Israel to Lift Entry Cap on Non-Jewish Ukrainians Asylum Seekers

Israel effectively removed the 5,000-person cap on non-Jewish Ukrainian refugees on Sunday as Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked announced anyone with family in Israel would be allowed to seek asylum in the country, according to a Haaretz report.

Shaked said in a press briefing that the government was “relaxing” its policy on Ukrainian refugees “so as not to violate the visa-free travel agreement with Ukraine.”

Ukrainians with Israeli citizens as relatives would need a family member to sign a guarantee, which would let them stay “for a month or two,” she said.

Israel will grant arrivals from Ukraine who are ineligible to immigrate via the Law of Return a three-month tourist visa.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk appealed to the High Court over the cap the government has placed on the number of non-Jewish refugees from war-stricken Ukraine it is willing to admit.

“The new Interior Ministry policy violates agreements between Ukraine and Israel regarding visa exemption for Ukrainian citizens,” Korniychuk wrote in a statement.

“As all diplomatic options appear exhausted, the embassy has no choice but to submit a petition to the High Court against the Israeli government’s new policy, in order to protect the rights of Ukrainian refugees,” the statement further read.

In a response to the petition, the state noted its policy on letting in refugees was in flux due to the dynamic situation on the ground. It said that due to these frequent changes, Israel was inclined to request any discussion on the petition be postponed to update its response to correctly reflect policy on the matter.

Last week, Israel announced a quota of 5,000 temporary resident visas for Ukrainians ineligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return, which enables anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent to acquire Israeli citizenship.

The amended policy no longer requires a monetary guarantee to be posted; however, it does requires them to leave Israel when the crisis in Ukraine ends. It also requires refugees to complete an online application and present proof of that application before boarding the flight to Israel.

Previous rules required Israeli relatives of Ukrainian refugees to post a financial guarantee of at least $3,100 and commit to the Ukrainians leaving Israel within a month.