Who qualifies for Israel's travel document for non-citizens, its validity, why the re-entry visa is separate, and how to challenge a refusal.
Holders of a permanent-residence licence in Israel — including residents of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights — are not Israeli citizens, and are therefore not entitled to an Israeli passport. In the absence of a valid foreign passport, the only travel document that will let them leave Israel and return to it is the Israeli travel document for non-citizens (laissez-passer) (תמי"ל). The same need arises for someone in the graduated process whose foreign passport has expired, for someone recognized as a refugee or granted A/5 status, and for minors holding temporary status without a passport.
This is not a technicality. Section 7 of the Entry into Israel Law, 5712-1952 provides that a person — citizen or non-citizen — may not enter or leave Israel without presenting, at border control, a valid passport, travel document, or other valid certificate. But the document that lets you leave is not the one that guarantees your return — and confusing the two is one of the most common mistakes.
Israeli travel documents are governed by the Passports Law, 5712-1952. Section 2(b)(1) of the Law provides that a travel document will be issued "to a person who is not an Israeli citizen, or whose citizenship is undefined or in doubt." Section 6(a) gives the Minister of the Interior discretion to refuse to issue or extend a passport or travel document, and to set conditions for issuing one. A refusal is therefore possible — but it is a matter of discretion that must be exercised lawfully and according to the circumstances of the case.
Clause 22 of Procedure 3.1.0001 (Procedure for Handling Israeli Travel Documents) lists three types of travel documents, detailed in clauses 23–25: the travel document for non-citizens (תמי"ל); a travel document in place of a national passport (תמבד"ל); and a single-use travel document (תמח"פ). Handling of applications is divided between two procedures: Procedure 3.2.0006 (Procedure for Handling an Application for an Israeli Travel Document for Non-Citizens Who Are Registered in the Population Registry), dated 11 Feb 2024, and Procedure 3.2.0016 (Procedure for Handling an Application for an Israeli Travel Document for a Person Who Is Not a Resident Registered in the Population Registry), dated 14 Dec 2023.
The central distinction in Procedure 3.2.0006 is between permanent and temporary status. Clause 1.5 provides that a holder of a permanent-residence licence "will be given a travel document unless reasons are found that justify not granting the request." The rule, then, is that the document is issued; refusal is the exception, and it requires reasons. Clause 4.4.1.3 adds that a decision not to grant the request is made by the Regional Manager, following a recommendation from the Bureau Manager. Eligibility also applies to someone who holds foreign citizenship, provided the residence licence has not expired (clauses 4.4.1.1–4.4.1.2).
A holder of a temporary-residence licence, by contrast, is not eligible for the travel document across the board, but only in the cases listed in clauses 1.6 and 4.4: a holder of A/1 status (a prospective immigrant); an A/5 minor who is a great-grandchild of a Jew or who is accompanying a person eligible under the Law of Return; a holder of A/5 status who is in the graduated process and whose foreign passport has expired; someone recognized as a refugee or as an infiltrator who was granted A/5 status; and a resident of the Palestinian Authority holding temporary status, in respect of whom a security authority (including the Threatened Persons Committee) has confirmed that a danger to his life prevents him from obtaining a Palestinian passport. In all these cases, a licence valid for at least six months is generally required, and the applicant must not hold a valid foreign passport. Clause 4.4.7 allows other exceptional cases to be referred to the Population Register and Biometrics Division for review.
Clause 1.3 of Procedure 3.2.0006 provides that the travel document is valid for five years from the date it is issued — and in any event not beyond the validity of the residence licence; it may also be issued for a shorter period. Clause 1.4 adds that it may not be extended beyond the validity of the licence the applicant held at the time of issue. A permanent resident will be approved, under clause 4.4.1.4, for a travel document valid for up to five years, including a re-entry visa of similar validity.
The document is not necessarily "worldwide": clause 4.8 provides that, as a rule, the travel document will be restricted to the countries in which the applicant intends to stay, which will be stated on it explicitly. Clause 4.11 notes that the holder must check with each destination country whether a visa is required, since visa-waiver agreements do not necessarily apply to holders of travel documents. As for citizenship, clause 4.7.1 provides that the foreign citizenship will be recorded as it appears in the registry.
In practical terms, the requirements are personal attendance at the bureau, an identity card, form Dar/41, presentation of any previous travel document and foreign passport, and payment of a fee (clauses 3.2–3.10). An application for a minor requires the presence of the minor and one parent, and where the parents are not married, the consent of both, unless a court judgment permitting otherwise is presented. The document is sent by registered mail (clause 4.6.5).
