Israeli Passport: How to Apply After Aliyah, Renew, and What Dual Citizens Must Know

This guide covers the practical questions: when a new immigrant actually becomes eligible for a passport, how the PIBA appointment works, what renewal abroad looks like, what it costs in 2026, and how the entry rule affects dual citizens. For acquiring citizenship in the first place, see our guides on making aliyah and naturalization for non-Jewish foreigners.

1. Who Needs an Israeli Passport

Every Israeli citizen who travels abroad needs an Israeli passport or Israeli travel document, including citizens who also hold a foreign passport. The main groups applying are:

• New immigrants (Olim), who become citizens under the Law of Return and Section 2 of the Citizenship Law 5712-1952. They start with a Teudat Maavar (see Section 2).
• Children born in Israel to an Israeli parent, who are citizens by birth under Section 4 of the Citizenship Law. The passport has to be applied for separately.
• Israelis born abroad who have Israeli citizenship through a parent but never held a passport. See Israeli citizenship by descent.
• Naturalized citizens, once their citizenship is recorded in the Population Registry.
• Anyone whose passport has expired, or is about to expire before a trip.

Inside Israel, your Teudat Zehut (ID card) is your identity document. The passport is only for international travel.

2. New Olim: Teudat Maavar First, Passport Later

This is the part most new immigrants get wrong. Under the current rules:

• An Oleh can apply for a Teudat Maavar (Israeli travel document, a laissez-passer) 90 days or three full months after the aliyah date, whichever is longer. During the first year after aliyah, that is the document you receive. It is often valid for up to five years.
• A first passport can be requested only after the first anniversary of aliyah. A passport valid for up to five years is issued only if you spent at least 60% of that first year in Israel. Otherwise you receive another Teudat Maavar.
• For a full 10-year passport in the following years, PIBA looks at whether you spent 36 of the last 60 months in Israel. Israeli missions abroad apply a similar test: Olim who lived in Israel for less than three of the last five years receive a laissez-passer rather than a passport.

A Teudat Maavar is a valid Israeli travel document for entering and leaving Israel, but some countries do not accept it or require a visa with it. Most Olim with a Western passport travel abroad on that passport, and use the Teudat Maavar or Israeli passport for Israeli border control.

3. Applying Inside Israel: Step by Step

1. Book an appointment through PIBA's online scheduling system or the *3450 call center. You can book at any branch, not only your local one. Soldiers in uniform can be served without an appointment.
2. Pay. PIBA accepts credit cards only (Israeli cards, and digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay); cash and debit cards are not accepted. Paying online before the appointment is cheaper, and cheapest in the winter period, November 1 to the end of February. A winter payment is honored if you apply within three months of paying and no later than April 30 of the same year.
3. Attend in person with your Teudat Zehut, your old passport or travel document if you have one, and your payment confirmation. The clerk takes your photo and fingerprints at the counter, so you do not need to bring photos.
4. Receive the passport by courier. It is sent to a post office or a parcel pickup point near the address on your Teudat Zehut. Nefesh B'Nefesh advises allowing four to six weeks. You get an SMS with a tracking number, and PIBA later asks you by SMS to confirm receipt.

4. Renewing at an Israeli Embassy or Consulate Abroad

Israeli missions abroad issue non-biometric passports, valid for up to five years. Biometric passports are issued only in Israel, and missions cannot renew them as biometric documents. Practice at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, which follows the Foreign Ministry's general rules, illustrates the process:

• Adults renewing can usually apply by mail with the last Israeli passport, two recent photos (2 x 2 inches in the US), the signed application form and a credit-card payment form.
• In person only: a first Israeli travel document; a minor's passport (the child attends with the parents); the first adult passport after a minor's passport; and anyone who has not visited Israel in the past 10 years.
• Minors: both parents must consent. If the parents are registered in Israel as married to each other, one parent may attend with the child. Mailed forms for minors must be signed in front of a notary.
• Fees: charged in local currency. In Washington in 2026 they were USD 98 for an adult renewal and USD 51 for a minor. Other missions publish their own rates.
• ID cards (Teudat Zehut) cannot be issued abroad.

Each mission covers a defined area. For example, the Washington embassy serves D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina, and the consulates general cover other regions. Check your mission's website for its booking system.

