Asylum in Israel: The RSD Process
The office of Gilad Malka, Advocate and Notary, Jerusalem, practices in immigration law and represents applicants before the Population and Immigration Authority and the Appeals Tribunal. This page explains how an asylum request is examined in Israel and what can be done when it is refused or when nothing happens for years.
RSD stands for Refugee Status Determination. An asylum request is filed with the Population and Immigration Authority, which examines whether the applicant faces persecution in their country of origin within the meaning of the Refugee Convention.
The process combines an administrative procedure run by the Authority with judicial review by the Appeals Tribunal and the administrative courts. In practice, the second part matters as much as the first, because a significant share of decisions in this field is shaped by what the courts have required the Authority to do.
When an asylum request is filed, the Authority is required to issue the applicant a visa under section 2(a)(5) of the Entry into Israel Law. That visa protects against removal and permits temporary stay while the request is examined.
Israeli courts have gone further than the formal position. They have held that the state cannot satisfy itself with not physically deporting an applicant while leaving them without rights, because conditions that make staying unbearable amount to constructive removal, contrary to the principle of non-refoulement. Work authorisation and access to basic rights are part of that obligation, not a favour.
* Identification interview. The technical stage. Identity, documents, route of entry, basic details.
* In-depth interview. The substantive stage, where the personal ground of persecution is examined.
The courts have held that the Authority must examine the request against the current situation in the country of origin at the time of the examination, and not only as it stood on the day the request was filed. Where years have passed, that distinction can decide the case.
The Authority makes wide use of accelerated procedure and of rejection without a full examination, on the basis that a request is without substance or recycles claims already decided.
That power exists, but it is not unlimited. The courts have struck down automatic rejections where a genuine change of circumstances was shown. Requests from Ukrainian nationals rejected automatically because an earlier request had been refused, and Ethiopian cases following the outbreak of the Tigray war, are two lines of authority in which the courts required the Authority to look again.
The practical consequence for a second request is clear. It is not enough to restate the original account. Objective evidence of the change is required: reports from international organisations, news of events, changes in law or in control on the ground in the country of origin.
Group protection does not replace an individual request
For nationals of certain countries, the state grants a general temporary or group protection rather than deciding individual claims. The Supreme Court has held that this group protection does not remove the right to file an individual asylum request under the Refugee Convention.
This matters because temporary protection and recognition as a refugee are not the same status and do not carry the same rights. An applicant who relies only on group protection may be waiting years for a status that is never examined.
A decision refusing an asylum request is challenged by an appeal to the Appeals Tribunal.
One point is worth knowing before you act. The Authority's procedure allowed a very short organisation period to leave the country after a rejection in accelerated procedure. The courts held that the period must be long enough to allow the right of appeal to be exercised in practice, and required a substantially longer window than the procedure provided. If you have been given a period that appears too short to file anything, that is itself a matter to raise.
Extreme delay by the Authority is not a neutral state of affairs. The courts have held that applicants cannot be left in legal limbo for years without a decision, and that prolonged delay in itself creates heightened obligations towards the applicant.
Where several years have passed with no interview or no decision, it is possible to apply for an order requiring the issue of a section 2(a)(5) visa with work authorisation, or requiring a reasoned decision to be given.
The courts have held that the Authority's own delay cannot be used as a weapon against applicants who have built a family in Israel in the meantime, and have required the asylum procedure to allow the spouse and children of an applicant to remain, with a visa, until the request is decided. Where the family was formed is not the decisive question it was once treated as.
Applicants from states with which Israel has no relations, or from which official documents cannot realistically be obtained, are often refused for lack of documents. The courts have held that a rigid insistence on official documentation is unreasonable in such cases, and that the Authority must be prepared to depart from its procedures in exceptional circumstances.
Can I work while my asylum request is being examined? The visa issued on filing is intended to allow temporary stay, and the courts have addressed work authorisation directly as part of the obligation not to create conditions amounting to constructive removal. If you hold no valid visa or it has not been renewed, this is the first thing to deal with.
My request was refused years ago. Can I file again? A second request is possible, but it will be examined for whether there is a genuine change of circumstances rather than a restatement of the first account. The evidence of that change is what the case turns on.
How long does the process take? There is no fixed period, and long delays are common. Delay is not something you simply have to absorb; it can be challenged.
What is the Advisory Committee on Refugees? Requests that are not rejected at the threshold are passed to an advisory committee, which formulates a recommendation to the Minister of the Interior or to the Authority's director general.
Gilad Malka has been an advocate since 2010 and is also a notary. Fifteen years of work inside government ministries, including as legal adviser at three, underlie the office's approach to administrative decision making: how a decision is reached, what is required at each stage, and which arguments carry weight in practice.
See also:
Deportation hearing before removal
Caregiver permits and employer change
Immigration and foreign workers (Hebrew)
The content of this page is general information only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for it. Every case is examined on its own facts and according to the law in force at the time.
