Amit Acco, Partner |
Effective next Monday, January 10th (midnight between Sunday and Monday), Israel will lift most travel restrictions and admit foreigners from green and orange countries, effectively reversing a ban imposed in late November in response to the fast-spreading COVID-19 Omicron variant.
With the exception of those arriving from red countries, all foreign nationals will be allowed to travel into Israel under the condition that they have received coronavirus vaccines or have recovered from COVID-19.
Any travel will require filling an online form by the traveler as well as PCR testing before and after arrival, as required by the Ministry of Health.
This new policy effectively ended an almost-blanket ban on noncitizens’ arrival to Israel.
The decision was taken following a recommendation from health experts who claimed travels curbs are unnecessary since less than 5% of newly confirmed cases in Israel emanated from travel abroad.
Red Countries
The UAE, U.S., Ethiopia, UK, Tanzania, Mexico, Switzerland, and Turkey will remain red countries, effectively banned from travel to Israel. There is no indication of when the government was planning to lift the restrictions on the remaining countries yet. Visitors from these red countries will continue to require advance special permission from an Israeli committee to enter the country.
The Health Ministry has also recommended that South Africa, Nigeria, Spain, Portugal, France, and Canada, currently among 16 countries listed as “red” or high COVID-19 risk, will be changed to “orange”. The newly shortened list is subject to approval by the Knesset Health Committee.
Recognized Vaccination
Israel accepts vaccination certificates for Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, or China’s Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccines.
Those vaccinated with Russia’s Sputnik V needed to undergo a serology test, which detects antibodies, to ensure they were protected. It was not immediately clear whether this policy would continue.
For more information: h1b israel | b2 israel visa
Disclaimer: The COVID-19 information is gathered from various public media sources at the courtesy of KTA to its clients and website visitors. Due to the rapid, sometimes daily changes in policy, we urge any traveler to get updated at the official government website by clicking here before planning or taking any international travel to or from Israel.
Israeli government COVID-19 guidelines are constantly changing. Please check before booking flights or travelling to Israel. It is also necessary to be updated separately regarding guidelines regarding unvaccinated children under the age of 12. The guidelines are updated according to the guidelines of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Health.
