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Information about Israeli Passport

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Cover of Israeli passport
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Israeli passport personal-information page
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An Israeli foreigner's entry stamp in a passport
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Israeli passport issued in 1959
The Israeli passport (Hebrew: דרכון‎) is issued to citizens of the State of Israel for the purpose of international travel[1] and entitle the bearer to the protection of Israel's consular officials overseas.

The Israeli law allows Israeli citizens to hold foreign passports as well, but requires that the Israeli passport be used when entering and leaving Israel. This regulation was introduced officially into the Israeli passport law in 2002, after being legally contested in several occasions. The fact that this law applies to all Israeli citizens, even those who don't reside in Israel, is the source of some confusion, especially when a person inherits his Israeli citizenship from one of his parents unaware.

Since 2006 a valid Israeli passport is one of the documents accepted for identification in the general elections. Until then only internal identity card was accepted for this purpose. Voting outside Israel is impossible, unless the voter is a member of an Israeli diplomatic delegation, so in practice the new regulation merely enables the use of the passport as a backup on election day in case the internal ID is lost or defaced.

Denial of an Israeli passport is one of the sanctions an Israeli rabbinical court may use in order to enforce divorce upon a husband who chains his wife into marriage against her will (see: agunah).

To date, the Israeli government is yet to announce the issue of a biometric passport.

Physical appearance

Israeli passports are deep navy blue, with the Israeli coat of arms emblazoned in the center of the front cover, below the scripting "State of Israel" in both Hebrew and English languages. The word "PASSPORT" is inscribed below the coat of arms, also in Hebrew and English. The inner pages are decorated with elements borrowed from the namely olive branches and schematic representations of the seven-branched menorah. The standard passport contains 32 pages.

Israeli passports are valid for 10 years for persons over the age of 18, and are bilingual; written in Hebrew and English. Since Hebrew is written from right to left, the passports are opened from their right end and their pages are arranged from right to left. Arabic is not used in Israeli passports, even though it is used aside Hebrew in internal identity cards.

Identity information page

Israeli Passport Information appears on page 2, and includes the data as shown in the following order:
  • Photo of Passport Holder on the left
  • Type (P)
  • Code of State (ISR)
  • Passport No.
  • Surname
  • Given Name
  • Nationality
  • Date of Birth
  • Sex
  • Place of Birth
  • Date of Issue
  • Date of Expiry
  • Authority (- I.C. Passport at)
All information appears both in Hebrew and English. The information page ends with the Machine Readable Zone. Signature of Bearer is to follow on page 3.

Passport note

The statement in an Israeli passport declares in Hebrew (read from right to left) and English:
שר הפנים של מדינת ישראל מבקש בזה את כל הנוגעים בדבר להרשות לנושא דרכון זה לעבור ללא עכוב והפרעה ולהושיט לו במקרה הצורך את ההגנה והעזרה הדרושה

The Minister of the Interior of the State of Israel hereby requests all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer of this passport to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford him such assistance and protection as may be necessary.

Languages

The information page is printed in Hebrew and English.

History

The first Israeli passport was issued to Golda Meir.[2][3]

The first Israeli passports bore the inscription: "Valid to any country except Germany" (in Hebrew and French). An Israeli citizen who wished to visit Germany had to ask that the words "except Germany" be deleted from his passport. This was done manually by drawing a line on these words[4]. The inscription was changed into "Valid to all countries" shortly after the signing of the Reparations Agreement between Israel and West Germany.

Until 1980, Israeli passports were written in Hebrew and French. New regulations issued by the Israeli Minister of the Interior on March 30, 1980, ordered the use of Hebrew and English in Israeli passports. Subsequently the French texts were substituted with English texts.

