Can a Palestinian Spouse Get Israeli Residency?
13,550 people held status in Israel through family unification on 31 October 2024, in two forms: a stay permit and an A/5 licence.
13,550 people held status in Israel by virtue of family unification on 31 October 2024, on figures the Knesset Research and Information Centre published on 10 March 2026. That status comes in two named forms and neither is citizenship: 8,300 held a stay permit issued by the Coordination and Liaison Administration, and 5,250 held an A/5 temporary residence licence. Applications are governed by the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order), 5782-2022, which sets age thresholds of over 25 for women and over 35 for men.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 13,550 | People holding status in Israel through family unification, a stock count on one date | 31 October 2024 |
| 8,300 | Of those, holders of a Coordination and Liaison Administration stay permit, 61% | 31 October 2024 |
| 5,250 | Of those, holders of an A/5 temporary residence licence | 31 October 2024 |
| 2,650 | Growth in the number of status holders since 2018, put at 24% | 2018 to 31 October 2024 |
| 5,259 | First stay permits granted for family unification, a flow count | January 2004 to October 2024 |
| 668 | New permit approvals, the highest single year in that series | 2020 |
| 59% | Share of new status recipients each year who were women | to October 2024 |
Source: Knesset Research and Information Centre, Family Unification of Israelis and Their Spouses Who Are Residents of the Area, 10 March 2026, built mainly on Population and Immigration Authority answers correct to 31 October 2024.
13,550 spouses from the Area held status in Israel in October 2024
The Knesset Research and Information Centre reports that a Palestinian resident of the Area married to an Israeli citizen or resident receives, where an application succeeds, a stay permit and usually temporary status. These are the state’s own administrative counts of its own permit decisions, supplied to the research service by the Population and Immigration Authority and correct to 31 October 2024. The 13,550 is a stock figure, everyone holding valid status on that date whenever it was granted, and the Centre notes that the stock is also reduced by holders who died or whose permit was revoked or not renewed.
5,259 first stay permits were approved from 2004 to October 2024
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records 5,259 first stay permits granted for family unification across the roughly twenty years from January 2004 to October 2024, with 668 approvals in 2020, the highest single year in that series. This is a flow of first-time grants, counted by the Population and Immigration Authority as its own record of its own decisions, and it is not a share of the 13,550 people holding status on one date. The Centre also states that 59% of new status recipients each year were women.
- 5,259 first permits, January 2004 to October 2024
- 668 approvals in 2020, the series peak
- 59% of new recipients each year women
The order sets thresholds of 25 for women and 35 for men
The statutory age thresholds are over 25 for women and over 35 for men, on the Knesset Research and Information Centre’s reading of the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order), 5782-2022. The Centre records that the restrictions were first enacted in the temporary order of 5763-2003, extended by order each year until it lapsed in July 2021, and re-enacted in 2022, and that an amendment in force from July 2025 bars a permit to a family member of a person convicted of a terrorist act or active in terrorism. The shares below are of applications, drawn from the state’s own administrative records of applications received.
| Group | Share of applications | Age band |
|---|---|---|
| Women residents of the Area | 56% | 25 to 30 |
| Men residents of the Area | 30% | 31 to 35 |
| Men residents of the Area | a similar share | 36 to 40 |
| Men residents of the Area | 38% | 41 or older |
Source: Knesset Research and Information Centre, 10 March 2026.
An A/5 licence needs 10 years lawful stay and age 50
A temporary A/5 residence licence is available to permit holders lawfully present in Israel for at least ten years and aged over 50, and it allows a stay of at most two years, on the figures and rules the Knesset Research and Information Centre set out on 10 March 2026. The Centre’s own count, taken from Population and Immigration Authority answers, puts 8,300 of the 13,550 status holders on a stay permit rather than a licence. The two-year cap is the maximum duration of the licence itself, not a limit on renewal.
- Ten years lawful presence in Israel on a permit
- Age over 50
- Licence valid for at most two years
More than a third of 2013 applicants waited two years or more
The State Comptroller of Israel found in a 2017 report that more than a third of spouses who applied in 2013 received a first permit only two years or more after applying, a finding the Knesset Research and Information Centre relays in its 2026 paper. That is an Israeli state auditor’s account of the processing times of Israeli authorities, measured on applications from a single year. The Centre publishes no comparable waiting-time figure for later application years.
Which figures here may not be added together?
The 13,550 and the 5,259 are different objects: one is a stock of people holding status on 31 October 2024, the other a flow of first permits granted over twenty years, and neither is a share of the other. The 56% is a share of applications and the 59% a share of new recipients, so the two do not describe the same group. The Knesset Research and Information Centre states that it presents three kinds of administrative data on different time bases, that gaps and contradictions were found between them, and that it cannot explain them. It excludes minors because the data it received were too partial, so no figure here counts children. The Centre states that the paper is not a legal review and offers no legal opinion.
Questions readers ask
Does a Palestinian spouse become an Israeli citizen?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records two forms of status for this route, a Coordination and Liaison Administration stay permit and an A/5 temporary residence licence, and publishes no citizenship figure for it.
How many people hold status this way?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre reports 13,550 people holding status in Israel by virtue of family unification on 31 October 2024.
How many first permits have been granted?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records 5,259 first stay permits granted from January 2004 to October 2024.
Which year saw the most approvals?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre reports 668 new approvals in 2020, the highest single year in that series.
How old must an applicant be?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre states the statutory thresholds are over 25 for women and over 35 for men.
What does an A/5 licence require?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre reports that an A/5 licence is available to permit holders lawfully present in Israel for at least ten years and aged over 50.
How long does an A/5 licence last?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records a maximum stay of two years under the licence.
How long do applicants wait for a first permit?
The State Comptroller of Israel found in 2017 that more than a third of spouses who applied in 2013 received a first permit two years or more after applying.
Are children included in these counts?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre excluded minors, stating the data it received on them were too partial.
When did the restrictions begin?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records enactment in the temporary order of 5763-2003, annual extension until it lapsed in July 2021, and re-enactment in 2022.
What changed in July 2025?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records an amendment in force from July 2025 barring a permit to a family member of a person convicted of a terrorist act or active in terrorism.
Who applies most often?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre reports that 56% of applications came from women residents of the Area aged 25 to 30, and that 59% of new status recipients each year were women.
Do the published figures reconcile with each other?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre states that gaps and contradictions were found between the three sets of administrative data it presents and that it cannot explain them.
Sources
- Knesset, 2022. Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order), 5782-2022. Enacted legislation. Official or primary record.
- Knesset Research and Information Centre, 2026. Family Unification of Israelis and Their Spouses Who Are Residents of the Area. 10 March 2026. knesset.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2017. Finding on waiting times for first family unification permits, as relayed by the Knesset Research and Information Centre, 2026. Official or primary record.
