West Bank Spousal Permit after Refused Status Formalization

4) **Invitee** – The foreign spouse of a resident of the Area.

**"Invitee"** – The spouse of a resident of the Area, including common-law spouses.

3) The head of COGAT is entitled, at his discretion, to adjudge applications in exceptional circumstances as well, including examination of applications involving common-law spouses, same-sex spouses,

5) **Inviter –** A resident of the Judea and Samaria area who wishes a permit for his/her spouse's residence under this procedure.

**"Resident of the Judea and Samaria area"** – A Palestinian listed as a resident of the Judea and Samaria area in the Palestinian Population Register.

1) **Permit for a spouse's residence in the Area (hereafter, "spousal** **permit") –** A permit specifically issued for a foreigner married to a resident of the Judea and Samaria area regarding whom an application has been submitted for formalizing status in the Area and refused, the purpose being to reside together with his or her spouse, in accordance with the provisions of this procedure;

Examination of the marriage certificate and all the personal documentation of the spouses, including proper authentication and verification that the marriage certificate is acceptable and consistent with the particulars of the spouses as per their other

examination of the evidence indicating the center of living and the sincerity of the bond (The documents submitted must be verified in order to substantiate the evidence regarding the center of living and the sincerity of the bond);

ח) If the authorized COGAT official has found that the application includes a counterfeit document, a false declaration regarding any significant fact, an untruthful document, or the like, then the application shall be rejected out of hand and the Inviter shall be forbidden for a year to submit any additional application.

The Invitee must prove that he/she has health insurance covering the period of his/her presence in the

1) | If formalization of a foreigner's status has been refused in accordance with the prevailing policy of the political echelon as envisioned in clause 3(b)(2) of this part of the procedure, the authorized COGAT official may allow that foreigner to receive special resident permits for the Area in order that the couple reside together, even without formalization of the foreigner's status in the Area (a spousal permit). |

3) Spousal permits will be issued **for a maximum term of one year** each time, and they will allow the Invitee to reside in the Area together with the Inviter – that is, with the Palestinian spouse – as detailed in this section. A spousal permit's term may be extended from time to time in accordance with the rules stipulated in this procedure, up to an overall period not exceeding 27 months.

7) A spousal permit may be renewed if an appropriate application is submitted through the Palestinian Authority at least two months before the permit's expiry.

1) If residing in the Area under a spousal permit, an Invitee is not authorized to enter the territory of the State of Israel without a separate permit for presence there. As a rule, departure from the Area, and return into it, shall be through the Allenby Bridge Crossing. 2) If residing in the Area under a spousal permit, an Invitee shall be entitled to work or volunteer within the territory of the Area, and the spousal permit shall be considered a work permit.

1) This procedure will take effect on 20 October 2022 for a two-year pilot period. 2) At the end of the pilot period, the situation will be evaluated and a decision will be made regarding whether to keep the procedure in force.