
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I can tell you how it was for me. I went through the whole process through wrai last year, and I will say right away - the path is not easy, but with them it was really easier. I have about the same situation: my grandfather was Jewish, on my mother's side. I am from Simferopol, and now I have been living in Rishon LeZion for almost a year. When I first started looking, I came across a lot of different companies - someone offered "everything in two weeks", someone even promised citizenship without the client's participation (which is immediately suspicious). But WelcomeIsrael's approach turned out to be quite clear and calm: first, they held a free preliminary consultation, where I sent scans of the documents that I had. A couple of days later, a lawyer wrote that there was a chance, but I would have to work hard with the archives. The procedure itself was divided into stages. First, they helped me collect the necessary papers - and this is a huge job, because I simply would not have found everything myself. They made inquiries to Ukrainian archives, looked for confirmation of grandfather's Jewishness, even found a document about the marriage of grandparents, which we never had at home. They collected all this in one case, prepared and translated it. Then - an interview at the consulate. This was probably the most exciting moment. But here too they prepared well: they sent a list of possible questions, explained how best to answer them, and what to pay attention to. When I arrived in Israel, they helped with applying for a passport, got medical insurance, connected me to the absorption basket. They really supported me until the end, no one gave up after the money was paid. Yes, it is not cheap, but if you compare it with how many nerves, time and mistakes you can make trying to go through it yourself - it was definitely worth it.
Interesting topic, I am just starting to collect documents, and WelcomeIsrael has already come across me in my search. It is good that there are real cases and experience - thank you for sharing. Perhaps it is worth contacting them for a consultation.