Olim Chadashim Benefits
The Olim Chadashim Benefits: A Package Worth a Fortune — If You Claim It
Israel recognises that aliyah is life-changing, and it backs that recognition with a benefits package that can be worth hundreds of thousands of shekels over your first decade. The Sal Klita lands the moment you do; the ten-year tax exemption quietly works in your favour for years. But none of it is automatic in the way you might hope. Almost every benefit keys off two things — your registered address and your active bank account — and almost every one comes with a deadline. The olim who capture the full value aren't the ones who qualify hardest; they're the ones who stay organised and don't miss a window.
Here's the whole landscape, and how to claim each piece.
It starts with the Sal Klita
The Sal Klita, or absorption basket, is the primary financial assistance from the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration (Misrad HaKlita), there to cover your initial living expenses. It begins with a cash payment on arrival at Ben Gurion, and then — once you've given Misrad HaKlita your Israeli bank details — the rest arrives by direct deposit, six monthly installments paid between the 1st and 15th of each month. The amount varies with your age and family status.
There's a residency condition you can't afford to break. If you leave Israel during the first six months, payments stop immediately. They reinstate fourteen days after you return if that's within the first year — but if you come back thirteen months or more after aliyah, they're discontinued for good. It's also the clearest reason to open your bank account fast: an inactive account simply can't receive the deposits.
Rent support and a living allowance
The Ministry of Housing (Misrad HaShikun) subsidises your housing costs in the early years through Ezrat Diyur, with the rules pegged to your aliyah date. If you made aliyah before 1 March 2024, it starts in your eighth month and runs up to five years. If you made aliyah on or after that date, it starts in your seventh month and runs up to thirty months from the date of your oleh status. The amount depends on your family size, where you live, and how long you've been resident — with bonus assistance for those settling in national priority areas, the Negev, and the Galilee.
Once the Sal Klita payments end after six months, if neither spouse is working you can apply for Dmei Kiyum, a living allowance through Misrad HaKlita that carries you while you find professional footing. It comes with a useful knock-on: receiving Dmei Kiyum after your Sal Klita ends extends your free health coverage by another six months — but you have to notify Bituach Leumi, because it isn't applied automatically.
The tax benefits — the most valuable of all
The headline benefit, and the one most worth understanding properly, is the ten-year exemption on foreign income. For a full decade from your aliyah date, you're exempt from Israeli tax on income sourced abroad — a saving that can run into the tens or hundreds of thousands of shekels. It covers passive income like dividends, interest, and foreign rental income; capital gains from foreign assets, shares, or real estate; foreign pensions and annuities; royalties and allowances; freelance work for clients outside Israel; and active income earned abroad. Two caveats: it applies to Israeli tax only, so you may still owe tax where the income is earned, and it doesn't touch Israeli-source income. You can also request an "acclimatisation year" so your first year isn't counted as residency for tax — but you must apply within ninety days.
One important change to flag. The exemption itself is fully intact, but the reporting rules shifted in 2026. Olim who became residents through 31 December 2025 received the exemption with no reporting obligation. Those making aliyah from 1 January 2026 onward still get the full ten-year exemption — but must now report their worldwide income and foreign assets to the Israel Tax Authority, even though that income remains untaxed. A separate 2026 reform also adds a temporary exemption on certain Israeli-source earned income for recent olim. Both developments make professional tax advice more valuable than ever; confirm the specifics with an olim-specialist accountant.
Beyond the big exemption, there are several smaller tax levers. Credit points reduce the tax on your Israeli-source income on a tapering schedule — for those who arrived on or after 1 January 2022, across fifty-four months (three points for the first eighteen months, two for the next twelve, one for the final twelve); earlier arrivals get forty-two months. A credit point was worth roughly ₪2,820 a year in 2023, claimed via Form 101 with your employer, with the value reset annually; if you enlist in the IDF or enrol in post-secondary study, you can defer the benefit until you finish. Foreign-currency deposits owned before aliyah and parked with an Israeli bank enjoy an interest exemption — up to twenty years for the deposits themselves, ten for interest on pensions. And on purchase tax (Mas Rechisha), olim pay a reduced rate on a first home — just 0.5% up to a threshold, against standard rates reaching around 10% — usable within seven years of aliyah on a single property, and capable of saving tens of thousands.
Healthcare
For your first six months after aliyah, Bituach Leumi provides free basic healthcare through whichever Kupat Holim you choose. If you go on to receive Dmei Kiyum once the Sal Klita ends, that free cover extends by a further six months — provided, again, that you notify Bituach Leumi. After the free period, contributions come out of your salary if you're working, or are arranged directly with Bituach Leumi if not. Register at the airport, or at your local Misrad HaKlita.
