Visa policy of Israel

Visitors to Israel must obtain a visa from one of the Israeli diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries.[1] All visitors must hold a passport that is valid for 6 months after the date of departure from Israel.[2]

External image
Map of border crossings of Israel

Israeli visa

Visa policy map

  Israel

  Countries with visa-free access to Israel

  Visa required for entry to Israel

  Confirmation from Israeli Foreign Ministry is required

Visa exemption

Holders of normal passports of the following 99 jurisdictions do not require a visa for Israel for a maximum stay of 3 months for tourism:[3]

All citizens of the European Union^1  Albania  Andorra  Argentina  Australia^2  Bahamas  Barbados  Belarus  Belize  Botswana  Brazil  Canada  Central African Republic  Chile  Colombia  Costa Rica  Dominica^2  Dominican Republic  Ecuador  El Salvador  Eswatini  Fiji  Georgia  Grenada  Guatemala  Haiti  Honduras  Hong Kong  Iceland  Jamaica  Japan  Lesotho  Liechtenstein  Macao  Malawi  Mauritius  Mexico

Micronesia  Moldova^4  Monaco  Mongolia  Montenegro  Nauru^2  New Zealand  North Macedonia  Norway  Palau  Panama  Papua New Guinea  Paraguay  Peru  Philippines  Russia^3  Saint Kitts and Nevis^2  Saint Lucia  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  San Marino  Serbia  Singapore  Solomon Islands  South Africa^2  South Korea  Suriname   Switzerland  Taiwan^2  Tonga  Trinidad and Tobago  Ukraine  United Kingdom  United States^2  Uruguay  Vanuatu   Vatican City

_{1 – German citizens born before January 1, 1928 need a visa which will be issued for free if one was not a member of the Nazi party or involved in crimes committed during the time of the Nazi Germany.[4]
2 – visa exemption does not apply to official passport holders, i.e. American government officials.
3 – Visa free for ordinary passports only, visa required for holders of non-ordinary passports. Russian official passport holders require confirmation from the Israeli government.
4 - Only for biometric passport}

Date of visa changes

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. Unknown: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Central African Republic, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, El Salvador, Germany, Grenada, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Macao, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Palau, Paraguay, Poland, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Suriname, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican. 1 October 1956: South Africa[5] (?) 8 December 1964: Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands[6] 1 April 1966: Denmark,[7] Iceland,[8] Finland,[9] Norway[10] and Sweden[7] 17 September 1966: Ecuador[7] 10 October 1966: Colombia[7] 1 June 1967: Liechtenstein and Switzerland[11] 4 March 1968: Jamaica[12] 1 May 1968: Peru[13] 5 July 1968: Costa Rica[13] 31 July 1968: Dominican Republic[13] 22 December 1968: Austria[14] 28 March 1969: Greece[15] 1 April 1969: Trinidad and Tobago[15] 13 August 1969: Mauritius[15] 18 September 1969: Barbados[16] 28 December 1969: France[17][15] 1 January 1970: Philippines[18][15] 1 March 1970: Lesotho[15] 29 July 1970: Eswatini[19] 1 October 1971: Japan[20] 8 September 1972: Guatemala[21] 15 December 1972: Fiji[22] 18 November 1974: Haiti[23] 16 May 1977: San Marino[24] 7 November 1984: Malawi[25] 21 December 1987: Dominica[26] 1 March 1994: Portugal[27] 31 July 1994: Spain[28] 15 May 1995: Vanuatu[29] 24 May 1995: South Korea[30] 19 July 1996: Czech Republic[31] 18 February 1997: Mongolia[32] 14 July 1997: Panama[33] 2 September 1997: Slovakia[34] 10 July 2000: Saint Lucia[35] 29 August 2000: Brazil[36] 26 March 2001: Micronesia[37] 11 May 2001: Latvia[38] and Lithuania[23] 7 October 2001: Estonia[39] 3 October 2005: Singapore[40] 15 July 2007: Bulgaria[41] 1 March 2008: Romania[42] 6 April 2008: Honduras[43] 27 July 2008: Albania[44] 20 September 2008: Russia[45] 28 September 2010: Nauru[46] 28 September 2010: Serbia [47] 2 September 2011[48]/9 February 2011:[49] Ukraine 10 August 2011: Taiwan[50] 27 November 2011: Belize[48] 18 April 2014: Georgia[46] 26 November 2015: Belarus[51] 8 September 2016: Botswana[46] 24 January 2017: Papua New Guinea 29 January 2017: Solomon Islands[46] April 2017: Tonga[52] Canceled: n/a: Nicaragua[53] August 2014: Bolivia [54] (Was applied from August 1972)

Visa is not required for nationals of  Egypt for stays up to 14 days if entering through Taba and visiting up to Beersheba only.[55]

Holders of Palestinian Authority passports can obtain their visa on arrival in order to continue their journey to the Palestinian territories. Holders of a confirmation issued by the Israeli Ministry of Interior, traveling in a group of 10 or more, can obtain a visa on arrival (not applicable to nationals of Jordan).

