Omar Haddad
Yes. If you travel to Israel on a passport from a visa-exempt country, you must hold an approved ETA-IL before you fly. The Electronic Travel Authorization has been mandatory since 1 January 2025, it is issued by Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority, known as PIBA, and it replaced the old habit of simply showing up with a passport. It costs 25 Israeli shekels, it stays valid for up to two years, and each visit under it is capped at 90 days. Apply on the official portal only, and apply early enough that a slower decision cannot threaten your flight.
Quick Facts About the ETA-IL
- What it is: The ETA-IL, an electronic travel authorization run by the Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA).
- Mandatory since: 1 January 2025 for nationals of visa-exempt countries.
- Cost: 25 Israeli shekels (ILS 25), non-refundable, paid online by card.
- Official website: israel-entry.piba.gov.il. Use only a site ending in piba.gov.il.
- Validity: Up to 2 years from approval, or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.
- Stay per visit: Up to 90 days, with multiple entries allowed during the validity period.
- Processing: Many applications are decided quickly, but PIBA advises allowing up to 72 hours.
- Not a visa: The ETA-IL is advance screening for visa-exempt travellers only. It does not guarantee entry, and the final decision rests with the border officer.
Who must apply for the ETA-IL?
The rule is nationality based. If your passport comes from a country whose citizens can enter Israel without a visa for short visits, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and most European Union states, the ETA-IL applies to you for tourism, business meetings, short non-academic study and similar short stays. Every traveller needs their own authorization, including children, and the authorization is linked to the passport used in the application. If you renew your passport, the old ETA-IL does not transfer. You apply again on the new passport before you travel.
Travellers who pair Israel with a side trip to Jordan will find the practical planning different but complementary in our guide to visiting Petra in Jordan, and anyone building a wider multi-country itinerary should note that digital pre-travel authorizations are now the regional and global pattern, as our explainer on the Taiwan online arrival card shows for East Asia.
Who is exempt from the ETA-IL?
Three broad groups sit outside the requirement. First, nationals of countries that are not visa-exempt do not use the ETA-IL at all. They follow the ordinary visa route through an Israeli consulate, and an ETA-IL application is not a shortcut around that process. Second, Israeli citizens and holders of Israeli residence status travel on their own documents rather than on a visitor authorization. Third, holders of a valid Israeli visa covering their trip do not need a separate ETA-IL for that entry. Transit passengers who remain airside and never pass Israeli immigration control also have no authorization to file. Everyone else holding a visa-exempt passport should assume the requirement applies, whatever their age and whatever the purpose of a short trip.
How do you apply, step by step?
Start at the official PIBA portal and nowhere else. You enter personal details exactly as they appear in your passport, passport information, travel details and contact information, then pay the 25 shekel fee by card. Read every field before submitting, because the record is matched against your passport at check-in and at the border. Airlines check for an approved authorization before boarding, so an application left in a pending state can become a denied boarding problem rather than a minor delay.
Most applicants hear back quickly, and PIBA frames the outer window at up to 72 hours for cases that need additional screening. The sensible approach is to apply as soon as your trip is booked, not in the final days before departure. An approval lasts up to two years, so there is no advantage in waiting. Keep the approval confirmation accessible while you travel, and recheck your status on the official portal if your passport details change in any way.
How do you avoid ETA-IL scam sites?
The launch of the system produced the usual crop of lookalike websites charging many times the official fee for the same form. The checks are simple. The address must end in piba.gov.il. The fee must be 25 shekels, not a three-figure sum in dollars. Any site adding urgent processing fees, call centre charges or subscription language is not the Israeli government. If a search advertisement brought you to the page, leave it and type the official portal address directly instead.
What happens on arrival in Israel?
An approved ETA-IL lets you travel to Israel and request entry. It does not guarantee that entry. The border officer makes the final decision, can ask about the purpose and length of your visit, and sets the permission you receive on arrival. The 90-day figure is a maximum per visit, not an entitlement to stay that long on every trip, and it does not convert a visitor entry into permission to work or to take up residence. Travellers planning employment, long academic study or relocation need the appropriate visa category arranged in advance, entirely outside the ETA-IL system.
One practical point survives from the old system. Israel no longer routinely stamps passports in the way it once did, but entry records are kept electronically, so keep your boarding documentation and arrival paperwork until you have left. If your circumstances change between applying and travelling, for example a new passport, a changed name or a different travel document, treat the old approval as void and apply again rather than hoping the mismatch will be waved through at the desk.
What if your application is not approved straight away?
Not every application resolves instantly, and a pending or referred result is not the same as a refusal. PIBA may need additional screening, which is exactly why the authority frames its outer processing window at up to 72 hours. If your case is referred, follow any instructions the system issues and do not book non-refundable travel on the assumption that approval will follow. If an application is refused, the ETA-IL route is closed for that trip and the traveller’s options run through the consular visa process instead, which operates on a completely different timescale. Both outcomes argue for the same behaviour: apply the moment a trip becomes real, while there is still time to change plans, rather than in the departure week when a slow or negative answer strands the whole itinerary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the ETA-IL a visa?
No. PIBA describes it as an electronic travel authorization for visa-exempt nationals. It is advance screening only, it does not replace a visa for anyone who needs one, and it does not guarantee entry.
How long does an ETA-IL last?
Up to two years from approval, or until the passport used in the application expires, whichever comes first. Each visit during that period is limited to a maximum of 90 days.
How much does the ETA-IL cost?
The official fee is 25 Israeli shekels, paid online and non-refundable. Any website charging substantially more is adding its own fees or is not legitimate.
How early should you apply?
As soon as your travel is booked. Many decisions are fast, but PIBA allows up to 72 hours, and applying early costs nothing because validity runs from approval for up to two years.
Do children need their own ETA-IL?
Yes. The requirement is per traveller and per passport, so each child travelling on a visa-exempt passport needs an individual approved authorization.
What if your passport is renewed after approval?
The authorization is tied to the passport in the application. A new passport means a new application before you fly.