What is the RSD process in Israel?
RSD stands for Refugee Status Determination. An asylum request is filed with the Population and Immigration Authority, which examines whether the applicant faces persecution in their country of origin within the meaning of the Refugee Convention.
The process combines an administrative procedure run by the Authority with judicial review by the Appeals Tribunal and the administrative courts. In practice, the second part matters as much as the first, because a significant share of decisions in this field is shaped by what the courts have required the Authority to do.
The visa you should receive when you file
When an asylum request is filed, the Authority is required to issue the applicant a visa under section 2(a)(5) of the Entry into Israel Law. That visa protects against removal and permits temporary stay while the request is examined.
Israeli courts have gone further than the formal position. They have held that the state cannot satisfy itself with not physically deporting an applicant while leaving them without rights, because conditions that make staying unbearable amount to constructive removal, contrary to the principle of non-refoulement. Work authorisation and access to basic rights are part of that obligation, not a favour.
The two interviews
* Identification interview. The technical stage. Identity, documents, route of entry, basic details.
* In-depth interview. The substantive stage, where the personal ground of persecution is examined.
The courts have held that the Authority must examine the request against the current situation in the country of origin at the time of the examination, and not only as it stood on the day the request was filed. Where years have passed, that distinction can decide the case.
Summary rejection, and when it is unlawful
The Authority makes wide use of accelerated procedure and of rejection without a full examination, on the basis that a request is without substance or recycles claims already decided.
That power exists, but it is not unlimited. The courts have struck down automatic rejections where a genuine change of circumstances was shown. Requests from Ukrainian nationals rejected automatically because an earlier request had been refused, and Ethiopian cases following the outbreak of the Tigray war, are two lines of authority in which the courts required the Authority to look again.
The practical consequence for a second request is clear. It is not enough to restate the original account. Objective evidence of the change is required: reports from international organisations, news of events, changes in law or in control on the ground in the country of origin.
Group protection does not replace an individual request
For nationals of certain countries, the state grants a general temporary or group protection rather than deciding individual claims. The Supreme Court has held that this group protection does not remove the right to file an individual asylum request under the Refugee Convention.
This matters because temporary protection and recognition as a refugee are not the same status and do not carry the same rights. An applicant who relies only on group protection may be waiting years for a status that is never examined.
My asylum request was rejected. What now?
A decision refusing an asylum request is challenged by an appeal to the Appeals Tribunal.
One point is worth knowing before you act. The Authority's procedure allowed a very short organisation period to leave the country after a rejection in accelerated procedure. The courts held that the period must be long enough to allow the right of appeal to be exercised in practice, and required a substantially longer window than the procedure provided. If you have been given a period that appears too short to file anything, that is itself a matter to raise.
Waiting years without a decision
Extreme delay by the Authority is not a neutral state of affairs. The courts have held that applicants cannot be left in legal limbo for years without a decision, and that prolonged delay in itself creates heightened obligations towards the applicant.
Where several years have passed with no interview or no decision, it is possible to apply for an order requiring the issue of a section 2(a)(5) visa with work authorisation, or requiring a reasoned decision to be given.
Spouses and children
The courts have held that the Authority's own delay cannot be used as a weapon against applicants who have built a family in Israel in the meantime, and have required the asylum procedure to allow the spouse and children of an applicant to remain, with a visa, until the request is decided. Where the family was formed is not the decisive question it was once treated as.
Documents from the country of origin
Applicants from states with which Israel has no relations, or from which official documents cannot realistically be obtained, are often refused for lack of documents. The courts have held that a rigid insistence on official documentation is unreasonable in such cases, and that the Authority must be prepared to depart from its procedures in exceptional circumstances.
Frequently asked questions
Can I work while my asylum request is being examined? The visa issued on filing is intended to allow temporary stay, and the courts have addressed work authorisation directly as part of the obligation not to create conditions amounting to constructive removal. If you hold no valid visa or it has not been renewed, this is the first thing to deal with.
My request was refused years ago. Can I file again? A second request is possible, but it will be examined for whether there is a genuine change of circumstances rather than a restatement of the first account. The evidence of that change is what the case turns on.
How long does the process take? There is no fixed period, and long delays are common. Delay is not something you simply have to absorb; it can be challenged.
What is the Advisory Committee on Refugees? Requests that are not rejected at the threshold are passed to an advisory committee, which formulates a recommendation to the Minister of the Interior or to the Authority's director general.
About the office
Gilad Malka has been an advocate since 2010 and is also a notary. Fifteen years of work inside government ministries, including as legal adviser at three, underlie the office's approach to administrative decision making: how a decision is reached, what is required at each stage, and which arguments carry weight in practice.
See also:
Deportation hearing before removal
Caregiver permits and employer change
Immigration and foreign workers (Hebrew)
The content of this page is general information only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for it. Every case is examined on its own facts and according to the law in force at the time.
