We can help you find the missing documents for repatriation to Israel
The Law of Return defines the right of repatriation for people who have actually proven their belonging to the Jewish people.
Finding original documents necessary to confirm Jewish origin and the existence of family ties with Jewish relatives is not an easy task for a non-professional. And given that many archival data have been destroyed or lost, that persecution of Soviet Jews forced people to change their surnames, to indicate a more “safe” nationality in the 5th column, as well as the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which actually closed access to the materials of archives for citizens of both countries, without the help of experts this task can be considered unsolvable.
The Institute’s researchers build archival work to locate all possible documents in Russia and the former Soviet Union. We guarantee the confidentiality of your information and a wide range of strategies for finding documents.
We work with your request:
- You know that your relative has formally changed his nationality, hiding his Jewishness, and at the moment you have no proof of his Jewish origin on hand
- The nationality of your grandparents was changed on the marriage certificate
- You tried searching for documents in the archive, but the search did not yield any results
More on how we help with document retrieval
(sample requests):
“I have a basic set of documents, do I need anything else?”
On the official website of Israeli embassies, you can find a basic list of documents required to pass the consular check.
Due to the specifics of your family composition and the presence or absence of close relatives in Israel, you may need additional documents confirming the Jewish nationality of your ancestors. These may be military, party, pension, trade union and other documents of your relatives, certificates from places of work, education documents, which may indicate the nationality of your ancestor. You may also need evacuation documents during the war, certificates from the Red Cross and other organizations. The Institute’s researchers can help you find additional documents that will make it easier for you to pass the consular check.
“I don’t have the original document that shows the nationality of my ancestor.”
Often original documents can be requested from city archives, synagogues and other organizations. If you encounter difficulties in locating them, we can help you verify that you have an original document to submit for consular inspection.
“My relatives lived in many cities in the former Soviet Union, where do I start looking for documents?”
First of all, it is important to restore the biography of the ancestor and all possible information about his professional, military and social activities. This will help to identify those cities, to the archives of which it is necessary to send a request. We can help you find the necessary documents most quickly and efficiently.
“I know that my Jewish ancestor wrote an autobiography and kept correspondence with relatives in which he may have mentioned significant family connections. Is it possible to find these documents?”
Document searches can indeed be aimed at recovering family archives, correspondence, biographical data. You can contact us as part of a free consultation to check the possibility of finding such documents.