Visa requirements for Israeli citizens
Encyclopedia
According to the "Henley Visa Restrictions Index 2011", Israeli passport
holders can travel to 142 countries visa-free / with visa issued on arrival.
**NOTE: 2 October 2008, United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff and United States Deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte declared intentions to cancel, in the near future, U.S. tourist visa requirement for Israeli Passport owners by adding Israel to the Visa Waiver Program
. However, this intention has yet to be materialized.
Note: According to Israeli law, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen and Iran are considered "Enemy countries" and an Israeli citizen may not visit them without a special permit issued by the Israeli minister of the interior. Therefore, an Israeli who visits these countries, be it with a foreign passport or an Israeli one, may be prosecuted when coming back to Israel. This list was set in 1954, and was updated only once on 25 July 2007 to include Iran. Egypt and Jordan allegedly remained among the "enemy countries", however the Israeli Ministry of the Interior issued a general unlimited permit to visit these countries, following the peace treaty signed between Israel and each of them, hence voiding the law in respect to both countries. On 1 April 2008, the Israeli government proposed a new revised law which includes a list of 10 countries and territories to be defined as "enemy countries": Iran, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and the Gaza Strip. As of March 2009, the legislative procedures of this revised law have not been concluded yet.
Some controversial rejections of Israeli nationals into the aforementioned countries include Tennis Player Shahar Pe'er
who was recently denied a visa to the United Arab Emirates which would have allowed her to play in the 2009 Dubai Open.
The countries listed above may not allow entry to people with evidence of visits to Israel or used or unused Israeli visa
s in their passports. Israeli border guards would once stamp a bit of paper instead of the passport in order to help visitors overcome these problems.
Some countries are aware of the exit stamps placed in passports by Egypt
and Jordan
at their land borders with Israel and will treat these stamps as a proof of visit to Israel and may block entry based on the presence of these stamps. For example, a traveler may be denied entry to certain countries because of the presence of an Egyptian exit stamp indicating the person left Egypt at Taba
, at the Israeli border.
Also, a traveler attempting to enter Syria from Jordan by land, and whose passport does not indicate how the traveler arrived in Jordan, might be denied entry by Syrian authorities.
Some Arab countries do allow entry with Israeli passport stamps, e.g. Bahrain
,, Iraq
, Oman
, Morocco
, Mauritania
, Tunisia
and the UAE
Australia
, Austria
, Germany
, Japan
, the Netherlands
, Russia
, United Kingdom
, Denmark
, Ireland
, Taiwan
, and United States
may allow a passport holder to have two valid passports to circumvent the restrictions concerning Israel if the applicant can satisfactorily explain why a second passport is needed when applying. Turkey
also issues a second passport to circumvent the travel restrictions, but because no Turkish citizen may carry more than one passport at once, the first passport will be retained by the authorities while the second is returned.
(immigrate) to Israel are generally not eligible for an Israeli passport until they have resided in Israel for at least one year. Until the residence requirement is met such new citizens are issued an orange "travel document in lieu of national passport" (Laissez-passer). Holders of this document may not enjoy the same visa-free access to certain other countries enjoyed by holders of a standard Israeli passport. This also applies to most Arab residents in East-Jerusalem and the Golan Heights who are not in possession of Israeli citizenship.
Israeli passport
The Israeli passport is issued to citizens of the State of Israel for the purpose of international travel and entitles the bearer to the protection of Israel's consular officials overseas....
holders can travel to 142 countries visa-free / with visa issued on arrival.
Africa
Asia
Europe
North America
**NOTE: 2 October 2008, United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff and United States Deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte declared intentions to cancel, in the near future, U.S. tourist visa requirement for Israeli Passport owners by adding Israel to the Visa Waiver Program
Visa Waiver Program
The Visa Waiver Program is a program of the United States Government which allows citizens of specific countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa. The program applies to the 50 U.S. states as well as the U.S...
