Passport Requirements
Passport Requirements for Aliyah: What to Copy, Submit, and Avoid
Your passport is the single most important document in the aliyah process. Get the passport documentation wrong and the whole application slows or stops. Get it right and the bureaucracy moves around you, not against you.
The requirements look simple on the surface — submit a copy of your current passport. In practice they aren't. The Entry/Exit Form needs seven years of passport history. Multiple citizenships must all be disclosed. Old expired passports you no longer have must be accounted for. Maiden names, name changes, damaged booklets, missing pages, and minor inconsistencies between passport and birth certificate all create work that compounds if it isn't handled early. This guide covers what to copy, which passports to include, how to meet the validity requirement, and how to avoid the small mistakes that cause large delays.
Start with a valid passport
You need a valid passport from your country of citizenship, valid for at least six months beyond your anticipated aliyah date, and in good physical condition — no damage, no tears, no water damage. Anything less, and you risk rejection at the border or at the visa stage.
Why six months? It's the international travel standard, and Israel requires it for visa processing. Your aliyah visa is issued on the basis of a valid passport, and you need time after arrival to process Israeli documents — including your Teudat Zehut and Teudat Oleh. If your passport is expiring soon, renew it before starting your application. Beginning with a passport that expires in under six months risks processing delays pushing you past expiration and forcing you to redo work.
Plan around renewal times. Passport renewal can take four to twelve weeks depending on the country and service speed. Build that timeline into the start of your aliyah process, not the middle of it.
Which pages to copy
The bio page is the most critical — it carries your photograph and all your personal details: full name, passport number, date and place of birth, sex, nationality, dates of issue and expiration, issuing authority, your signature, and the machine-readable zone at the bottom. Copy it in colour where possible (black and white is usually acceptable), clear and legible, with the entire page included and no cut-off edges. Make several copies for your own records, and keep the original safe — you'll need it at multiple stages.
Name-change pages. If your name changed through marriage, divorce, a legal name change, or adoption, copy the page showing the name-change notation (some countries place it on the main page, others on a separate amendments page) and submit the supporting document — marriage certificate, court order, or divorce decree. Israeli authorities need to connect your current name to your birth name to verify your identity.
Date-extension pages. If your passport was extended, include the page showing both the original and new expiration dates. This is less common now, but include it where it applies.
What you don't need to copy: blank pages, visa-stamp pages, or entry/exit stamp pages (none are needed for the standard application). Copy only the bio page, name-change pages, date-extension pages, and any page carrying information relevant to you.
The Entry/Exit Form: the seven-year history requirement
This is the part that causes more confusion than any other, because it asks for significantly more than the basic application does. The Entry/Exit Form is an Israeli government form required for everyone aged seventeen and above making aliyah. It tracks your travel history, prevents issues with Israeli military-service obligations, and establishes whether you previously left Israel and when.
There are three applicant categories:
StatusDescriptionOleh ChadashBorn outside Israel to non-Israeli parents. Never lived in Israel. First-time olim.Ezrach OlehBorn outside Israel to Israeli parents. Israeli citizen from birth. Never lived in Israel, or only briefly.Katin ChozerBorn in Israel, or made aliyah as a child, then left before the 14th birthday. Now returning as an adult.
For categories 1 and 2: submit copies of the first page of every passport you hold, for every nationality, for the past seven years from your anticipated aliyah date — including expired passports, plus any name-change or date-extension pages. For example, making aliyah in July 2025 means including every passport you held between July 2018 and now, even one that expired in 2020, and even if you've never been to Israel.
For category 3: submit copies of the first page of every passport, for every nationality, since your 14th birthday — not just the past seven years — plus any name-change or date-extension pages.
Multiple citizenships: every passport, every nationality
If you hold more than one passport, you must submit copies of every passport from every country — dual US/Canadian, a European passport plus a birth-country one, or three or more citizenships. All must be submitted, even one you rarely use, because the Israeli government needs a complete picture of your travel possibilities and full legal status. If you hold a citizenship but never obtained the passport, note this clearly.
Expired passports count: for the Entry/Exit Form, include any passport from any nationality within the past seven years, even one that expired five years ago. (For the basic application, you need only your current valid passport's bio page.)
And if you've lost or disposed of old passports? Don't panic — and don't fabricate. Write an explanation letter stating which passports you held and their approximate dates, that they were lost, destroyed, or disposed of, with passport numbers if you have records. You may be asked to request passport history from your government. This won't necessarily prevent aliyah — but be honest and upfront from the start.
The fastest aliyah applications are the most honest ones. The slowest are the ones where something was hidden, forgotten, or fudged — and had to be reconciled later.
Labelling: clear labels, faster processing
A neatly organised submission moves through the system faster than a complete but disorganised one. Every copy page should show the holder's full name as it appears on the passport, the passport number, the country of issuance, and which page it is (e.g. "Main Page", "Name-Change Page"). You can write directly on the copy (never the original), attach sticky notes, or type and print labels — clear handwriting is fine.
Israeli passport holders. If you already hold an Israeli passport, submit both it and your foreign passport, following the same requirements for each. The Israeli passport doesn't need an apostille or special certification, and if you have one you don't need an aliyah visa — the Israeli passport itself proves citizenship — though you still complete the rest of the process.
