A practical guide to the B/2 medical tourism visa for patient and escort: conditions, documents, and 27-month extension. We guide patients and families.
If a family member of yours needs surgery or treatment that is not available in their home country, and you are trying to work out how to bring them to Israel and who can accompany them, this guide is for you — as well as for the international departments of medical institutions and for anyone already in Israel whose medical condition has worsened.
It is important to understand from the outset that there are two separate tracks. The first is medical tourism — arranging, in advance and before arrival, a B/2 visitor's visa and licence for planned treatment at a recognized medical institution. The second is meant for someone already in Israel who has entered a medical emergency that makes them unfit to fly. Each track has its own procedure, its own conditions, and its own decision-maker, and trying to slide from one to the other — or to add an asylum request — is a common source of failure.
Entry into and stay in Israel are governed by the Entry into Israel Law, 5712-1952. Section 1 of the Law provides that a person who is not a citizen or the holder of an immigrant visa has no vested right to remain in Israel. In the context of medical tourism, the Appeals Tribunal for immigration matters has reiterated this and held that the authority has broad discretion in granting visas, and that judicial intervention is reserved for exceptional cases involving a serious flaw (Appeal (Tel Aviv) 2989-23 (23 Jul 2023)).
The detailed rules are currently set out in Procedure 5.4.0030 (Procedure for Handling the Regularization of a Licence for Foreign Nationals for the Purpose of Receiving Medical Treatment), edition 1 of 1 Dec 2025, which implements the Medical Tourism Law, 5778-2018. Sections ב.1–ב.4 define its purposes: entry for a fixed period for treatment at a recognized medical institution, a B/2 "medical tourism" licence for the patient, a B/2 "medical tourism escort" licence for the escort (accompanying person), and a procedure for extending the licence for continued treatment.
A foreign national from a country whose citizens require an entry visa does not file the application personally: under clause ג.2 of the Procedure, they are invited by an approved medical tourism agent or a representative of the medical institution, and the application is filed with the designated Population Authority bureau or an Israeli mission abroad at least 21 working days before the intended entry date. A citizen of a country flagged for diagnosis or risk must file at least 45 days in advance, and the entry date will be set only after a response from the security authorities (clause ה.5). A citizen of a country exempt from a visa requirement must state the purpose of travel already in the digital authorization (ETA) application, under clause ג.1.
Clause ד.1 lists the required documents: Form אש/1, a passport valid for six months beyond the intended period of stay, a written invitation from the medical institution stating the estimated diagnosis, the proposed treatment, and its estimated duration, proof of actual payment of half the cost of treatment and not less than NIS 30,000, proof of means of subsistence, and the agent's undertaking to secure the invitee's departure. The licence does not permit work (clause ג.6), and the type of licence granted under it may not be changed while in Israel (clause ג.3).
An "escort" is defined in the Procedure, as a rule, as a first- or second-degree relative of the patient, or a guardian. As a rule, one escort will be approved; where the patient is a minor, up to two escorts may be approved, depending on the circumstances and subject to the parents' or guardian's consent (clause ה.16.ב). If someone who is not a family member is proposed as escort, the relationship and the need for an escort will be examined (clause ה.16.ג).
The application for the escort is filed by the agent before the patient's arrival, or by the patient after entry, together with a power of attorney (clause ד.2). Public certificates evidencing the relationship are required, along with an affidavit by the escort before a notary or an Israeli consul stating that they know they are not permitted to work in Israel and that the purpose of the licence is to accompany the patient. The escort's licence is valid for the same period as the patient's licence (clause ה.16.ו). The authority checks whether the patient has another family member in Israel and whether a previous escort departed on time; a concern of settling permanently may lead to refusal or a demand for a high bond (clause ה.16.ד). Replacing the escort is possible, but only after the previous one has departed (clause ה.16.ח).
The licence is issued for the period specified in the medical institution's invitation — six months at a time, up to a maximum cumulative period of 27 months (clause ה.6). Each extension may not exceed six months, and the authority to approve it rises in rank as the cumulative stay grows: up to 12 months from the date of entry — a service representative; up to 18 months — a visa team leader; up to 27 months — the bureau director (clause ה.19(5)).
