Update on Travel between Israel and the United States
Dear Clients,
Further to this alert from the United States Embassy in Israel, there is now a total ban on travel between Israel and the United States. As of midnight yesterday, the U.S. was added to Israel’s list of “red” countries, and is thus considered a destination of particularly high-risk for coronavirus.
Travel from Israel to the United States
Israeli citizens are now banned from travelling to the United States, unless they have advance permission from the Exceptions Committee. The criteria for exceptional travel to the United States and other red countries appear only in Hebrew, and include, among others:
- Urgent medical treatment
- Funeral of a first degree relative
- Participation in a legal proceeding
- Travel to one’s permanent home abroad
- Business travel – if deemed vital by the authorities
Applications to the Exceptions Committee can be made at this Hebrew-language webpage. Note: The English-language Exceptions Committee webpage is misleading: The Exceptions Committee has indicated that only requests completed in Hebrew will be addressed.
Additional requirements to exit Israel:
- Travelers must complete an online exit statement within 24 hours of departure from Israel. The exit statement includes an attestation that the traveler does not intend to visit a county on the red list, unless permission has been given by the Exceptions Committee. A printout of the exit statement must be shown to the airlines as a condition for boarding the flight.
- Take a PCR test within 72 hours of departure. Only those who test negative will be allowed to board the flight.
Foreign nationals are not subject to the ban on travel from Israel to the United States or other red countries.
Travel from the United States to Israel
American citizens and other foreign nationals are barred from entering Israel unless they have advance permission from the Exceptions Committee. The criteria for exceptional travel to Israel from the United States and other red countries are limited in scope to the following:
- Individuals holding a temporary residence visa, whose center of life is in Israel and have a connection with an Israeli citizen (spouse, child).
- Parents seeking to come for the wedding of a child.
- Individuals seeming to complete the immigration (“Aliyah”) process.
All such individuals must be fully vaccinated.
All individuals entering Israel from the United States or other red list countries must complete quarantine for 14 days. This applies to Israeli citizens and foreign nationals alike, even if the individual is fully vaccinated. This period can be reduced to a week if a PCR test taken on day 7 is negative.
The listing of the United States as a red country will mean a temporary halt to special travel cases that had been permitted prior to December 22, 2021. These special cases included important business trips by American investors and executives, and the admission of foreign experts with approved work visas.
Israel is now rolling out a second vaccine booster shot, which will hopefully mean that travel to and from the United States will resume in the new year. In the meantime, we wish you a healthy and safe 2022! | 
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