🇮🇱Israel

The ETA-IL

• Compulsory since 1 January 2025 for a visit to Israel. It is not a visa; it is an authorisation to board.
• It costs 25 new shekels, is valid for 2 years, and covers a visit of 90 days.
• Apply through the Israel Population and Immigration Authority, which also runs the eligibility check.
• You can visit as a tourist without a visa and are normally given permission to stay up to 3 months on entry.
• The passport must be valid at least 90 days after the day you arrive. That is shorter than the usual six months and easy to misread the other way.

Keep the entry card

• Visitors arriving at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion get an entry card, not a stamp in the passport. At other entry points you may get either.
• Keep the card with your passport until you leave. It is the evidence that you entered Israel legally, and you need it particularly when crossing into Palestine.
• A refusal is marked differently: the passport is stamped and two red lines drawn across it.

Stamps with restrictions

• Some travellers are given entry stamps reading "Palestinian Authority only" or "Judea and Samaria only", at the Allenby Bridge crossing with Jordan and at Ben Gurion.
• Anyone entering via Allenby has to pass through Israeli checkpoints and Israeli-controlled territory to reach Jerusalem, so that stamp limits the trip substantially.
• The FCDO says it is not clear how a traveller given this stamp at Ben Gurion can leave the airport without violating the restriction. If you receive one, ask at the desk before you walk away.

What border control can ask for

• Expect lengthy personal questioning and baggage searches on entry and exit. Allow extra time, especially during Israeli holidays and the summer season.
• Israeli security has sometimes requested access to travellers' personal email or social media accounts as a condition of entry. Devices may be searched and withheld.
• Longer questioning is more likely for travellers with Palestinian or Arab ancestry or ancestry of a predominantly Muslim country, with previous travel that may be considered suspicious, or considered to have publicly criticised the state of Israel.

Grounds on which entry can legally be refused

The FCDO lists these explicitly. A foreign national can be refused for having:

• publicly called for a boycott of Israel or Israeli settlements, or belonging to an organisation that has
• publicly denied the Holocaust or the 7 October attack
• publicly supported the prosecution of Israeli citizens abroad or in an international court for actions taken during military duties

Travellers in these categories may be held at border control for further checks, sometimes for several hours, including in detention facilities.

If you are refused entry

• You are booked on the next available flight back to where you flew in from, on the same airline.
• You may be taken to the Immigration Detention Centre, a few minutes' drive from the airport, until the flight departs. There is a telephone, information in English and medical assistance if needed.
• Your luggage stays at the airport. Tell officials straight away if you need something out of it, medication above all.
• You can contact the British Embassy from the detention centre. They can help where possible but cannot intervene in an immigration decision.

Dual nationals and children

• Children with at least one Israeli parent are considered Israeli nationals and must enter and leave Israel on an Israeli passport.
• Dual nationals holding Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian or Lebanese citizenship have previously been heavily questioned, denied entry and deported, and detained for days when no deportation flight was available. The Israeli authorities advise getting pre-approval from your nearest Israeli embassy, and the same applies if you have close family ties to those countries.
• British nationals of Palestinian origin on the Palestinian Population Register, or holding a Palestinian ID number, need a Palestinian passport or travel document to leave Gaza or the West Bank.
• Children aged 17 and under travelling alone or with one parent should carry a letter from their parents or guardians confirming consent, accommodation and contact details.

Crossing to Egypt at Taba

• Bring at least 170 US dollars in cash per person, plus extra: charges have been increasing at short notice since early March 2026, ATMs at the crossing are unreliable and frequently out of cash, and all payments are in cash. Draw dollars in Eilat before you go.
• Staying in Taba: a 20 dollar border tax, giving an entry permission stamp for up to 15 days.
• Elsewhere in Sinai, including Sharm El-Sheikh: 120 dollars.
• Beyond Sinai: 120 dollars plus a 30 dollar entry visa, plus a "letter of guarantee" costing around 20 dollars.
• By car, expect 100 dollars and extra for parking.
• Officials may ask you to remove hats, coats or religious clothing passing through the terminal.