Education
Hebrew comes first: every oleh is entitled to a free ulpan, with a standard intensive course running five months, five days a week, five hours a day. Your Teudat Zehut address determines which ulpan you attend, and the benefit must be used within eighteen months of aliyah. In higher education, olim get reduced tuition at Israeli universities and colleges — for BA candidates up to age 27, MA up to 30, and mechina up to 27 — along with help on credential evaluation, degree recognition, and licensing. And daycare subsidies are available to oleh mothers for up to two years where the parents qualify, for instance with both in ulpan at forty-nine-plus hours a week, both registered as unemployed and job-seeking, or one of each.
Employment
To help you find professional footing, the system offers career counselling and placement, professional licensing support, registration with employment services, and vocational training or retraining. Running alongside that is formal recognition of foreign degrees — credential evaluation, the licensing procedures themselves, connections to the relevant regulatory bodies, and clarification of what each profession requires.
Transport
Olim from many countries can convert a foreign driver's licence without sitting a full test, though the exact requirements depend on your country of origin (the Olim Advice guide to converting your licence covers the detail). There's also a one-time vehicle import exemption from customs duties and purchase tax, part of the broader household-goods exemption, coordinated with Meches (Customs) and subject to specific restrictions.
Property and daily living
A few benefits attach to where and how you live. The Arnona discount on municipal tax runs from 50% to 90% depending on the municipality, on properties up to 100 square metres, available during any twelve-month period within your first twenty-four months — but you must apply at your local municipality, as it isn't automatic. The tax-free import of household goods lets you bring appliances and possessions from any country by sea, air, or post; a customs file opens automatically within three days of aliyah, and you have up to three years across a maximum of three shipments, with extensions for military service, full-time study, or being abroad six-plus consecutive months. And the aliyah flight itself, arranged through Nefesh B'Nefesh and the Jewish Agency, gives eligible olim a free one-way direct flight from the NBN schedule, two 50-lb bags, and airport processing of the Teudat Zehut and Teudat Oleh — often as a group or charter flight from cities including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Boston, and Toronto. It must be arranged through NBN and used on your actual aliyah flight; those making aliyah from within Israel aren't eligible, and self-purchased tickets aren't reimbursed.
First steps, in order
The benefits unlock in a rough sequence. At Ben Gurion, go to the airport Misrad HaKlita office, receive your Teudat Zehut number and first Sal Klita payment, register for a Kupat Holim in most cases, and schedule your biometric Teudat Zehut appointment. Within the first week, open an Israeli bank account and hand the details to Misrad HaKlita for direct deposits, or visit your local Misrad HaKlita if airport registration wasn't possible. Within the first month, book the biometric Teudat Zehut at Misrad HaPnim, register children for school, and apply for the Arnona discount at your municipality. Within ninety days, apply for an Israeli travel document (Teudat Ma'avar) at Misrad HaPnim and, if you want it, request "acclimatisation year" tax status.
The thread through all of it: nearly every benefit keys off your registered address and your bank account. Open the account fast, keep your address current with each authority, and most of the rest falls into place on schedule.
Beyond the government
Nefesh B'Nefesh layers its own support on top — pre-aliyah personal advisors, application help, and financial planning; post-aliyah coordinators, workshops, social events, and an online community; and specialised tracks for Lone Soldiers, Bnot Sherut Bodedot, medical professionals through MedEx and IMAP, and employment assistance.
A handful of reminders worth internalising: keep your Teudat Oleh safe, since it's your proof of eligibility for everything; notify the authorities of any address change, because so many benefits are tied to it; mind the deadlines, as each benefit has its own window; seek professional advice, especially on tax; and keep copies of all your paperwork while verifying current figures, which do change. The single highest-value habit is to keep one organised file of your aliyah paperwork — Teudat Oleh, bank letter, customs file, benefit applications — alongside a calendar of the deadlines. Benefits worth hundreds of thousands of shekels are lost every year to nothing more than missed windows and lapsed documentation.
Key contacts
Nefesh B'Nefesh: 1-866-4-ALIYAH from the US and Canada, 02-659-5800 in Israel, info@nbn.org.il. Ministry of Aliyah & Integration: *3680 from within Israel. For healthcare, contact your local Bituach Leumi branch or hotline, and for housing, the Ministry of Housing website lists local offices.
The bottom line
The olim chadashim package is comprehensive and genuinely valuable — potentially worth hundreds of thousands of shekels over your first decade, from the immediate cushion of the Sal Klita to the long-term power of the ten-year tax exemption. The key to capturing it is the same in every category: understand what's available, meet the eligibility rules and the deadlines, get professional guidance where it counts, stay organised, and actively use the support services built for you.
Baruch HaBa HaBaytah — welcome home.
This article reflects the position in mid-2026, including the new reporting requirement for olim arriving from January 2026. Benefit amounts, thresholds, and rules change — always verify current details with official sources and a qualified professional, especially on tax and financial matters. This is general information for olim, not personal financial or tax advice. For more free guides across every stage of your aliyah, visit olimadvice.com.