A practical guide to release on bail from immigration detention: grounds, bail amounts, the Israeli guarantor, and conditions set by the officer and tribunal.
The call usually comes in the evening: a person is arrested in an enforcement operation by inspectors of the Population and Immigration Authority, given a hearing, issued a detention order and a removal order, and transferred to a detention facility. The family's question is almost always the same one — how much money is needed to get them out, and who needs to sign.
This page is for family members, partners, friends and employers of someone held in immigration detention (custody) under the Entry into Israel Law, 5712-1952. It explains when the law allows release on bail, who sets the amount and the conditions, what amounts are set in practice, and how the bail is deposited and when it is returned or forfeited. One thing up front: there is no fixed "tariff." The amount is derived from the level of risk the tribunal identifies, and from the ability to show that the person will actually leave Israel by the date set for them.
The law's starting point is strict. Section 13(a) of the Entry into Israel Law provides that a person present in Israel without a residence permit "shall be removed from Israel as soon as possible unless he has left of his own accord beforehand," and Section 13A of the Law provides that a person staying in Israel unlawfully "shall be held in detention until leaving Israel or until removed from it, unless released on cash bail, bank guarantee or other suitable security." The rule, then, is detention, and release is the exception.
The exception is governed by Section 13F of the Law. The main ground used in practice is the one in Section 13F(a)(2): being satisfied that the unlawful resident will leave Israel on their own by the date set for them, and that there will be no difficulty locating them if they do not leave. Alongside it stand the ground of age or health condition and special humanitarian reasons (Section 13F(a)(3)), and the ground of 60 days having passed in detention (Section 13F(a)(4)). Against this, Section 13F(b) lists circumstances in which, as a rule, a person will not be released on bail, including danger to public safety — a consideration the tribunals give central weight to when there is a prior conviction for a violent offense.
In practice, the decisive question is one of trust. Consistent refusal to cooperate with removal, failure to provide passport details, or breach of a judgment ordering departure from Israel knock out the ground for release altogether, and then even a high bail amount will not help.
Two authorities operate in parallel. The first is the border-control officer. Clause ה.1.2 of Procedure 10.3.0001 (Procedure on the Issuance of Removal and Detention Orders under the Entry into Israel Law, edition 4, 15 Mar 2023) provides that once the officer has decided not to place the person in detention because a ground under Section 13F(a) is met, they must specify on the detention-order form the release conditions and the date for leaving Israel. Alongside this, Procedure 5.1.0004 (General Guarantees Procedure, updated 15 Jan 2026) governs the practical side of the guarantee — where it is deposited, when it is released, and when it is forfeited. The discretion in setting the amount is case-specific: it is derived from the foreign national's circumstances, from prior breaches, and from how far the deposit will remove the concern that they will not leave on time.
The second authority is that of the Detention Review Tribunal. The detainee is brought before it under Sections 13N–13O of the Entry into Israel Law, after which periodic review hearings are held — in the decisions examined here, the next hearing date was set, as a rule, some three to four weeks later. The Tribunal may confirm the detention order, order release, or set release conditions that replace those set by the officer, including a lower amount or payment in installments.
There is no uniform tariff, but there is an identifiable range. In Detention Review Tribunal decisions from 2025–2026, the deposit amounts generally range between about NIS 20,000 and about NIS 40,000, and alongside them, third-party guarantees in similar amounts are often required as well.
For example, in a Detention Review Tribunal decision of 19 Mar 2025, concerning someone convicted of a serious violent offense who also presented a rehabilitation program, the Tribunal insisted on NIS 40,000 in deposit plus a further NIS 40,000 in a guarantee from an Israeli citizen or resident. When departure is imminent and concrete, lower amounts are set — NIS 20,000 in a decision of 18 Feb 2026, and NIS 30,000 split into two payments in a decision of 16 Nov 2025.
Two opposing principles pull the amount in different directions: the higher the risk, the higher the bail — a history of breaches, refusal to cooperate, or a long period of unlawful stay will push it upward; and, on the other hand, conditions must not be set that a person could not meet solely because of their financial situation.