The financial part matters as much as the medical part

• Healthcare in Israel and Palestine is not free and treatment can be expensive.
• Hospitals will insist on payment and may take legal action to stop you leaving until bills are paid. That is an unusual and serious consequence, and it is why the insurance has to have accessible funds behind it rather than a reimbursement promise.
• Call your insurer as soon as you are referred to a facility, before treatment begins if you can.

Getting an ambulance

• The numbers differ between the FCDO's own pages, so know both. Its Getting help page gives ambulance 101, fire 102, police 100. Its Health page says to dial 100 in Israel and 101 in the West Bank and Gaza.
• If one does not connect, try the other. Do not spend the time working out which page was right.

Medication

• The legal status of some medicines differs from the UK. Carry anything you need in its original packaging with the prescription, and check before travelling with controlled drugs.

Before you travel

• Check the vaccine recommendations at least 8 weeks ahead.
• Make sure the policy covers the region and is not voided by the FCDO advisory for any part of the trip you plan.

Why a connection matters more than usual

• Rocket fire can affect most areas of Israel, and interceptions can drop fragments and debris. You are expected to know what to do when a warning siren sounds.
• Israel's Home Front Command publishes the guidance on finding a protected space and issues alerts. The FCDO's advice is to sign up for information and alerts through it, and to call 104 in Israel for its information line.
• The Home Front Command website is available inside Israel only. Set it up once you have arrived and have a connection, not before.

Have the phone working before you need it

• Arrange data before you land, or at the airport, rather than waiting until you reach the city. The alerts are the reason.
• Keep local media accessible. The FCDO's repeated instruction is to follow local authorities and monitor local and international media, including for airport and airspace closures.

What the alert asks you to do

• The best shelter is a residential protected space, a Mamad, Mamak or Maman, or a communal shelter. If neither is available, a stairwell without windows or exterior walls, standing at its centre.
• The main danger is falling debris from intercepts, so being inside a solid structure is what matters.
• Do not approach or touch drone or missile fragments or unusual objects.

Two practical notes

• No warning sirens sound inside Gaza, or in the West Bank outside Israeli settlements.
• Before travelling within the country, check local measures, that roads are open, and that trains and buses are running.

Power

• Type C and type H sockets, at 230 V and 50 Hz.
• Type H is effectively unique to Israel. A modern Israeli socket takes the round European type C plug as well, so a standard European two-pin charger usually works; a UK plug always needs an adapter, and a chunky earthed European plug may not fit.

Shabbat

• Shabbat runs from sunset on Friday to nightfall on Saturday, and it shapes the week rather than just the weekend.
• Do not drive into ultra-Orthodox areas of Jerusalem during it. The FCDO's warning is that residents may throw stones at the car.
• Plan the Friday afternoon of an arrival around things closing rather than opening.

Dress

• Cover shoulders, upper arms and legs above the knee in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.
• Ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods including Bnei Brak, Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit, Beit Shemesh and Safed expect more, and reactions can be strong.

Carrying ID

• Always carry ID. A copy of the passport personal details page and of the entry card or entry stamp is what the FCDO suggests, so the originals can stay somewhere safe.
• The entry card is not just ID. It is proof you entered legally and is needed to cross into Palestine.

Getting about

• Take extra care on public transport in Tel Aviv, particularly at transport hubs and on buses in the greater Tel Aviv area, and consider other forms of transport.
• Check before you travel within the country that roads are open and that scheduled trains and buses are running.

The one money rule that can trap you

• Healthcare is not free and treatment can be expensive. Hospitals insist on payment and may take legal action to stop you leaving the country until the bill is paid.
• That makes insurance with accessible funds a travel-document-level requirement here, not a nicety. Check the policy covers the region and the activities you plan.

Cash, cards and the border

• Theft of passports, credit cards and valuables from public beaches is common. Do not take the wallet and the passport to the sea.
• Always carry ID, for example a copy of the personal details page and the entry card or entry stamp page. Keep the originals somewhere secure.

If you are heading to Egypt overland

• Take US dollars in cash from Eilat, at least 170 per person plus a margin. ATMs at the Taba crossing are unreliable and frequently run out of cash, and every charge there is payable in cash.

Costs

• The table below is Numbeo's country-wide average. Tel Aviv sits well above it, and Israel is an expensive country by regional standards, so treat these as a floor rather than a guide to the coast.

