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Entry into Israel Law, 5712-1952

חוק הכניסה לישראל, תשי"ב-1952

Published: 1952-09-05Last amended 2026-07-20✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-28
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More

This English text was translated from the official Hebrew using a range of translation tools, and it undergoes ongoing checks and updates. It is not a certified translation.

Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.

The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.

This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For use in legal proceedings, request a certified Expert Legal Opinion.

Chapter II: Entry Procedures and Exit Procedures

Border Stations§

7.

No person shall enter Israel or depart therefrom, whether he is an Israeli citizen or not, except at one of the border stations prescribed by the Minister of the Interior by Order published in Reshumot (Official Gazette), and after presenting himself there before a border control officer or border inspector and producing before him a valid passport, travel document or other document issued for that purpose by the Minister of the Interior; the Minister of the Interior may exempt a person from the provisions of this section if, in his opinion, there are special circumstances that justify doing so.

Departure from Israel§

7a.
(a)Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, no person shall leave Israel for any of the countries listed in section 2a of the Prevention of Infiltration (Offences and Jurisdiction) Law, 5714-1954, and no Israeli citizen or resident of Israel shall enter, by any means whatsoever, any of those countries, except with a permit from the Minister of the Interior or the Prime Minister (hereinafter — the permit-granting authority); in this subsection, "resident" means a person holding a valid visa and licence under section 2(a)(3) or (4).
(b)A permit as referred to in subsection (a) may be general or personal, and the permit-granting authority may prescribe therein conditions, qualifications or restrictions.
(c)A general permit under this section, or a condition, qualification or restriction contained therein (in this subsection — the permit), shall come into force upon its publication in Reshumot (Official Gazette); where grounds for prescribing the permit arose in circumstances requiring its immediate application and it was not possible to publish it immediately in Reshumot (Official Gazette), it shall be published by another means that appears to the permit-granting authority to be appropriate in the circumstances and that will bring it to public attention, provided that it shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette) as soon as this can be done; where a permit was published by another appropriate means as aforesaid, it shall come into force on the date of such publication, provided that the text published in Reshumot (Official Gazette) shall be the binding text.

Border Control§

8.
(a)
(1)A person responsible for a conveyance expected to arrive in Israel or to depart therefrom shall transmit to the Population and Immigration Authority the particulars appearing in the travel documents of the passengers and workers on the conveyance who are expected to arrive in Israel or to depart therefrom on that conveyance, as well as information about the conveyance, including the date of its arrival in Israel and its point of departure, or the date of its departure from Israel and its destination, as the case may be, all in the manner, at the times and under the conditions prescribed by the Minister of the Interior; the Minister of the Interior may prescribe that such particulars shall be transmitted by electronic means, and that the obligation to furnish them shall not apply to categories of conveyances that he has prescribed;
(2)A person responsible for a conveyance that has arrived in Israel or is about to depart therefrom shall furnish to the border control officer or the border inspector the list of passengers and workers on that conveyance, upon his demand; the list shall specify the particulars prescribed by the Minister of the Interior in Regulations under this Law;
(3)Where the border control officer finds that a person whose particulars were transmitted under paragraph (1) is not entitled to enter Israel or to depart therefrom, he may notify the person responsible for the conveyance accordingly, and that person shall not carry him to or from Israel, as the case may be; this provision shall not apply to the conveyance to Israel of an Israeli citizen or of a resident, within the meaning of the Population Registry Law, or of the holder of a licence for temporary residence permitting him to work in Israel temporarily for remuneration, who hold a return visa within the meaning of section 5 or another visa for the purpose of returning to Israel, as the case may be, whose validity as granted prior to departure from Israel has not expired; nothing in the provisions of this paragraph derogates from the provisions of sections 9 and 10.
(b)A border control officer may enter any conveyance arriving in Israel or about to depart therefrom and carry out an inspection therein; and every person found therein, including every worker thereon, is required to show the border control officer, upon his demand, the documents and to provide him with the information relevant to the implementation of this Law.
(c)In this Law —

"person responsible for a conveyance" means any of the following, as the case may be:

(1)in respect of an aircraft — an air operator as defined in the Aviation Law, 5771-2011;
(2)in respect of a vessel — the owner of the vessel, its master, the person in control thereof, its agent or representative;
(3)in respect of another conveyance — the owner of the conveyance, the hirer of the conveyance or its operator;

"Population Registry Law" — the Population Registry Law, 5725-1965;

"travel document" — a passport, travel document, laissez-passer or other identity document recognised by the Minister of the Interior by Order for the purpose of entry into and exit from Israel.