The monetary bail is only one component. The second component — no less important to the family — is the guarantor: an Israeli citizen or resident who signs a guarantee undertaking in a stated amount to secure the detainee's reporting and departure from the country on time. Sometimes a single guarantor at a modest amount suffices; sometimes a guarantee in an amount equal to the deposit is required. In one case, two third-party guarantees of NIS 30,000 each were required, signed by holders of valid passports who would identify themselves with them.
Alongside these, supervision conditions are set in nearly every case: periodic reporting at a Population and Immigration Authority office — once a week, once every two weeks, or once every 30 days — to review status and the possibility of removal and to check compliance with the conditions; providing a precise address and residing only there, without moving to another address before giving written notice to the Authority; and providing an active phone number. An undertaking to leave Israel on time and cooperate with the removal proceedings is also required, and sometimes to actively act to obtain travel documents — in one decision, a period of 90 days from release was set for this. In appropriate circumstances, additional unique conditions are added: an undertaking not to file a further application to regularize status until leaving the country, or participation in, and reporting on, a treatment-and-rehabilitation program.
Procedure 5.1.0004 governs the practical side. Under clause 2.1, at the Guarantees Unit at Ben Gurion Airport one may deposit a bank guarantee (including a digital one), a bank check, cash by credit card, or an approved stub confirming a deposit to an account. The guarantor is required to bring the decision document, an identifying document, and a voided check or an account-confirmation from an Israeli bank into which the guarantee will be returned. At the regional offices of the Population Administration, only bank guarantees may be deposited.
If the person for whom bail was posted met the conditions, the guarantee is returned to the account the guarantor provided within 30 days (clause 6.2). If they did not, before forfeiture — full or partial — a warning letter is sent to the guarantor (clause 7.3), and they may respond to it within 14 days (clause 7.4). Where the guarantee was deposited by force of a judicial tribunal's decision, an application to change its conditions is generally directed to that same tribunal: in a decision of 1 Jan 2025, the Detention Review Tribunal declined to reduce bail set by the District Court, as no reason for the change was found. Breaching a condition is not a technicality: decisions state expressly that it leads to immediate forfeiture of the bail and constitutes grounds for returning the released person to detention at any time.
If the amount is beyond your means, do not wait for the next hearing: you can apply to the border-control officer to reconsider the bail conditions in light of a change in circumstances, and at the same time file an application with the Tribunal for release or a change of conditions. It is worth attaching supporting documents: bank statements and pay slips, details of an Israeli guarantor willing to sign, a flight ticket, and medical documents.
A decision of the Detention Review Tribunal may be appealed to the District Court sitting as the Court for Administrative Affairs within 45 days of receiving the decision. This is the right tool where the amount set is disproportionate, where the financial or family circumstances were not considered, or where an alternative of payment in installments was not examined.
It is important to understand the limits of this process. The purpose of detention is removal, not regularizing status: in a decision of 7 May 2025, the Tribunal refused to reduce bail for someone who declared they were not willing to return to their country, and clarified that they must cooperate with their removal. Arguments against the removal order or regarding status belong in an appeal to the Appeals Tribunal for immigration matters or in an administrative petition. That said, a pending proceeding may have an effect: Chapter ו of Procedure 10.3.0001 provides that if, before placement in detention, an application was filed with the Inter-Ministerial Humanitarian Committee (Procedure 5.2.0022) or an application to stay removal in a medical emergency (Procedure 5.2.0038), immediate contact must be made with the handling office, release on bail must be considered, and if no decision was received within 14 days of the issuance of the removal order, the officer must consider release on conditions.
At the Detention Review Tribunal, in a decision of 16 Nov 2025 (case 9277499), the border-control officer had insisted on bail of NIS 50,000 that he had set on his own initiative, and the Tribunal ruled that, insofar as the detainee is not removed and does not meet the officer's conditions, he would be released against NIS 30,000 in two payments, a guarantee from an Israeli citizen of NIS 5,000, and weekly reporting. The practical lesson: the officer's release decision is a starting point, not a ceiling.
