Paperwork? Oh yes. That’s one of the things I also heard about the Rabbanut. It’s a lot of paperwork. Like… bureaucracy.. red tape. It’s not like that in the Chareidi batei din at all. 

You speak to the beis din and see what they say. If they accept you, they will give you a letter and tell you to go to certain rabbonim with this letter. These rabbonim then will help you with your conversion, and that’s it. At least with the Badatz it’s like this. I heard that by Rav Karelitz it’s easier. There, the beis din will already approach the rabbonim for you. But ofcourse you still have to talk to them yourself. You only won’t have the awkward situation of having to introduce yourself with a request for help to a total stranger.

After you went into the mikveh, the beis din will write out a document of your conversion/being Jewish. This document will be your and your offspring’s proof of being Jewish.

The benefits? Al Pi Haloche it can’t be done any better and it’s recognized by everyone in the Jewish world (not talking about the secular Israeli government here).

But again, before you decide on where to do your conversion. I do think you have to decide for yourself where you think you see yourself in the Jewish world. In a Chareidi-enviroment or not. Note how ‘not’ doesn’t mean ‘secular’. You can still be religious and orthodox, but not being Chareidi.

A conversion by either a Chareidi beis din or by the rabbanut won’t affect only yourself. But also your children, their children and even their children…

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All the above I have heard from highly respected rabbonim and several geirim who converted through either the Rabbanut and/or Chareidi Batei din. Also, I’ve been at the conversion (first meeting with beis din/process/and mikveh) of a family friend of ours myself.