By Amit Acco, Partner |
The number of Ukrainian nationals who have been refused entry to Israel has increased in the last 4 months (November 2022). In the first five months of the war, 26,747 Ukrainians entered Israel and 350 were refused. Those who were refused made up 1.3% of the applicants for entry during this period. This is compared to 32,453 Ukrainians who entered Israel in the last four months – which make up 2.77% of the applicants during this period.
From the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine until the beginning of November, a total of 59,200 Ukrainians entered Israel, and the entry of 1,250 was refused. The Population Authority explained that most of the Ukrainians’ refusal to enter stemmed from a fear of settling down and looking into the job market. 23,986 Ukrainians who came to Israel have already left the country.
Since the beginning of the war, 13,784 immigrants immigrated to Israel from Ukraine and claim the right to immigrate based on the Law of Return (Alyiah of Jewish descendants). According to the data, there has been an increase in the entry of Ukrainians into Israel and the daily average this month reaches 217 people.
The new 2022 government Minister of the Interior will have to decide on his policy toward the citizens of Ukraine who are already in Israel.
The Population Authority stated that it “respects the ruling of the High Court of Justice issued in July 2022 and is acting on it. Before the ruling, entry into the country for citizens of Ukraine was carried out according to prior approval. After the ruling of the High Court of Justice, entry is not carried out according to prior approval but upon arrival at the airport, which requires questioning at the border and decisions accordingly.”
