EPISODE 2.8 — THE CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK

Every adult making aliyah is required to submit a criminal background check. Not because the Jewish Agency thinks you are a criminal. But because the Israeli government, in granting citizenship through the Law of Return, needs to confirm that applicants do not have a history that would constitute grounds for denial under the law.

For the vast majority of applicants, this document will return a clean result and will be a straightforward administrative step. For a small number, it may require additional conversation with the Jewish Agency. For everyone, there are important practicalities to understand.

The criminal background check must be obtained from every country in which you have resided continuously for more than one year since the age of fourteen. Not just your current country. If you lived in France for two years in your twenties, you need a French police clearance certificate. If you lived in Australia for three years, you need an Australian one. If you have lived continuously in only one country since the age of fourteen, you need a check from that country only. But if you have moved between countries, the requirement applies to each.

Additionally, you need a background check from any country whose citizenship you currently hold, even if you have never lived there. If you hold dual citizenship and have never lived in the second country, you still need a certificate confirming you have no criminal record there.

For UK applicants: the relevant document is the ACRO Police Certificate, issued by the ACRO Criminal Records Office. You apply online at acro.police.uk. The standard service costs £45 and takes approximately thirty working days; an expedited service is available for an additional fee. The certificate covers your criminal record in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Jersey, the Isle of Man, and the British Transport Police. Scotland is handled by Disclosure Scotland, which issues a separate document. The ACRO Police Certificate must be apostilled through the FCDO, but critically — the e-apostille service is not available for ACRO certificates. You must use the paper apostille service. The original ACRO certificate must be submitted for apostille; photocopies cannot be processed.

For US applicants: the relevant document is the FBI Identity History Summary, commonly called the FBI background check. You apply through the FBI's CJIS Division, either by submitting fingerprints directly or through an approved FBI Channeler. Using a Channeler typically produces faster results — several weeks rather than several months — and NBN maintains a list of approved Channelers with discounts for NBN applicants. The FBI background check is a federal document and must be apostilled through the US Department of State Office of Authentications in Sterling, Virginia, not through a state Secretary of State.

For Canadian applicants: the relevant document is the RCMP Criminal Record Check, obtained through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or through an accredited third-party Fingerprint Service. The apostille for Canadian documents is issued through the relevant provincial authority or Global Affairs Canada for federal documents.

The single most important practical note about the criminal background check: it is valid for only six months from the date of authentication by apostille. Not six months from when you ordered it. Six months from the apostille date. And it must be valid on the day of your aliyah — not just on the day of your Jewish Agency interview. This means you must time its ordering very carefully. Order it too early and it expires before you land. Order it too late and it holds up your interview. The sweet spot is to order it when your other documents are nearly complete, so that you can submit the full file and attend your interview while the check is still within its validity window.

I repeat: do not order the criminal background check first. Order it last.