Maiden name vs. current name. If your passport is still in your maiden name but you're now married with a different surname, the cleanest approach is to renew your passport in your new name before applying, and submit it with the marriage certificate. Alternatively, submit the maiden-name passport with the marriage certificate and an explanation of the discrepancy — but this needs more documentation and creates more friction.
Damage and irregularities
If your passport shows water damage, torn pages, bent corners, or visible wear, renew it before applying — damaged passports can be rejected at the border. A full booklet shouldn't have missing pages; removed pages can indicate fraud, so renew to obtain a complete book. Handwritten amendments are usually acceptable if official and stamped, and multiple extensions are usually fine if clearly documented, but a newer passport is always preferable.
When in doubt, renew. Across damage, irregularities, maiden-name mismatches, and near-expiry, the same answer keeps appearing. A fresh passport — current name, good condition, full validity — removes an entire class of friction from the file. Renewal costs weeks; the alternative costs months of reconciliation.
Children, and renewals mid-process
Children's passports. For minor children, you need the child's passport bio-page copy, valid for six or more months. Both parents must typically consent to a child obtaining a passport. Infant and young-child photos can look quite different from the child today — that's normal and acceptable, as long as the passport is valid. Children under seventeen don't complete the Entry/Exit Form; they need only their current passport bio page.
If your passport expires while your application is pending: renew immediately, update your application with the new passport, submit the new copy to your Israel Aliyah Center (the Jewish Agency office handling your Tik Aliyah), notify them of the passport-number change, and be aware you may need to reapply for the visa.
If it expires after approval but before aliyah: renew immediately, update the visa application, and bring both the old and new passport when making aliyah.
Don't let it expire mid-process. Renewal takes four to twelve weeks. The cost of being caught between an expired passport and an in-flight application is measured in months of delay.
Country-specific notes
Country / regionWhat to knowUnited KingdomStandard format, clear bio page. Often issued for ten years. Hold a UK and an EU passport? Submit both.European UnionStandard format across the EU; the bio page contains everything needed.CanadaRed cover, bilingual bio page (English and French).South AfricaSmart-card (new) or booklet (old) — both acceptable.South AmericaVarious formats; copy both front and back of card-style passports.Former Soviet statesSubmit the external (international) passport; copy the transliteration page showing your name in Latin characters.
If your country isn't listed, the same principles apply: submit the bio page for every passport you hold or have held within the required window, label clearly, and disclose every citizenship.
The mistakes to avoid
A few habits prevent most of the delays. Do make clear, legible, first-generation copies; include complete pages; label everything; keep originals safe; check expiration dates; include all citizenships; follow the specific Entry/Exit Form rules; and ask questions whenever you're unsure.
Don't submit a photocopy of a photocopy; cut off the edges of a page; use a passport photo in place of copying the whole page; forget name-change pages; submit an expired passport for the current-passport requirement; forget to label copies; mail your original passport; forget a second-citizenship passport; ignore expired passports within the seven-year window; or assume visa-stamp pages are needed (they aren't).
Timeline: when to do what
StageWhat to do8–10 months beforeCheck expiration dates; renew if expiring within twelve months; gather all old passports; make copies of everything6–8 months beforeSubmit passport copies with your application; ensure everything is labelled; keep originals for later stagesDuring the applicationBring original passports to your Jewish Agency interview; keep them with you; update if anything changesUpon approvalUse your passport to apply for the aliyah visa — the visa is placed inside itOn the flightCarry your original passport in your hand luggage — never check it; you need it for boarding and arrival
A few common questions
Colour or black-and-white copies? Colour is preferred; black and white is usually fine if clear and legible. Notarised? No — clear copies are sufficient. My passport name differs from my birth certificate. Note it and provide an explanation; you may need additional documentation connecting the names. I once visited Israel on a tourist visa — must I show it? Not necessarily for the basic application, but be honest on the Entry/Exit Form; previous tourism doesn't prevent aliyah. Emergency or temporary passport? Complicated — consult the Jewish Agency; a regular passport is strongly preferred. Diplomatic passport? Submit it along with any regular passport; it must be disclosed. My passport number changed on renewal — do I still need the old one? Yes, for the Entry/Exit Form if it's within the seven-year window; it helps establish continuity of identity.
The cheapest insurance in the whole process
Almost everything here reduces to a few habits applied consistently: a current passport with at least six months' validity beyond the aliyah date; clean, complete, first-generation copies of the right pages; every citizenship disclosed and every passport within the seven-year window included; clear labelling on every copy; and originals kept safe for the interview, the visa, and the flight.
Where a situation is genuinely unusual — a lost old passport, a complex citizenship history, a name that doesn't match across documents — ask before submitting rather than reconcile afterward. A vetted aliyah lawyer or experienced adviser can resolve in twenty minutes what could otherwise hold up your application for weeks. The fastest applications are the most honest and the most organised; the slowest are the ones where something was hidden, forgotten, or fudged, and had to be untangled later.
Passport documentation sits alongside the other founding documents of your file. Olim Advice publishes plain-English guides on every part of the aliyah journey — from the Tik Aliyah and banking through the documents that travel with it.
General information, not legal or immigration advice. Verify current requirements with the Jewish Agency or a vetted aliyah professional before submitting.