Israel
Israel · Middle East · updated 25.07.2026
The main immigration channel is repatriation under the Law of Return for people of Jewish descent: citizenship and rights are granted almost immediately. For everyone else there is the B-1 work visa, tied to the employer, with no established route to citizenship and no right to work for an accompanying spouse. A strong technology sector with salaries above the national average sits alongside ongoing regional instability and security advisories from foreign ministries abroad.
Some descriptions for this country are still Russian only: 93% translated. Numbers, prices and timelines are complete.
Entry
Entry rules depend on citizenship. Choose a passport to see the requirement for that one.
Work and visas
- Salary in IT
- $ 98 232 – $ 137 526
- Median
- $ 116 851
- Visa speed
- B-1: the employer files with PIBA and a decision usually takes 4–8 weeks; there is a fast-track procedure for assignments of up to 45 days
- Language at work
- The official language is Hebrew; in hi-tech companies the working language is often English, but no formal English requirement for the B-1 visa was found
- Changing employer
- The B-1 permit and visa are tied to a specific employer; changing employer means filing for a new permit with PIBA from scratch
Visa types: B-1 (expert visa, tied to the employer) · Oleh visa/status — repatriation under the Law of Return (for people of Jewish descent)
Employers: Intel, Microsoft, Google, Apple, IBM, Nvidia, Cisco, Meta
Long-term visas and residence permits
B/1 stay and work license for a foreign expert
WorkB/2 Innovation Permit for foreign entrepreneurs
StartupA/1 temporary residence visa for persons eligible under the Law of Return
RepatriationA/2 entry visa for students and yeshiva pupils
StudyStay permit for family members of students or clergy
FamilyStay permit for invited volunteers
OtherStay permit for children and grandchildren of Righteous Among the Nations
OtherSpecial humanitarian stay permit
OtherLegal status by virtue of a marital relationship with an Israeli citizen or permanent resident
FamilyStatus for spouses of persons eligible under the Law of Return who married less than a year before making Aliyah
FamilyWork permit for persons eligible under the Law of Return who are not Israeli citizens
WorkProgramme terms change, and the final decision rests with the consulate or the country migration service. The data is collected from official sources on the date shown and is not legal advice.
Residence and citizenship
- Language
- Hebrew is required for standard naturalisation; it is not required when repatriating under the Law of Return
Two independent routes. 1) The Law of Return: people with at least one Jewish grandparent (and their spouses) receive oleh status and are entitled to citizenship practically on arrival. 2) Standard naturalisation for everyone else: permanent residence (which is itself almost out of reach for holders of the B-1 work visa) + residence for at least 3 of the last 5 years + command of Hebrew + giving up the previous citizenship. There is no direct route from B-1 to citizenship.
Documents
- Document certification
- apostille
The country is party to the 1961 Hague Convention: a degree or certificate is authenticated with a single apostille in the country that issued it.
Family
Partner
- Timeline
- Accompanies the B-1 holder, but usually gets a B-2 tourist visa or A-5 dependant status
- Right to work
- no
B-2 and A-5 status carry no right to work. To work legally, the partner must obtain their own work permit (for example their own B-1 visa with a job offer from an Israeli employer).
Children
- Can be brought
- yes
Children can accompany a visa-holding parent as dependants; no separate verifiable details on schooling were found.
Parents
- Difficulty
- no route
There is no separate parent reunification mechanism for holders of the B-1 work visa. For Israeli citizens there is a narrow humanitarian procedure for a “lone parent” (Nohel Hor Levad), but only if the parent has no other children outside Israel.
Partner's parents
- Difficulty
- no route
Matters: In a number of countries only a biological child can sponsor a parent, in which case the spouse files the application.
