Israel has extended an important temporary relief for Ukrainian citizens eligible for repatriation under the Law of Return.
This concerns the exemption from the apostille requirement on Ukrainian documents.
For many people, this sounds like a technical detail, but in practice, the apostille often becomes the barrier that prevents a family from quickly passing verification, submitting documents, or completing status processing in Israel.
On June 25, 2026, the Israeli Population and Immigration Authority published an updated decision on reliefs for Ukrainian citizens eligible for repatriation: the exemption from the apostille has been extended until December 31, 2026.
The official statement specifically notes that this relief applies to Ukrainian citizens.
What is an apostille and why are there so many problems around it
An apostille is an international confirmation that an official document is indeed issued by an authorized body of a specific country.
Simply put, if a person shows a Ukrainian birth, marriage, divorce, name change certificate, or a police clearance certificate in Israel, the Israeli state needs to understand: the document is genuine, the signature is genuine, the seal is genuine, the issuing authority truly exists.
Usually, an apostille is needed for this.
It appeared under the Hague Convention of 1961, which replaced the more complex consular legalization with a single special confirmation. The Hague Conference on Private International Law explains that the purpose of this convention is to eliminate the lengthy and costly legalization procedure and replace it with a single apostille certificate issued by the competent authority of the document’s country of origin.
But the war changed the usual logic.
When a person is in a war zone, has left Ukraine, lost access to archives, cannot quickly obtain a new document, or physically reach the necessary Ukrainian institution, the apostille requirement turns into not just bureaucracy, but an almost insurmountable problem.
That is why Israel has maintained the temporary relief.
Who is affected by Israel’s decision
The decision affects Ukrainian citizens who are potential repatriates, meaning they have the right to repatriation to Israel under the Law of Return.
The Law of Return is one of the fundamental laws of the Israeli immigration system. Official explanations from the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration state that the right to repatriation is granted to Jews, their spouses, children, grandchildren, as well as the spouses of children and grandchildren of Jews.
It is important to explain this in simple terms.
If a person has Jewish roots, they may have the right to repatriation not only if they are Jewish by religious definition. In the Israeli civil system, the right to repatriation is broader: it can extend to the children and grandchildren of Jews, as well as to their family members.
For people from the former USSR, the verification of the right to repatriation is handled by “Nativ.” The official website of “Nativ” states that this structure is a professional body that verifies the right to aliyah for natives of the former USSR under the Law of Return and is authorized to issue visas for aliyah.
In the Ukrainian case, it is usually not just about “submitting a set of papers,” but about confirming the family chain: who was born, who was married to whom, where the surname changed, who is a child or grandchild of a Jew, what documents confirm this.
Therefore, the apostille was important at almost every stage.
What documents may be important for repatriation
Each case has its own history, and the exact list of documents depends on the family.
But most often, when verifying the right to repatriation, the following may be required:
- birth certificates;
- marriage certificates;
- divorce certificates;
- death certificates;
- documents on name or surname change;
- police clearance certificates;
- passports;
- military documents;
- archival certificates;
- documents on education;
- documents confirming Jewish origin.
On the Israeli government portal, in the description of the procedure for verifying the right to repatriation for citizens of the former USSR countries, among the necessary documents, a police clearance certificate for family members over 14 years old, confirmed by an apostille, is specifically mentioned.
And here is the main meaning of the current relief.
If under the usual procedure a person is required to have a document with an apostille, then for Ukrainian citizens eligible for repatriation, Israel temporarily recognizes that due to the war, such a document is not always realistically obtainable in the prescribed manner.
This does not cancel the verification itself.
This does not mean that any copies can be submitted without explanations.
This means that the absence of an apostille on a Ukrainian document should not automatically close the path to repatriation for a person until the relief expires.
Until what date is the relief valid
The key date is December 31, 2026.
It is until this date, according to the published update of the Israeli Population and Immigration Authority, that the exemption from the apostille for Ukrainian citizens eligible for repatriation is valid.
For comparison: previous reliefs have already been extended earlier. In December 2024, an update on reliefs for Ukrainian, Russian, and Belarusian citizens eligible for repatriation was published on the gov.il website, where for Ukrainian citizens, a temporary date for the apostille exemption was separately indicated until June 30, 2025.
Now this line is extended until the end of 2026.
For Ukrainian families, this means that Israel does not consider the war as a short-term problem that can be closed with the usual bureaucratic phrase “submit the document later.” The state effectively recognizes: as long as the war continues, demanding an ideal document package with apostilles from all Ukrainian applicants is unrealistic.
