Israel imposes new bureaucratic red tape on incoming tourists

Application for entry permit must be sent days in advance; a permit doesn’t guarantee entry and costs about $7 apiece.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Starting Wednesday, January 1, all visitors to Israel who have had smooth sailing entering the country because they come from visa-exempt countries will now have to apply for a different authorization to cross the border.

The Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA) is instituting a mandatory procedure whereby travelers who do not hold Israeli citizenship or permanent residency IDs must go online to receive an electronic travel authorization permit (ETA-IL).

The short form requests personal data such as one’s name, date of birth, nationality, travel information (i.e., the reason for coming and dates of arrival and departure), passport information (including a photo), and a valid email address.

In the case of families, each person must fill out his or her own form, each of which costs NIS 25 (about $7).

According to PIBA, applications should be submitted at least three days before the planned arrival because it can take up to that long to receive the permit by email. Those who are more hesitant regarding the speed of reply may want to apply earlier.

The PIBA website advises that the form will time out within 30 minutes, meaning that it is best to have all the required information and digital picture at hand before starting.

Once approved, the permit is valid for two years. The approved tourist may visit Israel as many times as he or she wishes and remain each time for up to 90 days over the two-year period or until his or her passport expires, whichever comes first.

Whoever wishes to remain in the country for a longer period must request an “extension of stay” from PIBA.

In addition, if there is any change in the person’s “name, gender, or country of citizenship,” the Authority states, a new application must be submitted.

The Authority also makes it clear that receiving a travel permit does not automatically mean that visitors can enter Israel; it just allows them to present themselves at one of the country’s borders.

Although this is considered a security procedure, and many other Western countries have instituted a similar requirement, including the U.S., Europe, and Australia, critics say that this is not the time to make travel to Israel more onerous.

Yossi Fatael, Israel Inbound Tour Operators Association director-general, told The Times of Israel on Tuesday, “We don’t think it’s wise to introduce any bureaucratic burden in our war situation when coming to Israel is not something that people are considering easily.”

“Israel needs the incoming tourism not only from the economic point of view, but also these people will be the ones that will speak differently about us when they return home to improve our reputation,” he added.

Tourism is down 80%, with most major airlines not even flying into Israel due to the possibility of incoming missiles hitting their planes, although the country’s defense array has successfully shot down almost every aerial threat to the center of the country, whether launched from the Gaza Strip (Hamas), Lebanon (Hezbollah), or Yemen (Houthis).

As a precautionary measure, Ben Gurion Airport has been shut down several times over the past year for periods ranging from minutes to several hours.

On Monday night, the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel and falsely claimed to have hit the airport, which had halted operations for less than half an hour during the attack.

The IDF said it shot down the missile before it crossed into Israeli airspace.

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