A visa waiver agreement was signed with Samoa in March 2019 and it is yet to be implemented.[56]

Non-ordinary passports

  Israel

  Visa free access for diplomatic and service category passports

  Visa free access for diplomatic passports

Holders of diplomatic and service category passports of Azerbaijan, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, China, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, India, Madagascar, Niger, Sierra Leone, Thailand, Togo, Turkey and Venezuela and of diplomatic passports of Kenya, Nicaragua, Rwanda and Vietnam do not require a visa.[55]

Holders of diplomatic or service category passports of Australia, Belarus, Dominica, Russia, San Marino, Saint Kitts and Nevis, South Africa, Taiwan and United States require a visa. Russian diplomatic and service category passports require confirmation from the government before a visa can be issued.

Visa free agreement for diplomatic and special passports was signed with Myanmar in June 2017 and is yet to be ratified.[57]

History

Israel and Democratic Republic of the Congo signed visa exemption agreement for diplomatic and service passports on 19 November 1963 and 14 April 1964, came into force on 28 July 1964. Date of cancellation is unknown.[58] Israel and Liberia signed visa exemption agreement for diplomatic and service passports on 17 July and 3 August 1961, came into force on 1 November 1961. Date of cancellation is unknown.[59] Israel and Tanganyika signed visa exemption agreement for diplomatic and service passports on 16 and 17 September 1963, came into force on 17 September 1963. Date of cancellation is unknown.[60] Israel and Bolivia signed visa exemption agreement for diplomatic and service passports on 10 and 16 August 1972, came into force on 16 October 1972. Date of cancellation is unknown.[61]

Israeli passport stamps

Visitors with a passport stamp from Israel are not allowed to enter a number of countries because of the Arab League boycott of Israel. Some countries, e.g. Austria, Canada, Germany, Russia, UK and the USA allow their citizens to hold two or more passports of their country to circumvent such travel restrictions, but some countries (including Austria and Germany) also restrict or forbid the holding of passports of two countries, i.e. dual citizenship. However for the past several years, stamps are no longer used at Ben Gurion airport (since January 15, 2013) and also land border crossings with Jordan. Instead, entry and departure records are printed on small slips of paper, which include the name of the traveller, the photo read from the epassport, the date, the visa status, and other details. The slips also include a 2D barcode which is used as a Gate Pass[62] to pass through the gate out of the passport control hall.

Confirmation required

Holders of national and official passports of the following countries require a confirmation from the Israeli Foreign Ministry before a tourist visa is issued.[55]

Afghanistan  Bahrain  Egypt[63]  Indonesia  Iran  Iraq  Jordan  Kuwait  Lebanon  Libya  Malaysia  Mauritania  Morocco

North Korea  Oman  Pakistan  Qatar  Russia (only for official passport holders)  Saudi Arabia  Somalia  Sudan  Syria  Tunisia  United Arab Emirates  Yemen

Visitor statistics

Most visitors arriving to Israel were from the following countries of nationality:[64][65][66][67][68]

Country	2018*	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013
United States	676,000	778,600	672,100	637,200	622,100	622,800
Russia	272,500	330,500	284,600	414,700	555,900	603,100
France	253,100	308,700	293,000	300,100	298,600	315,500
Germany	189,000	218,200	180,100	197,800	194,200	254,000
United Kingdom	164,100	198,500	197,100	197,900	180,100	217,100
Ukraine	132,000	146,800	164,500	138,000	132,400	134,500
Poland	120,000	97,400	54,300	66,200	77,200	89,200
Italy	101,400	107,700	88,000	91,200	120,100	173,100
China	80,900	113,600	85,900	47,400	33,000	25,500
Romania	72,900	82,000	59,900	45,100	44,700	36,700
Canada	67,900	80,600	69,900	66,700	66,200	70,700
Netherlands	59,000	64,000	51,400	49,400	51,800	57,100
Spain	55,000	64,400	46,200	43,500	47,300	52,600
India	48,000	58,000	44,800	39,300	34,900	40,000
Brazil	44,200	56,700	35,500	43,900	51,900	56,400
Total	3,098,200	3,613,163	2,900,020	2,799,346	2,926,676	2,961,701

• *= 2018 data until September only.