Here is the critical point in the timeline. An extension application should be filed about 30 days before the licence expires, and the Procedure provides that applications to extend a licence that has already expired will not be processed, except in exceptional and reasoned cases (clause ה.19(1)). Anyone who lets the licence expire is in unlawful stay. The application must be accompanied by up-to-date documents from the medical institution — the diagnosis being treated, details of the treatment, its estimated duration, and proof of payment (clause ד.5). Also note clause ג.16: leaving Israel during the term of the licence extinguishes it, unless you have obtained a re-entry visa in advance.
Clause ג.7 of the Procedure refers a person whose medical condition worsened during the visit, or who has entered an unusual medical state and is unfit to fly, to Procedure 5.2.0038 (Procedure for Handling an Application to Postpone Removal / Grant Temporary Status on Medical Grounds, edition 4 of 15 Jan 2020). This track is far narrower: it is intended for someone in a medical emergency as defined in section 2 of the Patient's Rights Law, 5756-1996 — an immediate danger to life or of severe, irreversible disability in the absence of urgent treatment — and only until the condition stabilizes (clause א.2). A chronic illness that does not pose an immediate danger to life does not justify status or postponement of removal (clause א.3), and comparing the cost of treatment in Israel with its cost in the country of origin is expressly rejected (clause א.5).
Even absent a medical emergency, limited solutions exist: postponement of removal for up to 90 cumulative days for someone who cannot be removed for a short period (ג.4.ב), and up to 30 days to obtain medication and arrange departure (ג.4.ג). Long-term status on medical grounds is examined on a separate track — the Interministerial Committee for Humanitarian Affairs under Procedure 5.2.0022, open to someone who does not meet the criteria of another dedicated procedure (clause ג.1). There, the decision is made by the Authority's Director-General, and the licence is granted and extended one year at a time (clauses ח.1, ח.6).
A refusal decision under Procedure 5.4.0030 will be sent reasoned and in writing, stating the right to challenge it (clause ג.14). An internal appeal to the bureau director under Procedure 1.6.0001 must be filed without delay and no later than 21 days from receipt of the decision; an appeal filed late will not be processed (clause ג.15). In addition, an appeal may be filed with the Appeals Tribunal under section 13כג of the Entry into Israel Law, within 30 days from the date the decision was lawfully published, from the date notice of it was received, or from the date you became aware of it — whichever is earliest (section 13כד(ב)). The Tribunal's decision may be appealed to the District Court sitting as the Court for Administrative Affairs within 45 days.
Where the refusal letter demands departure from Israel within seven days (clause ה.19(6) of the Procedure), the central tool is an application for a temporary order and an interim order within the appeal. As a rule, the tribunals condition such relief on a bond: in Appeal (Jerusalem) 3189-26 (2 Sep 2026), a temporary order was granted preventing enforcement proceedings and leaving the appellant holding the stay visa she held, subject to depositing a bond of NIS 7,500 within seven days to secure her departure and the costs of removal. By contrast, an application not supported by a genuine medical foundation is likely to be dismissed.
In Appeal (Tel Aviv) 2726-26 (22 Jul 2026), an appellant who had been staying in Israel without a licence sought interim relief in an application under the medical emergency procedure. The Tribunal dismissed the application and held that the procedure "is intended for the most exceptional cases, in which a foreign national's medical condition does not allow them to fly," and is not intended to confer status for the sake of routine, recurring treatments; in its words, "it is not correct that the appellant, who is a foreign national, is entitled to 'continuity of treatment in Israel'." The argument "I started treatment here and I must continue it" is, therefore, not an independent ground.
In Adm. Appeal (Jerusalem) 64290-06-22 (29 Jan 2023), the appeal of a person who sought to remain in Israel due to a chronic illness was dismissed. It was held that he was not in immediate danger, did not need urgent treatment, and was fit to fly, so there was no basis to intervene in the professional discretion exercised — which rested on two medical opinions. The lesson: an opinion from a specialist in the relevant field, addressing explicitly the question of fitness to fly, is worth more than a collection of documents.