. However, this intention has yet to be materialized.
South America
Oceania
Countries that do not accept Israeli passports
List of countries that do not accept Israeli passports: http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&DE=DZ&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&DE=BD&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&DE=BN&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&DE=DJ&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/iran#Entry_and_Exit_Requirements http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&DE=IR&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/report-en.asp?country=155000#4 http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&DE=KW&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&DE=LB&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&DE=LY&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C (Clearance permit needed from the Ministry of Internal Security.) http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&DE=MY&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&DE=PK&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/report_rapport-eng.asp?id=258000#4 http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&DE=SA&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&DE=SD&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&DE=SY&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C (Clearance permit needed from the Ministry of Internal Security.) http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&DE=AE&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2C http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&DE=YE&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=DL&subuser=DELTAB2CNote: According to Israeli law, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen and Iran are considered "Enemy countries" and an Israeli citizen may not visit them without a special permit issued by the Israeli minister of the interior. Therefore, an Israeli who visits these countries, be it with a foreign passport or an Israeli one, may be prosecuted when coming back to Israel. This list was set in 1954, and was updated only once on 25 July 2007 to include Iran. Egypt and Jordan allegedly remained among the "enemy countries", however the Israeli Ministry of the Interior issued a general unlimited permit to visit these countries, following the peace treaty signed between Israel and each of them, hence voiding the law in respect to both countries. On 1 April 2008, the Israeli government proposed a new revised law which includes a list of 10 countries and territories to be defined as "enemy countries": Iran, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and the Gaza Strip. As of March 2009, the legislative procedures of this revised law have not been concluded yet.
Some controversial rejections of Israeli nationals into the aforementioned countries include Tennis Player Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er is an Israeli professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is World No. 11, which she achieved on January 31, 2011 ....
who was recently denied a visa to the United Arab Emirates which would have allowed her to play in the 2009 Dubai Open.
Countries that might not accept passports which contain Israeli stamps or visas
- AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
- KuwaitKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
- LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
- LibyaLibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
- Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
- SudanSudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
- SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
- YemenYemenThe Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
The countries listed above may not allow entry to people with evidence of visits to Israel or used or unused Israeli visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
s in their passports. Israeli border guards would once stamp a bit of paper instead of the passport in order to help visitors overcome these problems.
Some countries are aware of the exit stamps placed in passports by Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
at their land borders with Israel and will treat these stamps as a proof of visit to Israel and may block entry based on the presence of these stamps. For example, a traveler may be denied entry to certain countries because of the presence of an Egyptian exit stamp indicating the person left Egypt at Taba
Taba (Egypt)
Taba is a small Egyptian town near the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba. Taba is the location of Egypt's busiest border crossing with neighboring Israel. Little more than a bus depot and a luxury hotel , Taba is a frequent vacation spot for Egyptians and tourists, especially those from Israel on...
, at the Israeli border.
Also, a traveler attempting to enter Syria from Jordan by land, and whose passport does not indicate how the traveler arrived in Jordan, might be denied entry by Syrian authorities.
Some Arab countries do allow entry with Israeli passport stamps, e.g. Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
,, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and the UAE
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
may allow a passport holder to have two valid passports to circumvent the restrictions concerning Israel if the applicant can satisfactorily explain why a second passport is needed when applying. Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
also issues a second passport to circumvent the travel restrictions, but because no Turkish citizen may carry more than one passport at once, the first passport will be retained by the authorities while the second is returned.
Travel document in lieu of national passport
People who make aliyahAliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
(immigrate) to Israel are generally not eligible for an Israeli passport until they have resided in Israel for at least one year. Until the residence requirement is met such new citizens are issued an orange "travel document in lieu of national passport" (Laissez-passer). Holders of this document may not enjoy the same visa-free access to certain other countries enjoyed by holders of a standard Israeli passport. This also applies to most Arab residents in East-Jerusalem and the Golan Heights who are not in possession of Israeli citizenship.