As of last year May 2020, if you want to make Aliyah you will need to be fingerprinted for an FBI background check.The Israeli interior ministry does not want Israel to be a safe haven for criminals trying to escape justice.
This new requirement was announced by Nefesh B’Nefesh May 2020. The truth of the matter however, is that this law has been on the books since 2009. The reason why it wasn’t a requirement for Aliyah until now, is that until last year the government had a tacit agreement with Nefesh B’Nefesh that they could do the background checks on people making Aliyah by themselves, and the authorities would not require any documentation. Apparently for whatever reason, the government is no longer willing to go along with the arrangement and wants more control.
The FBI fingerprint and background check is not as cumbersome or scary as it may sound. Like everything else, it is a question of time and money. You need to be physically present to be fingerprinted. You also need to pay for the service. After you receive your clearance, the official document must be “apostilled” which is an international seal of its authenticity. Notaries are no longer internationally recognized. This also costs money, and lately, a few months delay due to a huge backlog.
So the bottom line is that Israel made a law in order to keep members of organized crime groups and pedophiles out of the country. As you can imagine, these people know how to get in regardless, while the rest of the nice people who want to make Israel their home, are now out of pocket a few hundred dollars and one more hurdle in order to make Aliyah.
