Before visiting any country, one of the main organizational issues relates to visa processing. Is it necessary or not? If yes, which one? How to properly prepare a package of documents? If at the initial stage to ignore the important procedural nuances, the long-awaited vacation can turn into a complete disappointment and the collapse of all plans. Let's see if we need to issue a visa to Israel and what is needed for this?
Types of visas to Israel
The classification of visas ensuring legal residence in Israel is based on the main criterion - the reason for requesting permission to stay in the country.
To understand what kind of visa you need in Israel, you need to clearly identify goals. If you intend to live a certain time in this state, you will need a visa category "A". These include:
- A1 - temporary visa of a potential repatriate;
- A2 - student visa;
- A3 - a visa for representatives of the clergy and various religious and ecclesiastical missions;
- A4 is a related visa (it can be obtained by your legal spouse or child, provided that you have a visa of the type "A2" or "A3");
- A5 - resident visa for other cases.
- Category "B" includes permits for temporary residence in Israel:
- В1 - working visa;
- В2 - tourist visa to Israel;
- В3 - the visa which is given out by juice no more than for 1 month in case of necessity of check of the status of the citizen or clearing of any disputable situation;
- B4 - a volunteer visa.
There is still such a thing as a white and blue visa in Israel. They are used at different stages of obtaining refugee status. The white form is an intermediate step in the process of processing documents, and it does not give the right to work in Israel. Having received after some time an official document confirming your refugee status on a blue blank, you have the right to legal residence and work.
Do you need a visa to Israel for citizens of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus?
Despite the fact that Jews are often not given the best quality in comic form, Israel is famous for its cordiality and hospitality. Almost every year new agreements with different countries on visa-free regime are signed.
In 2008, a visa was abolished to Israel for the Russians. But this applies only to guest and tourist visas. In other cases you need to apply to the consulate. In Moscow it is located on the street. Big Ordynka 56. Please note that you will be allowed to enter the building only with a folder in your hand and personal things in your pockets (money, phone, keys, passport). Carry inside bags, backpacks, briefcases are prohibited.
A tourist visa to Israel for Ukrainians became unnecessary a bit later - in February 2011. The conditions for obtaining visa-free visits to Israel are similar to those that are put forward to the Russian side. Any citizen of Ukraine can stay in Israel for not more than 90 days if his purpose is tourism, visiting, treating or solving business issues (business meetings, negotiations). Registration of a visa to Israel for any other purpose is conducted at the consulate at the address: Kiev, ul. Lesi Ukrainki 34. Ukraine also has strict requirements for visitors to this institution. With you, you can not carry hand luggage, only a folder with documents.
Visas to Israel for Belarus were canceled in 2015. The address of the Israeli consulate in Minsk is Partizanskiy prospect 6A.
Although there are visa-free agreements for all three countries, the following points should be taken into account:
- the final decision on unimpeded border crossing is taken by Israeli border guards (they can forbid you to enter your country without explaining the reason);
- If you have ever been refused entry to Israel, you must first contact the embassy for approval;
- After deportation from Israel, you can forget about the re-tour for 10 years;
- if you worked in Israel on a B1 visa, you can come back here no sooner than a year after that.
Also, it's worth knowing that visa-free travel to Israel can play a "cruel joke" with you if you have plans to travel to countries such as Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran and Sudan. A note in your passport about visiting Israel is likely to be the reason for refusing entry to the territory of these states, because all of them are participants in an anti-Israeli boycott.
What do you need to cross the border on visa-free travel?
When it comes to international relations, it is better to take into account the well-known saying: "Trust, but verify." It is not necessary, just in case, to fill out a visa application form for Israel and go to the embassy. But at the border, anything can happen, so we recommend that you take with you a package of documents that will insure you in an unforeseen situation.
Tourists are advised to have with them:
- current policy of the insurance company;
- round-trip air tickets;
- confirmation of hotel booking (this can be an official voucher from a travel company or simply an e-mail from the hotel administrator if you booked the room yourself);
- guarantees of solvency (bank credit cards, income statement, account statement, cash).
Going on a visa-free visit to Israel, take the same documents with you, but instead of confirming the hotel booking - an invitation from an Israeli citizen who is obliged to provide you with a temporary residence, as well as a copy of the document proving his identity.
If the purpose of your trip is treatment at a clinic that is longer than 3 months, you need to have a certificate from the doctor who directs you, and a letter to the medical institution ready to accept you as a patient.
Business visa to Israel for business meetings is not required, but it will be nice if on the border you can present a confirmation of the reservation in the hotel and an invitation to a meeting from the Israeli partners.
Documents for obtaining a visa to Israel
If you are not traveling on a B2 visa, you need to file a certain package of documents and pay a consular fee. The cost of a visa to Israel depends on the purpose of the trip.
Several items are added to the standard list of documents within the process of obtaining each type of visa.
For example, if you wish to obtain a student visa to Israel, you need to provide a letter of acceptance for study at a particular educational institution and proof of the availability of funds for living and studying.
When applying for a work visa, you must have a certificate of absence of a criminal record and a fingerprint, as well as the results of a medical examination, including a comprehensive blood test, tests for AIDS, tuberculosis and hepatitis.
There are cases when the question arises as to how to extend the visa in Israel . This is often done by young couples who go to Israeli clinics to give birth to a child or patients from other medical institutions. With timely treatment in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, indicating an acceptable reason and the availability of necessary documents, this problem is easily solved. Usually the visa is extended for up to 180 days.
A separate issue also deserves the question of how to obtain a visa to Israel for a child. If only one of the parents crosses the border, then the second one requires a power of attorney notarized by the Apostille seal. You will be admitted without it only if you have documents such as a certificate of death of the second parent or a court decision on his deprivation of parental rights.