In Appeal (Jerusalem) 2702-26 (7 Jul 2026), the appeal of a person injured in a workplace accident in Israel who required periodic treatment, and whose case had previously been the subject of an individual arrangement fixed in court judgments, was partly granted. The authority had cancelled his visa application on a ground not grounded in the Procedure, and the Tribunal ordered that a visa be issued to him forthwith — but held that from that point on he must proceed under Procedure 5.4.0030. The lesson is twofold: a refusal ground not rooted in the Procedure cannot stand, but old arrangements do not immunize against a policy update.
Two decisions illustrate the price of shortcuts. In Appeal (Tel Aviv) 2989-23 (23 Jul 2023), entry was refused to a mother and daughter who arrived at the airport claiming to seek medical consultation, without medical documents and unable to state the cost of treatment; it was held that they should have filed an application in advance of arrival, and that even a bond would not dispel the concern of settling permanently. And in Detention Review Tribunal case 1505-08-26 (16 Aug 2026), the tribunal considered the case of a woman who entered as a medical tourism patient for life-saving treatment and then filed an asylum request in order to remain; the request was denied, she was found to be staying in Israel unlawfully, was detained, and the detention order was upheld.
Our office guides patients, family members, and medical institutions through every stage of the process: building the application file together with the agent and the medical institution, checking that the medical documents match the Procedure's requirements, filing extension applications on time, handling escort applications and their replacement, and representation in the internal appeal and in the appeal to the Appeals Tribunal, including applications for a temporary order and an interim order. We assess in advance which track suits the circumstances — medical tourism, postponement of removal on medical grounds, or an application to the humanitarian committee — and avoid parallel applications, since the Procedure in any event requires choosing between them.
The licence is granted for the period specified in the medical institution's invitation, six months at a time, up to a maximum cumulative period of 27 months (clause ה.6 of Procedure 5.4.0030). Each extension is limited to six months, and the authority to approve it rises in rank as the cumulative stay lengthens. A stay beyond that is not regulated under this track and requires examining a different track.
As a rule, a first- or second-degree relative or a guardian, and generally only one escort. Where the patient is a minor, up to two escorts may be approved, depending on the circumstances and subject to the parents' or guardian's consent (clause ה.16.ב). An escort who is not a family member is possible, but the authority will examine the relationship and the need for an escort. The escort's licence is valid for the same period as the patient's licence, and it does not permit work in Israel.
The Procedure provides that applications to extend a licence that has already expired will not be processed, except in exceptional and reasoned cases (clause ה.19(1)). The application should therefore be filed about 30 days before expiry, together with up-to-date medical documents and proof of payment. If the licence has already expired, it is advisable to seek advice as soon as possible — the stay is considered unlawful, with all that this implies.
Procedure 5.2.0038 allows postponement of removal or a temporary B/2 licence only in a medical emergency as defined in the Patient's Rights Law — an immediate danger to life or of severe, irreversible disability — and only until the condition stabilizes. A chronic illness that does not pose an immediate danger to life does not justify status (clause א.3), as was also held in Adm. Appeal (Jerusalem) 64290-06-22. For exceptional long-term cases, there is the track of the Interministerial Committee for Humanitarian Affairs under Procedure 5.2.0022, where the decision is made by the Authority's Director-General.
An internal appeal to the bureau director under Procedure 1.6.0001 must be filed without delay and no later than 21 days from receipt of the decision, and an appeal filed late will not be processed (clause ג.15 of Procedure 5.4.0030). An appeal to the Appeals Tribunal must be filed within 30 days under section 13כד(ב) of the Entry into Israel Law, and the Tribunal's decision may be appealed to the District Court within 45 days. If the refusal letter demands immediate departure, you should consider an application for a temporary order — which will usually be conditioned on depositing a bond.