The travel advisory, stated in full

The FCDO advises against all travel to:

• Gaza, and within 500 m of the border with Gaza
• Tulkarm, Jenin and Tubas Governorates in the West Bank, except Route 90
• Northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights: areas north of Route 89 between Nahariyya and Dalton, north of a straight eastward line from Dalton to Route 91, and north of Route 91 across the Golan Heights, excluding routes 89 and 91 themselves
• Within 500 m of the Area of Separation in the occupied Golan Heights, the Alpha line
• Sheba'a Farms and Ghajja

The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the rest of the West Bank, except East Jerusalem, Bethlehem Governorate, Ramallah Municipality, Jericho municipality and everything south of it including the Allenby crossing, Highway 1 between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and the areas south and west of it including Highway 3, and Route 443 and Highway 45.

Travelling against FCDO advice can invalidate your travel insurance.

Regional escalation

• The situation in the Middle East remains unpredictable. Since 8 July there have been strikes and retaliatory attacks by Iran in a number of locations across the region, and the FCDO warns of the risk of more attacks and unforeseen escalation.
• Be prepared for flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures and travel disruption. Keep departure plans under review and travel documents current.
• Stay away from areas around security or military facilities.

Sirens and shelter

• Rocket and drone attacks remain a risk throughout Israel, and shrapnel from intercepted missiles can fall across Israel and Palestine.
• If told to take shelter, go to a residential protected space (Mamad, Mamak or Maman) or a communal shelter; failing that, a stairwell without windows or exterior walls, standing at its centre.
• Call 104 in Israel for Home Front Command guidance, and sign up for its alerts once you are in the country.

When tension rises

The FCDO names the times when demonstrations and clashes are more likely:

• Thursday and Saturday evenings, and after Friday prayers
• Jewish high holidays: Passover, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Succoth
• Ramadan, in particular Laylat Al Qadr
• Anniversaries: 7 October, Independence Day, Jerusalem Day, Land Day (30 March), Nakba Day (15 May)
• Risks increase when religious or national holidays overlap.

Places to be careful

• Be extremely cautious about visiting refugee camps. Hebron and Palestinian refugee camps have been the site of violent clashes.
• There have been recent violent incidents in settlements and outposts, including near Beit El, Homesh, Shilo and Evyatar.
• Foreign nationals may encounter suspicion or hostility at checkpoints and in areas not frequented by foreigners.
• If security operations or armed clashes are happening near you, stay inside until the authorities confirm it is calm.

Everyday law and custom

• Always carry ID, for example a copy of the passport details page and the entry card or stamp.
• Dress: in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, cover shoulders, upper arms and legs above the knee. In ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods such as Bnei Brak, Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit, Beit Shemesh and Safed, locals can react strongly to anyone, particularly women, dressed less conservatively.
• Do not drive into ultra-Orthodox areas of Jerusalem on Shabbat, sunset Friday to nightfall Saturday. Cars have been stoned.
• Theft from public beaches is common: passports, credit cards and valuables.
• Breaking the laws on import and export of wild animals brings a substantial fine and up to 2 years in prison.

Roads and desert

• Frequent accidents, erratic driving and unreliable vehicle maintenance. Police radar traps issue heavy fines.
• It is not safe to hitchhike in Israel and Palestine.
• In the desert: go with others, carry water and a phone, and leave your itinerary and expected return time with someone.
• Flash flooding is a risk, particularly in the Negev, and earthquakes are a risk across Israel and Palestine.

The numbers

A caveat worth knowing before you dial

• The FCDO's own pages disagree. The table above is from its Getting help page. Its Health page instead says to dial 100 in Israel and 101 in the West Bank and Gaza, which swaps ambulance and police for Israel.
• In an emergency, try one and then the other. Both connect to an emergency service, and an operator will redirect faster than you can resolve the contradiction.

104, and what it is for

• Home Front Command runs the siren alerts and the guidance on finding a protected space. Call 104 inside Israel, and sign up for its alerts once you are in the country. Its website is available in Israel only.

Before you need them

• Save the numbers offline, along with your embassy's, and your insurer's 24-hour line.
• Call the insurer as soon as you are referred anywhere, because hospitals insist on payment and can act to stop you leaving until the bill is settled.