US and UK embassies and foreign administrations: your paperwork abroad, handled from Israel

Living in Israel does not end your ties with your home country: citizenship, civil status, pension, an estate or a property left behind in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada or elsewhere. These procedures require documents that are translated, certified and apostilled, and often a power of attorney. As an English-speaking attorney and notary, I prepare your files and I follow them with the US Embassy, the British Embassy in Tel Aviv and the administrations in your home country.

Which procedures with the embassies and abroad?

• Citizenship and passports: gathering and certifying the Israeli documents required for a citizenship, passport or consular birth registration application (birth certificates, marriage certificates, proof of residence), and following the exchanges with the embassy and the competent services abroad.
• Civil status: registration abroad of a marriage celebrated in Israel, of a birth or of an Israeli divorce; certified translations of the documents of the Rabbinate, the Ministry of the Interior and the courts, with apostille.
• Powers of attorney for use abroad: sale or purchase of a property, estate, management of an account, representation before an attorney, a solicitor or an administration, drafted in English, authenticated and apostilled.
• Estates abroad handled from Israel: coordination with the attorney, solicitor or executor in charge of the estate, transmission of the Israeli documents recognized abroad, representation of heirs who cannot travel (see also wills and inheritance).
• Pensions and social security: proof of life, certificates and documents required by foreign pension funds and institutions.
• Disputes and proceedings abroad: liaison with your attorneys, solicitors or notaries abroad, translation and certification of the Israeli documents in the file.

I do not practice law outside Israel and I do not give foreign tax advice: for non-resident taxation, I work in coordination with your advisor in your home country.

Why go through an attorney and notary for these procedures

Appointments at the embassies are hard to obtain. Incomplete files are sent back. A badly translated document, a missing apostille, a power of attorney that does not use the wording required by the attorney or the bank abroad: each of these errors costs weeks, sometimes months. My role is to prepare the file once, properly, with the Israeli documents in the form that the foreign administration expects, and to follow its progress through to the result.

I know both sides: the documents issued by the Israeli authorities and the requirements of the administrations abroad. As a notary, I certify the translations and the signatures myself, which avoids intermediaries.

How it works

1. You describe your procedure to me and you send me the documents you have.
2. I check exactly what the recipient requires and I give you the list of missing documents.
3. I prepare the certified translations, the powers of attorney and the apostilles.
4. The file is filed or sent, and I follow the exchanges through to the result.

Frequently asked questions

Can you book an appointment at the US or British Embassy on my behalf?

Appointments are booked online and most procedures require the personal presence of the applicant.

I prepare the complete file so that the appointment succeeds the first time, and I represent you where the procedure allows it.

Do my Israeli documents have to be apostilled?

Almost always. An Israeli civil status document, judgment or order intended for the United States, the United Kingdom or Canada must bear the apostille, and its certified translation must accompany it. I take care of it.

Do you do the translations yourself?

Yes. I master English and I certify the translations as a notary. For highly technical documents, I use a translator and I certify his translation.

Do you work with attorneys and solicitors abroad?

Yes, regularly. In an estate or a sale abroad, I am the contact person of the attorney or solicitor for everything that comes from Israel, and I explain each step to you in English.

Do you have a procedure to complete with an embassy or an administration abroad? Write to me through the form on the English-speaking lawyer page or on WhatsApp +972-54-777-2548.

See also: certified translations, powers of attorney and apostille.