Question for those who made Aliyah with NBN

shabbatiscoming

Wed, Sep 10 2014, 5:26 am

For those who made aliyah with nefesh bnefesh, would you have made aliyah I nbn did not exist?

I made aliyah before nbn existed so I did all of the paper work and bureaucracy on my own. It was just part of moving to a new country, but if you had nbn do everything for you, would you have not made aliyah if nbn was not around and you had to do it all?

I just read something where someone said that they thought that a lot of the new olim would not even have made aliyah if not for nbn doing everything for them.

I was very curious about that, to see if it really true.

m in Israel

Wed, Sep 10 2014, 6:04 am

I made Aliyah with NBN, and although it was definitely helpful to have their guidance, I can't imagine that anyone makes Aliyah just because of the help with the paperwork. It is not that they "do if for you" -- it is just that they make the process more straight forward. For example once we had an account on their website we could fax/email them our paperwork and they had a checklist which told us what we had already submitted, what still needed to be submitted, and if there was any problems with anything. My husband was technically a "ktin chozer" (he was born while his parents lived in Israel for a few years), so we had tons of extra, confusing paperwork as a result. We also got almost no financial help from them (I think it was about $1,000 or something), so that was certainly not a factor. We did fill out the paperwork for our Teudat Zehut on the plane, but then we had to go to NBN's office in Yerushalayim a few days later to pick it up, so I'm not sure it really was easier than just going to the local misrad hapnim here in Beit Shemesh would have been.

However I DO think NBN has increased Aliya from North America due to psychological factors. I really believe that all of their publicity, and events get people who may have wanted to go but were nervous feel ready to take the plunge. Events like their "Aliyah fairs" and one on one consultations, and even their website help people people who were hesitating take that final plunge to actually do it. Also they provide a lot of follow up help in the first few years after Aliyah, which I think probably does help with retention. They helped us through the process of converting our U.S. drivers' licensees to Israeli ones, for example, and I know people who they have helped work through the process of getting professional credentials and degrees recognized by the misrad hachinuch, as another example.

It happens to be that we didn't contact them until we had already decided definitely to come, so although they were a useful resource they were not a deciding factor for us. But I do know of people who have worked with their advisers extensively before making that decision, and it is likely that having people to talk to and guide them through the process helped.

seeker

Wed, Sep 10 2014, 8:25 am

We have not made aliyah but are seriously considering it. I do not think we would have gotten this far in our considerations without NBN. It would have been too overwhelming. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that but it's only fair to acknowledge the role of NBN. Their resources and encouragement make aliyah a realistic option for people who otherwise might be too daunted by the logistics. To some it may seem like "just a little paperwork" but to others especially with a lot of other things going on in life, it seems like a dizzying mess, in a foreign language no less. I would not have known where to start and would probably have ended up either giving up or getting arrested for visa mistakes or something. The money also is a factor, it may not sound like much but to a family that is only just about making it the expenses of moving and adjusting (e.g. time to find new job) can really make it or break it.

m in Israel

Wed, Sep 10 2014, 10:01 am

seeker wrote:

You should just be aware that I'm pretty sure NBN doesn't give any money anymore. They certainly don't cover the expenses of moving and adjusting. However your plane tickets are covered by the state of Israel (through the Jewish Agency), whether you go on a NBN flight or by yourself (NBN flights are not paid for by NBN -- they are paid for by the Israeli government). Additionally most Olim qualify for a "sal Klita" from the Israeli government which is a certain amount of money over the first few years that you are in Israel, as well as rental assistance if you don't buy a house right away. That money also has nothing to do with NBN, although they have a convenient calculator on their website if you want to figure out how much money it would be.

Dev80

Wed, Sep 10 2014, 10:32 am

It could be if it was a real run around without NBN I would have come to live here without being a citizen first (so not officially making aliyah but still living here). NBN made it that it wasn't even a question to get citizenship. I wanted to live here but I could have done that as a non-resident and gotten visas. I definitely would have needed some one to give me directions of what I needed, maybe a nice mother on imamother??

You can move to Israel because you love it and want to live here without being a citizen (making aliyah).

shabbatiscoming

Wed, Sep 10 2014, 10:38 am

Dev80 wrote:

When I came I got direction either from the AACI or the jewish agency or I asked questions on janglo. No question was left unanswered.
I never had any problem becoming a citizen. I dont even understand that one Devo80. What problems are you talking about?

There were always ways to get the info we needed. It makes it sounds like PreNBN was the dark ages of aliyah. When in fact it was not.

Dev80

Wed, Sep 10 2014, 10:53 am

What I was trying to say is one can come live here without making aliyah/becoming a citizen. You can just come and live!

What I meant to say is if it's a hard process to become a citizen (aka making aliyah) without NBN then it could be I would have just come to live without being a citizen if the citizen process was tooo complicated. You're saying it wasn't all that complicated you were able to do it but I don't know 'cuz I never tried it without NBN Smile

Does that make more sense?

ETA - I do not mean to imply when you made aliyah it was 'the dark ages', I just honestly don't know since and I was trying to answer your question like would people not come without NBN? ANd I was saying personally I would still have come but possibly not have become a citizen. But kol hakavod for doing it yourself Smile

. And it was still a LONG process even with NBN!

seeker

Wed, Sep 10 2014, 11:16 am

m in Israel wrote:

Like I said, we're still fuzzy on our details. I was just responding to the comment that doubted whether a few thousand $ would make the difference between coming or not, and I'm saying that it actually could.

grace413

Wed, Sep 10 2014, 11:51 am

What Shabbat said. When we made aliyah 14 years ago the Israel Aliyah Center of the Jewish Agency was very helpful. We were a bit complicated because I was a returning resident and my DH was a new oleh - we had status of a mishpachat olim but had to get Israeli passports for the kids from the consulate, which believe it or not I did totally by mail and phone. We had answers to all our questions. When we arrived we spent maybe one hour getting our teudat oleh. We were met by an AACI rep and given free transportation to our home.

Devo80, it's more complicated to come without becoming a citizen if you are planning on living/working here. You can't work on a tourist visa and you have to renew the visa regularly. You don't get the free airfare.