Retention and Deletion of Information§

8a.
(a)The Population and Immigration Authority shall retain information as referred to in section 8(a)(1) concerning conveyances, including the dates of their arrival in Israel and their points of departure, or the dates of their departure from Israel and their destinations, in respect of an Israeli citizen or resident within the meaning of the Population Registry Law (in this section — the information), for a period not exceeding 90 days; at the end of that period, the information shall be deleted from every location in which it is stored.
(b)
(1)The Population and Immigration Authority may transmit the information, in whole or in part, to the entities listed in the First Schedule, for the purpose of performing their functions under law, and subject to the conditions set out in that Schedule, provided that a person who has received information under this subsection shall not transmit it to another entity, and shall delete the information from every location in which it is stored no later than the end of the period referred to in subsection (a);
(2)Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter IV of the Privacy Protection Law, 5741-1981, and the provisions of any other law, the transmission of the information, in whole or in part, and its retention are permitted solely in accordance with the provisions under this section.
(c)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b), the Population and Immigration Authority and a person who has received information under the provisions of subsection (b) may refrain from deleting information concerning a specific person if the information serves the investigation, prevention or thwarting of an offence, or in proceedings to which the State is a party, provided that the information is required for the performance of their functions; a person in possession of such information may retain it or transmit it to another, subject to the provisions of any law.
(d)The Minister of Justice, with the consent of the Minister of the Interior and with the approval of the Interior and Environmental Protection Committee of the Knesset, may, by Order, amend the First Schedule.

Examination of Right of Entry§

9.

Where a person arrives in Israel and wishes to enter it, a border control officer may delay his entry pending clarification of whether he is entitled to enter, and may direct the place where he is to remain until the clarification is completed or until his departure from Israel.

Removal of Person Not Entitled to Enter§

10.
(a)Where a person arrives in Israel and is found not to be entitled to enter it, the Minister of the Interior may remove him from Israel.
(b)A border control officer may detain such a person in a place and in a manner prescribed by the Minister of the Interior, until his departure from Israel or until his removal therefrom.
(c)A person responsible for a conveyance that has arrived in Israel is required, upon the demand of a border control officer, to convey from Israel any person who arrived on that conveyance with the intention of entering Israel and was found not to be entitled to do so.

Conditions for Granting a Visa and Licence to a Foreign Worker§

10a.
(a)No licence and no visa shall be granted to a foreign worker under section 2, unless a medical certificate within its meaning in section 1b of the Foreign Workers Law has been furnished and the fees under section 1j of that Law have been paid.
(b)The Minister of the Interior may exempt a foreign worker from furnishing a medical certificate; an exemption under this section may be personal or for categories of foreign workers, provided that an exemption in respect of categories of foreign workers shall be granted in consultation with the Minister of Health and with the Minister of Industry, Trade and Employment.

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Chapter III: Cancellation of Visas and Offences

Section A: Cancellation of Visas

Cancellation of Visas, etc.§
11.
(a)The Minister of the Interior may, at his discretion—
(1)cancel a visa granted under this Law, whether before or at the time of the visa holder's arrival in Israel;
(2)cancel a residence licence granted under this Law;
(3)cancel a permit granted under section 7a.
(a1)If the Minister of the Interior finds that a foreign worker, as defined in Chapter IV-A of the Foreign Workers Law, to whom a visa and a licence for a visit residence have been granted under this Law, has not been employed in the field of occupation specified in his licence under section 2(c) for a period exceeding 90 days, without special reasons being found that prevented that foreign worker or that category of foreign workers from finding employment in the field of occupation during that period, the Minister of the Interior shall cancel the visa and the residence licence granted to the foreign worker, provided that he has given him an opportunity to state his arguments; the Minister of the Interior may authorise a foreign worker or a category of foreign workers to deviate from the period so prescribed if he finds that this is justified in the circumstances of the matter.
(b)The Minister of the Interior may, by a reasoned decision, cancel an immigrant visa and an immigrant certificate granted under the Law of Return, 5710-1950, if they were obtained by the giving of false information.
Cancellation of Permanent Residence Licence for Breach of Allegiance§
11a.
(a)Without derogating from the provisions of section 11(a)(2), the Minister of the Interior may cancel a permanent residence licence granted under this Law (in this section — licence), inter alia, if it has been proven to his satisfaction that the licence holder has committed an act that constitutes a breach of allegiance to the State of Israel, provided that in respect of a person in whose regard one of the following circumstances obtains — such a licence shall not be cancelled except with the consent of the Minister of Justice and after consultation with the committee established under section 11(h) of the Citizenship Law, 5712-1952:
(1)at the time of commission of the act, more than 15 years had elapsed from the date on which he received the licence;
(2)at the time of his birth, one of his parents held a permanent residence licence.
(a1)
(1)Without derogating from the provisions of subsection (a), if all of the following apply to a person, the Minister of the Interior shall notify him within seven working days of his intention to cancel his licence and shall give him an opportunity to state his arguments within seven working days:
(a)he was convicted of an offence and the court that convicted him determined that the offence is an act of terrorism, and if the offence was committed before the commencement of the Counter-Terrorism Law, 5776-2016 — it is an act of terrorism on the basis of the facts determined in the judgment in his matter, or he was convicted of an offence under sections 97 to 99 of the Penal Law, 5737-1977, all of the foregoing if a sentence of imprisonment for actual service was imposed upon him;
(b)it has been proven, to the satisfaction of the Minister of the Interior, after he has given that person an opportunity to state his arguments within seven working days, that he or a person on his behalf and with his knowledge received from the Palestinian Authority, directly or indirectly, pay or remuneration for the breach of allegiance to the State of Israel (hereinafter — funds linked to terrorism);
(2)for the purposes of this subsection, if the consent of the Minister of Justice as referred to in subsection (a) has not been given within seven working days, he shall be deemed to have given his consent;
(3)if the Minister of the Interior cancelled a person's licence as referred to in this subsection and the presumption referred to in subsection (b) has not been rebutted, the person shall be removed from Israel upon the completion of his sentence, under section 13, to the territories of the Palestinian Authority, and his entry into Israel shall no longer be permitted.
(b)If the Minister of the Interior decided to cancel a licence under the provisions of this section, and found that after the cancellation that person would remain without a permanent residence licence outside Israel, without the possibility of acquiring a right of permanent residence outside Israel, or without citizenship, he shall, shortly after the decision to cancel the licence, grant him a licence to reside in Israel; for the purposes of this subsection, there is a presumption that a person who resides permanently outside Israel, or who or a person on his behalf and with his knowledge received funds linked to terrorism, will not remain without a permanent residence licence outside Israel, without the possibility of acquiring a right of permanent residence outside Israel, or without citizenship.
(c)If a person whose licence was cancelled under this section filed an administrative petition with the Administrative Affairs Court against the decision of the Minister of the Interior, the Minister shall permit that person's entry into Israel until the conclusion of the proceedings arising from the Minister's decision, unless he is satisfied that his entry into Israel poses a real danger to State security or to public order.
(c1)The Minister of the Interior shall report to the Interior and Environmental Protection Committee of the Knesset, once a year, on the cases in which the circumstances referred to in subsection (a1)(1)(a) and (b) obtained and the licence was not cancelled, and the reasons therefor.
(d)In this section,