A travel document lets you leave. It does not guarantee your return. The re-entry visa is governed by a different law — section 5 of the Entry into Israel Law — under which the Minister of the Interior may grant a re-entry visa to someone who is entitled to reside in Israel permanently and wishes to leave in order to return. Under clause 4.10 of Procedure 3.2.0006, a permanent resident will be given a multiple-entry re-entry visa, and a holder of temporary status will, absent an obstacle, be issued a single-entry visa, affixed to the travel document.
The separation between the two documents is not a technicality but a substantive distinction, and the Supreme Court has stated so explicitly. The practical consequence: a separate application for a re-entry visa must be filed alongside the application for the travel document (as, for example, clause 6.1 of Procedure 3.2.0016 provides), and approval of the document says nothing about approval of the visa. Someone who leaves without a valid re-entry visa may find themselves outside the country with no lawful way to return.
Procedure 3.2.0016 opens by stating that, as a rule, an Israeli travel document for non-citizens will not be given to non-citizens who are not registered in the registry, except in exceptional cases only. Clause 3.3 lists them: a foreign national whose country has no consular representation in Israel, for the sole purpose of that person's departure; a foreign national against whom a removal order has been issued, or who wishes to leave voluntarily and has no valid travel document; a person eligible under the Law of Return who is abroad and wishes to immigrate; someone covered by the Temporary Order who holds a stay permit or B/1 status; the spouse of an Israeli who has held B/1 status by virtue of the relationship for at least three years, subject to an up-to-date interview and a center of life in Israel; and exceptional humanitarian cases, with headquarters approval.
Validity here is much shorter: under clause 3.4, as a rule up to six months from the date of issue, or the validity of the licence, whichever is shorter. This is a temporary, non-biometric travel document, and it cannot be extended — if needed, a new document will be issued. Clauses 4.11–4.12 allow for longer validity if the destination country requires it and subject to supporting evidence, but not more than a year and not beyond the licence. The procedure also requires an affidavit regarding the intended departure and the destination countries, and the return of the document within five days of coming back (clause 4.9).
The first step is an internal appeal. Under clause ב.2 of Procedure 1.6.0001 (Procedure for Receiving Requests and Appeals Against Decisions of the Bureaus and Headquarters of the Population and Immigration Authority), the appeal must be filed in writing without delay and no later than 21 days from receipt of the decision, and only at the bureau where it was made; an appeal filed late will not be handled. The procedure also applies to passports, and Procedure 3.2.0016 refers to it in clauses 5.3.5.5 and 6.2.
The next stage requires a distinction. A decision concerning a re-entry visa or a residence licence is a decision under the Entry into Israel Law, and an appeal from it is filed with the Appeals Tribunal for immigration matters; its judgment may be appealed to the District Court sitting as the Court for Administrative Affairs within 45 days. A refusal to issue the travel document itself is rooted in the Passports Law — and the Appeals Tribunal has already expressed doubt whether disputes in this context fall within its subject-matter jurisdiction, noting that the District Court, in administrative-petition proceedings, has authority to hear claims under this Law. A point worth clarifying before filing, not after.
One more practical rule: do not challenge a decision that has not yet been made. In Adm. Petition (Jerusalem) 1131-12-24 (23 Apr 2025), a petition concerning the issuance of an identifying document was dismissed at the threshold because it was filed before remedies had been exhausted and before any decision had been made. In Adm. Petition (Jerusalem) 7751-05-25 (5 Jun 2025), a petition for a travel document or for permission to leave and enter was dismissed — among other reasons because the petitioner's residency had lapsed years earlier, and because she showed up at the bureau without an appointment and turned to the court without first approaching the authority; she was ordered to pay costs. File, then, a properly organized application and demand a reasoned decision — only then turn to the courts, and it is best to start months before the planned trip.
In Adm. Appeal (Supreme Court) 4760/20 (4 Mar 2021), the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of a person who held a temporary visitor's licence and against whom a removal order had been issued, holding that "one rule applies to issuing a travel document and another to granting a re-entry visa": the right to leave must not be conflated with the right to return, and intervention in the Minister of the Interior's broad discretion will be reserved for exceptional cases.
