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Passports Law, 5712-1952

חוק הדרכונים, תשי"ב-1952

Published: 1952-07-17Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2025-08-04 · Last amended 2023-06-14✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-05
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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.

Interpretation§

1.

In this Law –

"passport" means an Israeli passport that is neither a diplomatic passport nor a service passport;

"travel document" means an Israeli identity and travel certificate that is not a passport;

"the Minister" means the Minister of the Interior.

To Whom a Passport or Travel Document Is Issued§

2.
(a)A passport shall be issued to an Israeli citizen upon his application.
(b)A travel document shall be issued –
(1)to a person who is not an Israeli citizen or whose citizenship is undefined or uncertain;
(2)in special cases – to an Israeli citizen upon his application.

Obligation to Use an Israeli Passport§

2a.

An Israeli citizen shall present, upon entering Israel and upon departing from it, before a border control officer, an Israeli passport or an Israeli travel document; the Minister may, in special circumstances, authorise the entry and departure of an Israeli citizen on the basis of the presentation of another passport or travel document.

In Whose Name a Passport or Travel Document Is Issued§

3.
(a)A passport or travel document is issued to an individual; the Minister may permit the inclusion of a minor who has not yet reached the age of seventeen years in the passport or travel document of one of the minor's parents.
(b)The Minister may permit the inclusion of a person who has not yet reached the age of seventeen years in the passport or travel document of another person, even if that other person is not one of the parents of the person being included, provided that special circumstances exist that justify such inclusion.
(c)The Minister may permit the issue of a passport or travel document to a group of persons for the purpose of travelling together.

Period of Validity of a Passport§

4.
(a)The period of validity of a passport is ten years from the date of its issue; however, the Minister may grant an Israeli citizen who has not settled in Israel a passport for a period shorter than ten years or a travel document; the Minister may direct the issue of a specific passport or a specific class of passports for a period shorter than ten years.
(b)Where the Minister has fixed for a passport a period shorter than ten years, the Minister may extend it for additional periods, provided that the aggregate of all periods of validity of the passport does not exceed ten years from the date of its issue.
(c)The provisions under subsections (a) and (b) shall apply subject to the provisions of section 5a of the Inclusion of Biometric Identification Means and Biometric Identification Data in Identification Documents and in a Database Law, 5770-2009.

Period of Validity of a Travel Document§

5.
(a)The period of validity of a travel document is five years from the date of its issue; however, the Minister may direct the issue of a specific travel document or a specific class of travel documents for a period shorter than five years.
(b)Where the Minister has fixed for a travel document a period shorter than five years, the Minister may extend it for additional periods, provided that the aggregate of all periods of validity of the document does not exceed five years from the date of its issue.

Minister's Discretion§

6.
(a)The Minister may, at the Minister's discretion –
(1)refuse to issue a passport or travel document, and refuse to extend them;
(2)prescribe conditions for the issue of a passport or travel document and for their extension;
(3)cancel a passport or travel document that has been issued or shorten the period of their validity, and order their return;
(4)restrict, whether at the time of issuing a passport or travel document or thereafter, the countries in respect of which they shall be valid;
(5)determine that a passport or travel document shall contain biometric identification means, biometric identification data or other computer material; for this purpose –

"biometric identification means" and "biometric identification data" – as defined in the Inclusion of Biometric Identification Means and Biometric Identification Data in Identification Documents and in a Database Law, 5770-2009;

"computer material" – as defined in the Computers Law, 5755-1995.

(b)(Repealed)

Rules for the Issue of Passports Abroad§

6a.
(a)The Minister, with the approval of the Government and after consultation with the Interior Committee of the Knesset, may prescribe by Regulations the cases in which a passport shall not be issued to Israeli citizens who are abroad and the validity of a passport in their possession shall not be extended, except for the purpose of their return to Israel, unless there are circumstances that, in the opinion of the Minister, justify the issue of a passport or the extension of its validity even otherwise than for the purpose of their return to Israel.
(b)Nothing in the provisions of subsection (a) shall derogate from the powers of the Minister under section 6.

Power to Take Possession of a Passport and Travel Document§

6b.

The Minister may require the holder of a passport or travel document to deliver the passport or travel document to the Minister, or to a person specified in the demand, for all or any of the following purposes:

(1)archiving the passport or travel document if its validity has expired;
(2)renewing them if they have become worn;
(3)altering the particulars recorded in them;
(4)inspecting them;

provided that no alteration shall be made to the particulars recorded in a passport or travel document except after the person concerned has been given a proper opportunity to be heard.

Duty of holder of a travel document§

6b1.

A person who has been issued a passport or a laissez-passer (in this Law – a travel document) is required to take reasonable measures to safeguard the travel document and to prevent its misuse.

Loss or Theft of a Travel Document§

6c.
(a)A person who has lost a travel document or whose travel document has been stolen shall submit a written declaration to that effect, within a reasonable time from the day on which the fact of the loss or theft became known to the person, to the office of the Population and Immigration Authority, and if the event occurred outside Israel, the person shall submit the declaration to the nearest Israeli diplomatic or consular mission to the place of the incident.
(b)A travel document whose holder has submitted a declaration as referred to in subsection (a) shall be void upon the submission of the declaration.

Duty to Hand Over a Passport or Travel Document§

7.

A person who finds a passport or travel document shall deliver them to a police station within seven days from the day on which the person found them.

Penalties§

8.
(a)A person who does any of the following:
(1)forged a passport or travel document, added to, altered, erased, tore, or defaced in any manner an entry or stamp therein, without being lawfully authorised to do so, or performed an act directed at forging, adding to, altering, erasing, tearing or defacing as aforesaid;
(2)used or was in possession of a passport or travel document that was forged or in which an entry was added, erased or altered without authorisation, and did not prove that the use or possession was in good faith;
(3)unlawfully used a passport or travel document that does not belong to the person or in which the person's name is not specified;
(4)permitted another person to unlawfully use the person's passport or travel document, and that other person's name is not specified therein;
(5)knowingly submitted a false statement in a material particular for the purpose of obtaining a passport or travel document, or for the purpose of their extension, alteration or correction,

is liable to imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to five hundred pounds or both penalties.

(b)A person who refused or was negligent –
(1)in returning a passport or travel document after having been ordered to return them;
(2)in delivering to a police station a passport or travel document that the person found,
(3)in complying with a demand to deliver a passport or travel document as referred to in section 6b,

is liable to imprisonment of up to three months or a fine of up to two hundred pounds or both penalties.

Transfer of Powers§

9.
(a)The Minister may transfer to another all or any of the Minister's powers under this Law, except for the power to cancel a passport and the power to make Regulations. Notice of a transfer of powers shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).
(b)A person who considers themselves aggrieved by a decision under section 6, paragraphs (1), (2) or (3), given pursuant to a transfer of power from the Minister, may apply to the Minister for a final ruling.

Implementation and Regulations§

10.

The Minister is charged with the implementation of this Law, and may make Regulations on any matter relating to its implementation, including with respect to the form of a passport and of a travel document, the particulars to be specified therein and the alteration of such particulars, as well as with respect to the fees to be paid for services under this Law.

Repeal and Validation of Validity§

11.

The Passports Ordinance, 1934, is repealed. The Regulations in the Schedule to the said Ordinance, as well as Regulations, Orders and notices made and documents issued under the said Ordinance, shall remain in force as if made and issued under this Law.

Commencement§

12.

This Law shall come into force on the 21st day of Tammuz 5712 (14 July 1952).

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