See also

• Visa requirements for Israeli citizens
• Israeli passport
• Israeli identity card

References

1. "Country information (visa section)". Timatic. International Air Transport Association (IATA) through Olympic Air. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
2. "Visa". Ministry of Tourism, Government of Israel. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
3. "Tourist Visa Table" (PDF). mfa.gov.il. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
4. "Visa Information - Destination". archive.is. 14 March 2014. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014.
5. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1956/10/monstate.pdf
6. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1965/11/monstate.pdf
7. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1966/12/monstate.pdf
8. http://www.hugtakasafn.utn.stjr.is/hugtak.adp?id=61854
9. Ulkoministeriö. "FINLEX ® - Valtiosopimukset viitetietokanta: 16/1966". www.finlex.fi. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
10. "Noteveksling mellom Norge og Israel inneholdende avtale om opphevelse av visumtvangen - Lovdata". lovdata.no. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
11. "Detailansicht Staatsvertrag". www.eda.admin.ch. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
12. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1968/03/monstate.pdf
13. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1968/12/monstate.pdf
14. "RIS - Staats- und Bundesgesetzblatt 1945 - 2003 - Trefferliste". www.ris.bka.gv.at. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
15. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1970/03/monstate.pdf
16. https://www.foreign.gov.bb/documents/foreign-policy/54-june-2012-visa-list-for-barbados/file
17. http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/traites/affichetraite.do?accord=TRA19690154
18. http://210.5.104.56/treaty/scanneddocs/637.pdf
19. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1970/12/monstate.pdf
20. "一部旅券査証及び査証料の相互免除に関する日本国政府とイスラエル政府との間の取極（口上書）" (PDF). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. 21 April 1971. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
21. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1983/07/monstate.pdf
22. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1986/02/monstate.pdf
23. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/2004/10/monstate.pdf
24. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1986/08/monstate.pdf
25. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1985/02/monstate.pdf
26. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1988/01/monstate.pdf
27. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1998/02/monstate.pdf
28. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1994/08/monstate.pdf
29. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1996/07/monstate.pdf
30. "Immigration Guide - Foreigners". www.hikorea.go.kr.
31. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1996/11/monstate.pdf
32. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1997/12/monstate.pdf
33. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1998/06/monstate.pdf
34. "359/2001 Z.z. - o podpísaní Dohody medzi vládou Slovenskej repu... - Nové ASPI - Wolters Kluwer SR, s.r.o." www.noveaspi.sk. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
35. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/2001/05/monstate.pdf
36. "Agreement between the government of the Federative Republic of Brazil and the government of the State of Israel on visa waiver for holders of valid national passports". itamaraty.gov.br. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
37. "Israel extends visa waiver for FSM". www.fsmgov.org. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
38. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/2004/07/monstate.pdf
39. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/2002/04/monstate.pdf
40. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/2007/06/monstate.pdf
41. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/2008/06/monstate.pdf
42. "EUR-Lex - 52008DC0486R(01) - EN - EUR-Lex". eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
43. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/2009/12/monstate.pdf
44. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/2009/10/monstate.pdf
45. Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the state of Israel on waiver of visa requirements for mutual trips of citizens of the Russian Federation and citizens of the State of Israel (in Russian)
46. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/2017/09/monstate.pdf
47. "Serbia and Israel abolish visas - English - on B92.net". B92.net.
48. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/2012/07/monstate.PDF
49. Agreement between the Cabinet of Ukraine and the Government The State of Israel about refusal of visa requirements for persons who use passports of the citizen or service passports of Ukraine but State of Israel (in Ukrainian)
50. "ISRAEL, TAIWAN CELEBRATE VISA PACT". Jerusalem Post. 11 August 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
51. "Belarus-Israel visa abolition agreement to enter into force on 26 November". eng.belta.by. 27 August 2015.
52. https://embassies.gov.il/wellington/Relations/Pages/Tonga.aspx
53. "Was applied under visa exemption agreement from 20 May 1970" (PDF).
54. "Israelis now require visa to enter Bolivia".
55. http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ConsularServices/Documents/VisaRequirements-Tourists.pdf
56. "Visa waiver deal between Israel and Samoa". 5 March 2019.
57. "Myanmar, Israel sign visa exemption for diplomatic, special passport holders - Xinhua - English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com.
58. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1966/02/monstate.pdf
59. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1964/01/monstate.pdf
60. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1964/11/monstate.pdf
61. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/Monthly%20Statement/1985/01/monstate.pdf
62. "What is a "Gate Pass"?". info.goisrael.com.
63. Except for stays up to 14 days if entering through Taba and visiting up to Beersheba only when visa is not required.
64. "Visitors arrivals by country of citizenship" (PDF).
65. "Visitors arrivals by country of citizenship 2016" (PDF).
66. "1. Arrivals of non-resident tourists at national borders, by country of residence". UNWTO.
67. "כניסות מבקרים לפי יבשת וארץ אזר 2015" (PDF). cbs.gov.il (Israel Central Bureau of Statistics).
68. "כניסות מבקרים לפי יבשת וארץ אזר 2018" (PDF). cbs.gov.il (Israel Central Bureau of Statistics).

External links

Media related to Visas of Israel at Wikimedia Commons

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel