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Immigration & Aliyah

Can a foreign national be detained in Israel pending deportation, and for how long?

Yes. The Entry into Israel Law 5712-1952 lets a border control officer issue a custody order alongside a removal order when a person has no valid status. Detention is administrative rather than criminal, so there is no charge and no criminal record, but it is real confinement at a holding facility or at the airport. Every detainee must be brought before the Custody Review Tribunal within a few days, and the tribunal then reviews the file at regular intervals and can order release on bail and conditions.

Detention under the Entry into Israel Law exists to secure removal, not to punish. A Border Control officer of the Population and Immigration Authority signs the custody order, and the file goes automatically to the Custody Review Tribunal, a judicial body of lawyers appointed by the Ministry of Justice. The tribunal examines whether the removal order is valid, whether the person genuinely lacks status, and whether continued detention is still necessary. It can release the detainee on bail, on a cash deposit, on a surety or on reporting conditions, and it must revisit the file periodically rather than leaving it open indefinitely.

For a foreign national the decisive factors are speed and paperwork. Detention is often triggered at Ben Gurion Airport or during a workplace inspection, and someone who is midway through a status application, married to an Israeli, or the parent of an Israeli child usually has a strong release argument if the documents reach the tribunal quickly. Have a relative or lawyer in Israel deliver copies of Population Authority receipts, marriage or birth certificates and passports. Tribunal decisions can be appealed to the Court for Administrative Affairs, and our guide to deportation from Israel sets out the wider procedure.

⚖ In Practice
  • Governing law: Entry into Israel Law 5712-1952 (removal orders and custody orders) and the regulations made under it
  • Competent authority: Population and Immigration Authority (Rashut HaOchlusin VeHaHagira, PIBA); Custody Review Tribunal (Beit HaDin LeVikoret Mishmoret)
  • Judicial review: first tribunal hearing within about four days of detention, followed by periodic review; appeal lies to the Court for Administrative Affairs (Beit HaMishpat LeInyanim Minhaliyim)
  • Bail: release is commonly conditioned on a cash deposit or third-party guarantee, frequently in the range of NIS 5,000-30,000 (2026), plus an undertaking to depart
  • Practical point: consular access is permitted; ask the tribunal to record the request in the hearing protocol

From the full guide: Deportation from Israel: What Foreigners Need to Know About Orders, Rights, and Appeals

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Get a Free Consultation with Adv. Eli ShimonyPrepared under the direction of Adv. Eli Shimony, Eli Shimony Law Office · Editorial policy

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