Traveling with Israeli passport or visa

According to a study done by Henley & Partners, Israel has a Henley Visa Restrictions Index of 104, which means that Israeli citizens enjoy visa-free access to 104 countries and territories. Israel is ranked 18th in the study in terms of international travel freedom.[5]

Visa-free travel for Israeli passport holders [6]
Country Notes
Africa
 Botswana90 days
 BurundiVisa issued upon arrival
 Cape VerdeVisa issued upon arrival
 Central African RepublicVisa issued upon arrival for 10,000 CFA francs
 ComorosVisa issued upon arrival
 Ethiopia3-month visa issued upon arrival
 Kenya3-month visa issued upon arrival for 50 US dollars
 Lesotho14 days
 Madagascar90-day visa issued upon arrival for 28,000 Malagasy ariary
 Malawi90 days
 Mauritius6 months
 MozambiqueVisa issued upon arrival for 25 US dollars
 Senegal3 months
 Seychelles1 month
Sinai,  EgyptVisa issued upon arrival for a 14 day visit to eastern Sinai tourist resorts. A 6 US$ fee is required.
 South Africa90 days, two visa pages in the passport must be blank on arrival
 Swaziland2 months
 TanzaniaVisa issued upon arrival for 50 US dollars
 Togo7 days
 UgandaVisa issued upon arrival
 ZambiaVisa issued upon arrival
 ZimbabweVisa issued upon arrival
Americas
 Argentina90 days
 Aruba3 months
 Bahamas90 days
 Barbados6 months
 Bolivia90 days, unless the expiry date is less than 6 months ahead
 Brazil90 days
 Bermuda6 months
 Canada6 months
 Cayman Islands30 days
 Chile90 days, unless the expiry date is less than 6 months ahead
 Colombia90 days
 Costa Rica90 days
 Dominica6 months
 Dominican Republic90 days, unless the expiry date is less than 6 months ahead
 Ecuador90 days
 El Salvador3 months
 Falkland Islands
 Greenland
 Grenada3 months
 Guatemala90 days
 Haiti90 days
 Honduras90 days
 Jamaica
 Mexico180 days, unless the expiry date is less than 6 months ahead
 Montserrat3 months
 Netherlands Antilles3 months
 Nicaragua90 days
 Panama90 days, unless the expiry date is less than 6 months ahead
 Paraguay90 days
 Peru90 days
 Suriname120 days
 Saint Kitts and Nevis90 days
 Saint Lucia28 days
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines30 days
 Trinidad and Tobago90 days, unless the expiry date is less than 6 months ahead
 Turks and Caicos Islands30 days
 Uruguay3 months
Asia
 Armenia21-day visa issued upon arrival for 30 US dollars; arriving at Yerevan airport only
 Azerbaijan30-day visa issued upon arrival for 40 US dollars
 Cambodia30-day visa issued upon arrival for 20 US dollars; one passport photo required
 Georgia90 days, unless the expiry date is less than 6 months ahead
 IraqVisa issued upon arrival for US$ 80; arriving at Erbil airport only. Visiting Iraq without a special permit from the Israeli authorities, may be regarded as a violation of the Israeli law (see below).
 Japan90 days
 JordanVisa issued upon arrival for 10 Jordanian dinar
90 days
 Maldives30 days
 Mongolia30 days
 NepalVisa issued upon arrival
 Philippines59 days
 Singapore30 days, unless the expiry date is less than 6 months ahead
 Sri Lanka30 days
 Timor-Leste30 days, US$ 30
 Thailand30 days
Europe
All member countries of the European Economic Area90 days; except  United Kingdom - 6 months
 AlbaniaVisa issued upon arrival for 30 Euro
 Andorra
 Bosnia and Herzegovina90 days
 Croatia90 days
 Republic of Macedonia90 days
 Monaco
 Montenegro90 days
 San Marino
 Serbia90 days
 Switzerland90 days
 Turkey90 days
 Vatican City
Oceania
 Cook Islands31 days
 Fiji4 months
 Federated States of Micronesia30 days
 New Zealand3 months
 Niue30 days
 Palau30 days
 Samoa60 days
 Solomon Islands3 months
 Tuvalu1 month

Countries that do not accept Israeli passports

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Legend:      Israel      Countries that reject passports from Israel      Countries that reject passports from Israel and any other passport which contain Israeli stamps or visas
Note: According to Israeli law, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Yemen 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 doesn't include Iran, although it has recently been suggested that it be added.[10] Egypt and Jordan, having been included in the original list, were removed from it following the peace treaties signed between Israel and each of these countries[11].