In Adm. Petition (Tel Aviv) 32811-01-23 (23 Oct 2023), the petition of a holder of A/5 status was granted after she produced an official document showing that her foreign citizenship had been revoked, and that her case was not among those listed in the procedure. The court held (paragraphs 17–21) that the procedure does not exhaust the authority's discretion: the authority must weigh each case on its own circumstances and may even depart from its own guidelines when the need arises, and an inability to leave and return in the interim harms freedom of movement and the right of access to the courts. The authority was ordered to issue a travel document valid for three years.
In Appeal (Tel Aviv) 3433-23 (4 Mar 2024), the request of a couple — an Israeli woman and a foreign national — to compel the authority to issue him a re-entry visa in advance, so that he could travel to his country to obtain a passport and return, was denied: the appellant did not produce even a copy of a passport, his identity had not been established, and it was not reasonable to approve a return in advance. On appeal, in Adm. Appeal (Tel Aviv) 48332-03-24 (2 Jun 2024), the appeal was granted: the court held that the authority had not considered at all the best interests of the child born in the meantime, and that, subject to a preliminary check of the genuineness of the relationship, a single-entry re-entry visa would be issued. The gap between denial and approval, then, often lies in the question of which considerations were placed before the decision-maker.
And in Appeal (Tel Aviv) 2623-26 (26 Jul 2026), the authority's request to strike out at the threshold the appeal of an asylum seeker who sought a re-entry visa to renew his passport was denied. The Tribunal noted that, on the face of it, the appellant was entitled to an exemption from producing documents, and that he had been shuffled between authority officials without a substantive response, and it directed the authority to state whether it would issue a single-entry re-entry visa for a fixed period. Prolonged handling without a substantive decision is also a ground worth raising.
Our office guides permanent residents, residents of East Jerusalem, and holders of temporary status through applications for a travel document and a re-entry visa — from building the application to challenging a refusal. We first examine which procedure applies and which forum has jurisdiction, make sure the application includes the threshold documents and the factual foundation that supports it — including family considerations and the best interests of a child — and work to obtain a reasoned decision in writing within a reasonable time. In appropriate cases, we file an internal appeal, an appeal to the Appeals Tribunal, or an administrative petition, and, where necessary, an application for interim relief.
Clause 1.5 of Procedure 3.2.0006 provides that a holder of a permanent-residence licence will be given a travel document, unless reasons are found that justify not granting the request. In other words, the starting point is that the document is issued, and refusal is the exception that requires reasons. Under clause 4.4.1.3, a decision not to grant the request is made by the Regional Manager after a recommendation from the Bureau Manager. Eligibility also applies to someone who holds foreign citizenship, provided the residence licence is valid.
Under clause 1.3 of Procedure 3.2.0006, validity is up to five years from the date of issue, and in any event not beyond the validity of the residence licence; it may also be issued for a shorter period. Clause 1.4 provides that the document may not be extended beyond the validity of the residence licence the applicant held at the time of issue. For someone not registered in the registry, under Procedure 3.2.0016, validity is much shorter — as a rule up to six months — and cannot be extended at all; instead, a new document is issued.
It means you hold a document that lets you leave Israel, but not approval to return to it. The Supreme Court has held that the rule governing issuance of the travel document, under the Passports Law, is separate from the rule governing the grant of the re-entry visa, under the Entry into Israel Law. You must therefore file a separate application for a re-entry visa, alongside the application for the travel document. Do not leave Israel relying on the document alone without confirming the status of the visa.
First, you file an internal appeal at the bureau where the decision was made, in writing, no later than 21 days from the date of receiving the decision (Procedure 1.6.0001). After that, a distinction is required: issues concerning a re-entry visa or a residence licence are heard by the Appeals Tribunal, and its judgment may be appealed to the District Court within 45 days; whereas a refusal to issue the travel document itself is rooted in the Passports Law, and the Tribunal has expressed doubt about its jurisdiction to hear it — so the route is usually an administrative petition to the District Court. As a rule, it is worth examining the question of jurisdiction before filing.
Clauses 1.6.3 and 4.4.4 of Procedure 3.2.0006 address exactly this situation: a holder of A/5 status whose foreign passport has expired and who requests a travel document in order to obtain a new passport. The conditions include a licence valid for at least six months, the absence of a valid foreign passport, and proof that there is no representation of the country of citizenship in Israel, or that there is an obstacle to issuance there. In these cases, the travel document will be restricted to the country of origin and transit countries, and a single-entry re-entry visa will be issued alongside it. As the case law shows, it is often the re-entry visa, of all things, that becomes the disputed document — so it is important to request both documents and to document the application.