"Official" Aliyah status
Hey everyone, I was just wondering, when do you have "official aliyah status" after you've applied outside of Israel to make aliyah? As in, if you're approved for aliyah and set to go, but have not yet actually flown to Israel after the approval, is it still considered that you've made aliyah? Basically, I'm wondering in terms of the army. I will be making aliyah, but turn 22 at the end of March. I want to do 2 years of service, but upon turning 22 it reduces to only 6 months. Can I apply for aliyah before I turn 22 and go through the process short of actually flying back to Israel and be considered to have "made aliyah" at age 21 and be locked in for the 2 years? Or do I have to actually go to Israel for the process to be official and complete? And just FYI, none of my parents have Israeli citizenship, so I'm not a returning minor or anything like that. This would be for "oleh chadash" status. -Morris
Hey everyone, I was just wondering, when do you have "official aliyah status" after you've applied outside of Israel to make aliyah? As in, if you're approved for aliyah and set to go, but have not yet actually flown to Israel after the approval, is it still considered that you've made aliyah? Basically, I'm wondering in terms of the army. I will be making aliyah, but turn 22 at the end of March. I want to do 2 years of service, but upon turning 22 it reduces to only 6 months. Can I apply for aliyah before I turn 22 and go through the process short of actually flying back to Israel and be considered to have "made aliyah" at age 21 and be locked in for the 2 years? Or do I have to actually go to Israel for the process to be official and complete? And just FYI, none of my parents have Israeli citizenship, so I'm not a returning minor or anything like that. This would be for "oleh chadash" status. -Morris