Elena Lankin, 26 years old, hometown — Gomel, Belarus, nurse, @lankinaby
About moving
I moved to Israel a year and a half ago. My husband and I made direct repatriation through him with the help of the Friendship Fund.
We live in the centre of Israel — Petah Tikva. This is a good city in terms of living standards. There is work for every taste and colour. Rent is expensive because Petah Tikva is about eight kilometres from Tel Aviv. The city has Russian districts.
I'm a nurse. But in Israel, I work in the store and confirm the medical diploma at the same time. I also blog about moving to Israel on YouTube.
About documents
It is important to submit documents proving the Jewish line. My husband and I are from Belarus, and we have married there. For the marriage to be considered valid was necessary to live together for at least a year, and then apply to the consulate.
The procedure was in three stages: consular check, passports change, visa, and then moving. In Belarus, when you change your permanent residence, you need to change your passport.
The procedure was in three stages: consular check, passports change, visa, and then moving
Difficulties may arise if there is no direct Jewish line from the mother or not enough of some documents. Sometimes people can't find archival records.
Methods of obtaining the citizenship of Israel are not much. In addition to Jews and their families, citizenship can be obtained by the spouse of an Israeli citizen. In this case, the procedure may take up to five years. As a result, migrants receive a teudat zehut passport of other series. It must be extended and doesn't allow participating in the elections.
Citizenship can be obtained by a returned Israeli who has already received Israeli citizenship, but for some reason hasn't lived in Israel for a long time.
About the benefits
Israel darkon — a passport allows you to visit a large number of countries without a visa.
We also retained Belarusian citizenship. We are registered at the Consulate of Belarus.
Recommendations
Israel is one of the few countries that allows soft repatriation.
You have to be serious about moving. There will be difficulties such as another country and the mentality.
Do not be afraid of not knowing the language. The language is quite simple — if you will learn it then sooner or later you will speak it. I specifically found a job in a Hebrew-speaking environment to improve everyday Hebrew.
If during the inspection at the Consulate of Israel changed the Consul, take the whole package of documents for the reception. Also recently, all the documents issued after the 90-s, require an apostille.
Margarita Belyaeva, 25 years old, hometown — Moscow, customer care engineer, @magbelyaeva
About moving
My husband and I moved to Israel under the MASA program from Israel Experience in October 2018 for eight months. The point is that you pass a consular check, get a student visa and 80% grant of the cost of the program. But you pay for the rest.
There are programs for everyone from chefs, divers and photographers to professional internships. We were on an internship and taught Hebrew. After we decided to stay. In June of 2019, we made repatriation. In the family only my husband has Jewish roots.
We live in Ramat Gan. There are supermarkets, cafes, parks and playgrounds nearby. I go to work in Tel Aviv by bus. The road takes 25 minutes.
On Shabbat — Friday night and Saturday — everything is closed, so we often go to Tel Aviv. A taxi costs about 50 shekels, or $14.39. A couple of times we rented scooters and even walked to the city.
In Ramat Gan a lot of houses being rebuilt and restored. The new houses look amazing, but the apartments are much more expensive.
About documents
There were no difficulties with moving. My husband had all the documents in the original. The main thing is to register in advance at the Embassy, bring all the documents and wait for the queue.
The Embassy keeps a record three months beforehand. At the Consul, we spent about 10 minutes but waited five hours.
About the benefits
I have two citizenships: Russian and Israeli.
Israeli citizenship gives the opportunity to officially live and work in the country. New immigrants — olim hadashim — are entitled to payments for six months, tax benefits on wages, payment of an apartment and even the purchase of a car. You need to learn about it in the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration.
Israeli citizenship gives the opportunity to officially live and work in the country
In addition to the internal passport, we received a foreign — darkon. It is possible to fly without a visa to more than 200 countries.
Recommendations
It is better to save up money and learn the language before moving, especially if you do not speak English.
Aleksa Amor, hometown — Dnepr, head of the office, @aleksa_in_israel
About moving
I am from Ukraine, and I live in Israel a little less than five years. I moved on the call of blood — I have Jewish roots. My husband is a native Israeli of Moroccan origin.
I'm a makeup artist by profession, but I'm head of the office in Israel. My boss and subordinates are Israeli.
I live in a sunny resort city of Israel on the Red Sea — Eilat. Within walking distance of Egypt and Jordan. The standard of living here is good. In terms of technology and development, we are behind the centre of the country, but in terms of climate, beauty and sincerity we are the best. Summer here lasts 10 months, rains two or three times a year.
About documents
I received citizenship for about a year because I started to register in Israel. Some documents cannot be brought from outside of Ukraine. The Embassy of Ukraine and the Ambassador helped me.
About the benefits
Citizenship of Israel is the recognition of belonging to this country. I travel the world without proof of solvency or anything else. I am Israeli and renounced Ukrainian citizenship. At that time, Ukraine did not recognize dual citizenship, and I had to choose.
I travel the world without proof of solvency or anything else
Israel has many benefits and opportunities for immigrants.
Recommendations
You can contact Jewish Agency Sohnut to get a free professional consultation.
Before moving to Israel, you need to think about whether you ready to change your life and yourself.