"breach of allegiance to the State of Israel" — any of the following:

(1)an act of terrorism as defined in the Counter-Terrorism Law, 5776-2016, assistance or incitement to such an act, or active participation in a terrorist organisation or a declared terrorist organisation as defined in that Law;
(2)an act constituting treason under sections 97 to 99 of the Penal Law, 5737-1977, or aggravated espionage under section 113(b) of that Law;

"the Palestinian Authority" — as defined in the Law for the Freezing and Deduction of Funds Paid by the Palestinian Authority Linked to Terrorism from Funds Transferred to It by the Government of Israel, 5778-2018;

"territories of the Palestinian Authority" — the territories of the Palestinian Council as defined in section 13j, and the area of the Gaza Strip.

11b.§
(a)If the Minister of the Interior determines that an infiltrator who received a residence licence in Israel under section 2(a)(5) is a supporter of the government of his country, in accordance with an opinion submitted to him by the Director of the Population and Immigration Authority, and after he has given that person an opportunity to state his arguments — there is a presumption that that person does not face a danger that prevents his removal to his country.
(b)If the presumption referred to in subsection (a) has not been rebutted, after the infiltrator has been given an opportunity to state his arguments on this matter within 30 days from the date on which notice of a determination as aforesaid in his matter was delivered to him, the Minister of the Interior shall cancel the residence licence granted to that person immediately and shall remove him from Israel to his country in accordance with the provisions of section 13.
(c)In this section —

"infiltrator" — as defined in the Prevention of Infiltration (Offences and Jurisdiction) Law, 5714-1954;

"supporter of the government of his country" — a person who has expressed support, directly or indirectly, for the government of his country, including maintaining a material connection with representatives of the governing institutions of his country, excluding such a connection that was intended for the performance of an act that cannot be performed in any other way.

Cancellation of an Infiltrator's Residence Licence upon Conviction of an Offence and His Removal from Israel§
11c.

If an infiltrator as defined in section 11b was convicted of an offence carrying a penalty of three years' imprisonment or more, the Minister of the Interior shall cancel the residence licence granted to him and shall remove him from Israel after the completion of his sentence, if he finds that his stay in Israel is liable to endanger State security or public order, provided that he has given him an opportunity to state his arguments.

Report to the Knesset§
11d.

The Minister of the Interior shall report to the Interior and Environmental Protection Committee of the Knesset, once a year, on the implementation of sections 11b and 11c, including the number of infiltrators whose residence licence was cancelled or who were removed from Israel under each of those sections, in the year preceding the date of the report.

Preservation of Powers§
11e.

Nothing in the provisions of sections 11b and 11c shall derogate from the power of the Minister of the Interior to remove an infiltrator to his country or to another country under any law, or from the power to detain an infiltrator in custody under any law, and nothing in those provisions shall confer on an infiltrator a status or rights that he did not have but for those provisions.

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