Countries that do not accept passports which contain Israeli stamps or visas

The countries listed above will not allow entries to people with evidence of visits to Israel or used or unused Israeli visas 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, but since 2006 this is no longer the case, and only in exceptional cases will passports not be stamped[1].

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 traveller 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, if traveller attempts to enter Syria from Jordan via land border with passport that does not have indication how the traveller arrived to Jordan, Syrian authorities might deny entrance.

The United Kingdom, Germany[12], Austria[13] and the United States Department of State 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.[14]

References

1. ^ Embassy of Israel in the US. Consular Section
2. ^ Golda (Emery/Weiner School)
3. ^ Golda Meir’s life was devoted to building Zionism by Dan Pine (Jewish SF, July 15, 2005)
4. ^ Amnon Dankner and David Tartakover, Where we were and what we did - an Israeli lexicon of the Fifties and the Sixties, Keter Publishing House, Jerusalem, p. 84 (in Hebrew).
5. ^ Henley Visa Restrictions Index - Global Ranking 2006
6. ^ (Hebrew) The Israeli ministry of foreign affairs
7. ^ "Important Note: Travelers holding passports that contain visas or entry/exit stamps for Israel are likely to be refused entry into Lebanon." (Lebanese Ministry of Tourism)
8. ^ "Arab and foreign arrivals to Syria should have the following: A Passport valid for a period not less than one month after the elapse of the period of the entry visa, provided that the passport is issued by a state recognized by Syria, does not carry an Israeli visa, and the name of the passport owner is not listed among those forbidden from entering Syria." (Syrian Ministry of Tourism)
9. ^ [2]
10. ^ [3] - see a report in The Jerusalem Post (April 17, 2007)
11. ^ An explanation in Hebrew of this issue in the Israeli ministry of foreign affrais' site [4].
12. ^ Ziffer 5.1 der Allgemeinen VwV des BMI zur Durchführung des Passgesetzes vom 03.07.200 (GMBl. Seite 587)
13. ^ [5]Text on Help.gv.at (in German)
14. ^ [6]Text on Help.gv.at (in German)

See also





 •  • [ e]
Passports
By continent
AfricaEgypt Mauritius Namibia Seychelles Somalia South Africa
AsiaPeople's Republic of China Hong Kong (PRC) India Indonesia Israel Japan Kazakhstan Macau (PRC) Malaysia Pakistan Philippines Republic of China (Taiwan) Thailand Singapore Vietnam
AustralasiaAustralia New Zealand
EuropeArmenia Austria Belarus Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Liechtenstein Lithuania Malta Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom
North AmericaBelize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominican Republic El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Mexico Panama Saint Vincent and the Grenadines United States
South AmericaAndean Community of Nations Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia Peru Uruguay Venezuela
By typeBiometric passport Internal passport Machine-readable passport
Other passportsAlien's passport Camouflage passport Hajj passport
Hebrew}}} 
Writing system: Alefbet Ivri abjad 
Official status
Official language of:  Israel
Regulated by: Academy of the Hebrew Language

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Anthem
Hatikvah
The Hope


Capital
(and largest city) Jerusalem

Official languages Hebrew, Arabic
Demonym Israeli
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20th century - 21st century - 22nd century
1970s  1980s  1990s  - 2000s -  2010s  2020s  2030s
1999 2000 2001 - 2002 - 2003 2004 2005

