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There are currently quite a few countries and territories who enjoy “free” entry to Israel for their citizens for touristic purposes. Meaning, people who hold a passport of the following countries, don’t have to apply for a tourist B2 visa in advance, before flying to Israel. Instead, they must apply for ETA-IL in a fast and easy online process, and later get their tourist visa at the border for free.
Please take into account that being a citizen of the following countries doesn’t guarantee your entry to Israel in any way. Israel and PIBA still keep broad discretion and can deny entry for various reasons in case they deem it necessary.
Countries listed on the The Entry to Israel Order (Visa Exemption) – צו הכניסה לישראל (פטור מאשרה), updated for September 2023:
Albania, Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bulgaria, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Guatemala, Helvetia (Switzerland), Honduras, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, Iceland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands, Jamaica, Japan, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nauru, The Netherlands, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Portugal, Republic of Botswana, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Peru, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Taiwan, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates.
Additional: Moldova (biometric passports only).
There are several countries that do enjoy the visa-exemption program when entering Israel but do not appear in the order. Those countries are listed on the list of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and it includes:
United States of America, Australia, Andorra, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Cook Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, Eswatini, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macau, Marshall Islands, Monaco, New Zealand, Niue, Poland, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Uruguay, Vanuatu.
Pay attention! The Republic of Bolivia is listed as one of the countries on the Visa Exemption order. However Bolivian citizens are NOT EXEMPTED from obtaining a tourist visa and are indeed required to obtain a visa and pay a fee for it. That’s why we emitted it from the list above
Pay attention! Citizens of Egypt are exempted from obtaining a pre-approved tourist visa for stays of up to 14 days when entering Israel through the Tabba border crossing, and only when travelling up to the city of Be’er Sheva.
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We recommend checking the updating list of all world countries and their visa requisites the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for further practical information about visa exemptions for tourists entering Israel.
Adv. Lior Beres
Articles: 1043 Comments
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Hi! Chile is in the government page but not in this list, maybe the exemption was eliminated?
Hello Anabell, thank you for your comment. Chile indeed appears as exempted from pre-approved visa on the list that is published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, it is not listed on the Visa Exemption Order. In this situation it is hard to predict the outcome upon arrival to Israel of a Chilean national.
We suggest contacting the Israeli embassy in Chile for a written confirmation.
New Zealand seems to be on the Visa Exemption Order list and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website – it may have been left off this by mistake? 🙂
Also interesting that Australia and the USA are not included on the Order list – although based on experience, they almost certainly get visa-free tourist entry into Israel. I wonder if there is a separate Order or law dealing with those countries?