NAnews — Israel News considers it important to explain this not only as a legal news but also as a practical solution for thousands of people trying to arrange their family’s future in wartime conditions.
What this does not mean
It is important not to confuse the relief with a complete cancellation of requirements.
Exemption from the apostille does not mean that Israeli authorities stop verifying documents.
It does not mean that all Ukrainian citizens receive the right to repatriation.
It does not mean that family ties do not need to be proven.
It does not mean that an official document can be replaced with an oral story.
And it does not mean that all problems are automatically solved.
The meaning is different: if a person has the right to repatriation and submits Ukrainian documents but cannot obtain an apostille due to the war, the Israeli system should take this reality into account.
The verification can still be serious.
They may request originals, additional documents, archival confirmations, old Soviet certificates, relatives’ documents, explanations for surname changes, confirmation of the family line.
Particularly careful attention is usually paid to the chain of kinship: applicant — parents — grandmother or grandfather, if the right goes through a Jewish grandfather or grandmother.
That is why it is important for people not to throw away old documents, even if they look “Soviet,” damaged, or outdated. Sometimes an old certificate, archival certificate, or a record of nationality in a relative’s document becomes a key part of the case.
Why this decision is important specifically for Ukraine
Since February 24, 2022, Ukraine has been living in conditions of full-scale war.
Some archives and institutions are located in regions where access is limited. Some people have left the country. Many have left their documents at home, lost them during evacuation, or require restoration through Ukrainian authorities.
Yes, Ukraine is developing digital solutions. In 2026, with EU support, the electronic apostille system was modernized: the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice and the state enterprise “National Information Systems” updated the Electronic Apostille Register, allowing for obtaining an electronic apostille along with paper processing.
But even the development of digital services does not solve all problems.
First, the document itself must be obtained.
Access to the necessary authority is needed.
It is necessary to understand whether a specific foreign institution accepts an electronic apostille.
It must be taken into account that a person may not have the time, money, connections, safe road, or physical ability to deal with this from a war zone or another country.
Therefore, the Israeli relief remains important even against the backdrop of the digitalization of Ukrainian documents.
What to do for those planning repatriation
The main advice is not to perceive the exemption from the apostille as permission to relax.
On the contrary, documents need to be collected as carefully as possible.
If there are originals — keep the originals.
If there are old relatives’ documents — do not throw them away.
If surnames have changed — prepare the entire chain: birth, marriage, divorce, remarriage, name change.
If the right to repatriation goes through a grandmother or grandfather — collect documents that connect generations.
If a document cannot be obtained with an apostille — prepare an explanation of why it is impossible.
If there is an opportunity to obtain a document in Ukraine or through consular/government services — it is better to do so, even if the apostille is temporarily not required.
Not only the formal paper is important, but also the logic of the whole story.
Israeli authorities need to see a continuous documentary chain, not a set of random certificates.
NAnews — Israel News emphasizes: this relief does not replace legal consultation in complex cases. If there were adoptions, remarriages, lost documents, different surname spellings, old Soviet records, criminal records, or disputed status issues in the family, it is better to check the case with a specialist in advance.
Why the date December 31, 2026, is important for families
The date until the end of 2026 gives people time.
This is especially important for those who are currently between several countries: part of the family in Ukraine, part in Israel, part in Europe.
People have the opportunity not to postpone repatriation just because it is impossible to quickly obtain an apostille.
But this is not an eternal norm.
The wording “at the moment until 31.12.26” means that the decision is temporary. It can be extended, changed, or completed depending on the situation in Ukraine and the position of the Israeli Ministry of Interior.
Therefore, those who are already thinking about repatriation should not wait until the last month of 2026.
Bureaucratic processes rarely like haste.
If the verification of the right to repatriation is needed for the family, it is better to start collecting documents in advance.
Main conclusion
Israel has extended the exemption from the apostille for Ukrainian repatriates until December 31, 2026.
This decision does not cancel the Law of Return, does not automatically expand the circle of those eligible for repatriation, and does not turn a Ukrainian passport into a basis for aliyah.
But it removes one of the most painful bureaucratic barriers for those Ukrainian citizens who truly have the right to repatriation but cannot obtain an apostille on Ukrainian documents due to the war.
For some families, this is a matter of speed.
For others, it is a matter of the possibility of undergoing the procedure at all.
And for Israel, it is a test of the ability to see not only stamps and formalities behind the documents but also the real human situation created by the war.