5. Documents Required

Inside Israel (adult, first passport or renewal):

• Teudat Zehut (Israeli ID card)
• Previous Israeli passport or Teudat Maavar, if you have one
• Payment confirmation, or a credit card or digital wallet to pay at the branch

Minors under 18:

• The child, who must attend in person
• Both parents' consent and ID documents. Where only one parent has guardianship, bring the court order or other proof.
• The child's previous passport, if any

Name change: first update your name in the Population Registry (after marriage, divorce or a court-approved change). The new passport will show the registry name.

At a mission abroad: the previous Israeli travel document, two photos to the mission's specifications, the application form, and, for a first document, proof of Israeli citizenship. Missions may ask for apostilled foreign civil documents, such as a foreign birth certificate for a child born abroad. See apostille for Israel.

6. 2026 Fees, Validity, and Timing

PIBA's fee table, updated as of January 1, 2026 (credit card only):

• Adult passport, first or renewal: NIS 315 at the branch; NIS 290 paid online in summer; NIS 185 paid online in winter
• Minor passport, first or renewal: NIS 165 at the branch; NIS 145 online in summer; NIS 110 online in winter
• Replacing a lost, stolen or damaged passport (adult): NIS 645 at the branch; NIS 620 or NIS 515 online
• Teudat Maavar for an Israeli citizen (adult), first or renewal: NIS 165 at the branch; NIS 145 or NIS 110 online
• Temporary passport issued at a branch (adult): NIS 480 (NIS 455 or NIS 350 online)
• Temporary passport at Ben Gurion Airport (adult): NIS 970 (NIS 945 or NIS 840 online)

Soldiers and people doing national-civil service pay reduced rates, and lone soldiers are exempt from travel-document fees except for replacing a lost document.

Validity: biometric passports issued in Israel are valid for up to 10 years for adults. Children's passports have shorter validity. Passports issued at missions abroad are valid for up to five years. Many countries require at least six months' validity left on entry, so renew early.

7. Biometric Passports: What to Expect

Israeli biometric passports and ID cards are issued under the Biometric Database Law. A pilot ran from 2013, and the arrangement has been permanent since 2017. The passport contains a chip with your facial image and fingerprint data, which lets you use the automated gates at Ben Gurion Airport and e-passport readers abroad. At the appointment the clerk verifies your identity, photographs you and scans your fingerprints, and you sign electronically. Children's appointments follow age-specific rules. Ask at booking if you are applying for a young child.

You cannot get a biometric passport at an embassy or consulate. If you live abroad and want one, you have to apply during a visit to Israel and allow time for courier delivery to an Israeli address, or plan to collect it before you fly back.

8. Dual Citizens and the Israeli Border Rule

The legal rule, which the Foreign Ministry repeats on every consular page, is that an Israeli citizen must enter and leave Israel with an Israeli passport or Israeli travel document. Having a foreign passport does not change this. At the foreign country's border you use whichever passport suits that country.

• Temporary relief: since the 2023 war, PIBA has repeatedly extended a measure that lets Israeli citizens who do not have a valid Israeli document enter and leave on a valid foreign passport without an exit permit. Nefesh B'Nefesh, citing PIBA, reported it extended through December 31, 2026. Bring your expired Israeli passport or Teudat Zehut if you have one. Airlines can ask for proof of Israeli citizenship and may apply their own rules, so check with them and confirm the relief is still in force before you travel.
• Outside the relief: a citizen without a valid Israeli document can ask a PIBA branch for a one-time approval to leave on a foreign passport, with a Teudat Zehut, proof of travel and the foreign passport. At Ben Gurion, the last resort is an expensive temporary passport.
• Military service: dual citizens of military age, including Olim and children of Israelis born abroad, should check their status before traveling. See IDF service for new immigrants and dual citizens.

For a broader look at holding two passports, see dual citizenship in Israel.

9. Lost, Stolen, or Urgent

Lost or stolen in Israel: report it to PIBA (call center *3450, or at a branch) so the document is cancelled, and apply for a replacement at the higher replacement fee (NIS 645 at the branch for adults). If it was stolen, file a police report as well.

Lost or stolen abroad: contact the nearest Israeli embassy or consulate. The mission will take a loss declaration and issue a replacement Israeli travel document so you can continue your trip or return home. Requirements and timing vary by mission.

Urgent travel from Israel: a PIBA branch can issue a temporary passport for urgent travel (NIS 480 for an adult at the branch). There is also a more expensive service at Ben Gurion Airport for genuine emergencies within 48 hours of the flight.