In a decision of 18 Feb 2026 (case 9288154), a tourist whose asylum request had been denied, and who claimed she had not received the decision, was released against NIS 20,000, voluntary departure within seven days, and an undertaking not to file a further application to regularize status. The lesson: when departure is imminent, concrete, and backed by an undertaking, the amount goes down and the timeline shortens.
In Adm. Appeal (Central) 16856-06-25 (12 Jun 2025), the State sought bail of NIS 30,000 from a father of minor children placed in out-of-home care. The Court set the bail at NIS 20,000 and spread it out: NIS 2,500 as a condition for release, a further NIS 2,500 by the end of that month, and the balance in three equal monthly payments of NIS 5,000, while ruling that conditions must not be set that a person cannot meet due to their financial situation alone, with their liberty denied for that reason (the appellants relied on Leave to Appeal (Supreme Court) 7267/09 Somaili Abdulai v. Ministry of Interior (2009)). The lesson: payment in installments is a legitimate request, provided it is backed by supporting data.
On the other hand, in a decision of 1 Jan 2025 (case 9232271), the Tribunal refused to reduce bail of NIS 40,000 and two third-party guarantees of NIS 30,000 each, which had been set by the District Court, and confirmed continued detention — against the background of a breach of a judgment ordering departure from Israel, an attempt to flee from the Authority's inspectors, and consistent refusal to cooperate. The lesson: bail is meant to remove a concrete concern; where there is no basic trust, even a high amount will not open the gate.
Our office accompanies families, partners and employers through detention proceedings from the very first hour: appearing at the hearing and at the review hearings, applications for release and applications for reconsideration of the bail conditions, locating and preparing an Israeli guarantor, building a documented payment plan, and appealing to the District Court when the conditions set are disproportionate. We also examine, in every case, the parallel proceedings — an appeal, a petition, or a humanitarian application — so that release is not decided in isolation from them. Nothing herein guarantees an outcome; each case is examined on its own circumstances.
There is no fixed amount. In Detention Review Tribunal decisions from recent years, the deposit amounts generally range between about NIS 20,000 and about NIS 40,000, and sometimes third-party guarantees in similar amounts are additionally required. The amount is derived from the level of risk that the person will not leave Israel on time — a history of breaches or refusal to cooperate raises it, and a proven financial situation can justify a reduction or an installment plan.
Yes, and this is an accepted request. In a decision of 16 Nov 2025, bail of NIS 30,000 was split into two payments, with only NIS 20,000 required for release itself. In Adm. Appeal (Central) 16856-06-25 (12 Jun 2025), bail of NIS 20,000 was spread over five payments, with only NIS 2,500 serving as the condition for release. For the request to be accepted, it must be backed by documents on the financial situation.
As a rule, an Israeli citizen or resident is required, who signs a guarantee undertaking in a stated amount to secure the detainee's reporting and departure from the country on time; in certain cases, guarantors with a valid passport were required. If the conditions are breached, the guarantee may be forfeited — but under Procedure 5.1.0004, a warning letter is sent to the guarantor before full or partial forfeiture, and they may respond to it within 14 days.
A breach may lead to immediate forfeiture of the bail and to the person being returned to detention at any time — this is stated expressly in release decisions. In a decision of 1 Jan 2025, continued detention was confirmed for someone who did not meet the release conditions set by the District Court, and their request to reduce the bail was denied. If a genuine change of circumstances occurs, the right course is to approach the officer or the Tribunal in advance, rather than to breach the conditions.
As a rule, no. The purpose of detention is removal, and the Detention Review Tribunal examines whether it can be satisfied that the person will leave Israel, not whether it is appropriate to regularize their status. In a decision of 7 May 2025, a request to reduce bail was denied for someone who declared they were not willing to return to their country, and in a decision of 1 Jan 2025, it was held that where there is no trust that the person will leave, conditions and a high bail amount will not help. Arguments concerning status belong in an appeal to the Appeals Tribunal for immigration matters or in an administrative petition, but the existence of a pending proceeding may affect the question of release on conditions.