2002 by topic:
News by month
Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun
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20th century - 21st century - 22nd century
1970s  1980s  1990s  - 2000s -  2010s  2020s  2030s
2003 2004 2005 - 2006 - 2007 2008 2009

2006 by topic:
News by month
Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun
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general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.
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beth din, beit din or beis din (בית דין, Hebrew: "house of judgment", plural battei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Land of Israel.
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Aguna (Hebrew: עגונה, plural: agunot; literally 'anchored or chained') is a halachic term for a Jewish woman who is chained to her marriage because her husband's whereabouts are unknown.
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biometric passport is a combined paper and electronic identity document that uses biometrics to authenticate the citizenship of travellers. The passport's critical information is stored on a tiny RFID computer chip, much like information stored on smartcards.
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The coat of arms of Israel shows a menorah surrounded by an olive branch on each side, and the writing "ישראל" (Hebrew for Israel) below it.
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Hebrew}}} 
Writing system: Alefbet Ivri abjad 
Official status
Official language of:  Israel
Regulated by: Academy of the Hebrew Language

..... Click the link for more information.
English}}} 
Writing system: Latin (English variant) 
Official status
Official language of: 53 countries
Regulated by: no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1: en
ISO 639-2: eng
ISO 639-3: eng  
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menorah (Hebrew: מנורה), is a seven branched candelabrum lit by olive oil in the Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem. The menorah is one of the oldest symbols of the Jewish people.
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Teudat Zehut (he: ) or biţāqat huwīya (بطاقة هوية
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Golda Meir (Hebrew: גולדה מאיר‎, Arabic: جولدا مئير, born
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The Reparations Agreement between Israel and West Germany was signed on September 10, 1952.[1] and entered in force on March 27, 1953.[2] According to the Agreement, West Germany was to pay Israel for the slave labor and persecution of Jews during the
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1950s  1960s  1970s  - 1980s -  1990s  2000s  2010s
1977 1978 1979 - 1980 - 1981 1982 1983

Year 1980 (MCMLXXX
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March 30 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 240 BC - 1st recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.

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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1950s  1960s  1970s  - 1980s -  1990s  2000s  2010s
1977 1978 1979 - 1980 - 1981 1982 1983

Year 1980 (MCMLXXX
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The Henley Visa Restrictions Index is a global ranking of countries according to travel freedom their citizens enjoy. Henley & Partners has analyzed the visa regulations of all the countries and territories in the world.
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Motto
"Pula"
"Rain"
Anthem
Fatshe leno la rona
Blessed Be This Noble Land


Capital
(and largest city) Gaborone

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This section is written like a personal reflection or and may require .
Please [ improve this article] by rewriting this section in an . (, talk)


Republika y'u Burundi
République du Burundi
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Anthem
Cântico da Liberdade


Capital
(and largest city) Praia

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Motto
"Unité, Dignité, Travail"   (French)
"Unity, Dignity, Work"
Anthem
La Renaissance   (French)
E Zingo
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Motto
"Unité - Justice - Progrès"   (French)
"Unity - Justice - Progress"
Anthem
Udzima wa ya Masiwa
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Ethiopia (IPA: /i.θi.oʊ.pi.ə/) ( ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), officially the
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Motto
"Harambee"   (Swahili)
"Let us all pull together"
Anthem
Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu
"Oh God of All Creation"
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Motto
"Khotso, Pula, Nala"   (Sesotho)
"Peace, Rain, Prosperity"
Anthem
Lesotho Fatse La Bontata Rona
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Motto
Tanindrazana, Fahafahana, Fandrosoana   (Malagasy)
Patrie, liberté, progrès   (French)
"Ancestral-land, Liberty, Progress"
Anthem

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Motto
Unity and Freedom
Anthem
Mulungu dalitsa Malaŵi   (Chichewa)
"Oh God Bless Our Land of Malawi"
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Motto
"Stella Clavisque Maris Indici"   (Latin)
"Star and Key of the Indian Ocean"
Anthem
Motherland
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