In the wake of the Corona pandemic, a massive backlog for Israeli passports was formed. The Ministry of Interior addressed this issue with a so-called Passport Marathon last summer, as reported by Chaim V’Chessed.

This effort was relatively successful in enabling most Israeli citizens to obtain passports. However, this did not assist Israeli citizens residing abroad who must apply for passports at their local Israeli embassies or consulates. Those outposts have seemingly struggled to recover from the pandemic, and wait times continue to be impossibly long.

As Israeli citizens are normally required to enter and exit Israel on their Israeli passports, an exception was made to allow dual citizens to enter and exit the country using their foreign passports. This exception was set to expire on December 31, 2023.

Chaim V’Chessed has been contacted by countless Israeli citizens residing abroad with travel scheduled to Israel after 2023, and who have been unable to obtain Israeli passports in their countries of residence. In light of this, Chaim V’Chessed CEO, Paysach Freedman raised the topic in a recent meeting with Yoel Lipovitzki, head of the Population Authority, and requested that the arrangement be extended beyond 2023.

We are now pleased to share that the Population Authority has announced that the allowance will be extended for another year, until December 31, 2024. Israelis with dual citizenship will be able to enter and exit Israel even if they have not managed renew their Israeli passports, by presenting their foreign passports.