Pets
- Limit
- no limit
- Quarantine
- no
- Antibody titre test
- needed
- Preparation
- ~3 months
Banned breeds: American Staffordshire terrier (Amstaff), bull terrier, Dogo Argentino, Japanese Tosa Inu, Staffordshire bull terrier, pit bull terrier, Fila Brasileiro, Rottweiler
Where the conditions are met (an ISO-15 microchip, a valid rabies vaccination, an antibody titre 90 days after vaccination, an Annex A veterinary certificate issued 10 days before departure), no quarantine is required. Bringing in animals of restricted breeds requires separate permission from the veterinary service. An import licence is needed (obtained in advance, a fee of 42.5 shekels from the district vet).
Safety
- Situation
- conflict
As of 2026 active regional tension persists: the threat of missile and drone attacks, escalation with Iran and in Lebanon, and fighting in Gaza that periodically resumes. The US State Department and the UK Foreign Office maintain standing advisories to exercise increased caution or reconsider travel to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Ben Gurion airport continues to operate, but air links are periodically restricted.
Crime: The national homicide rate is moderate by world standards but rose noticeably in 2023–2024, mainly because of violence within Arab communities. Terrorist attacks and rocket fire are recorded separately, being a risk of a different nature (see safety).
Natural hazards
The country lies along the Dead Sea Transform. Historically, catastrophic earthquakes occur roughly once every 400 years.
The largest example is the Mount Carmel fire of December 2010: 44 dead, around 50 km² and 1.5 million trees burnt.
Flash floods in the desert areas (the Negev, the Dead Sea region) caused by rare but intense downpours.
Outside the tropical cyclone belt.
A Mediterranean climate with a completely dry summer (June–September has virtually no rainfall); the water shortage is partly offset by desalination.
July–August averages 22–33°C nationally; up to 44–46°C in Eilat and the south.
No active volcanoes.
The main natural hazards are seismicity along the Dead Sea fault, summer fires and heat in the south. Separate from natural hazards stands the regional security factor (see the safety block).
Climate
- Type
- Mediterranean in the north and along the coast, semi-desert and desert in the south
More than 70% of annual rainfall comes between November and March; from June to September there is practically no rain. Annual rainfall ranges from ~30 mm in the south to 900+ mm in the north.
Quality of life
- Life expectancy
- 83.2 years
- Migration
- inflow
Healthcare: One of the most efficient health systems in the world (3rd for efficiency in 2020). Membership of one of the 4 health funds (Clalit, Maccabi, Meuhedet, Leumit) is compulsory. Those repatriating under the Law of Return get a year of free insurance if they are not working. About 3.1 doctors per 1,000 population.
Flows: Net migration for the country as a whole remains positive (about 1.1 per 1,000 in 2024) but fell sharply after the 2022 peak (driven mainly by the wave of aliyah from Russia and Ukraine), down by roughly 80% in 2023. Since 2024 the trend among Israelis and returnees has reversed: departures (yerida) exceeded aliyah for the first time, an effect of the war that began in October 2023.
Cities
Jerusalem
tech hubThe capital of Israel (its status is internationally disputed), home to the Knesset, the government and the Supreme Court. One of the cities cited as a hi-tech hub alongside Tel Aviv and Haifa.
The city's status remains one of the key points of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; historically there have been regular periods of tension and attacks, and restrictions on access to holy sites.
Tel Aviv-Yafo
tech hubIsrael's economic and technology centre, ranked the 4th global startup ecosystem. The Gush Dan conurbation holds about 4.16m people.
On a number of rankings it is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. During escalations (2021, for example, saw more than 300 rockets fired at the conurbation) it comes under rocket fire.
Haifa
tech hubIsrael's third largest city, a port, home to the Matam technology park and the Technion, the country's oldest and best technical university.
Haifa Bay is a heavy industry and oil refining area (refineries were hit by rockets in 2006). Between 1999 and 2003 a series of attacks killed 68 people; in 2006 the city was hit by 93 Hezbollah rockets.
Petah Tikva
tech hubA city in the Gush Dan agglomeration, one of the cited centres of Silicon Wadi, part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
Country-wide risks (see safety); no city-specific risks were found in the sources.
Rishon LeZion
One of the country's largest cities in the Gush Dan metropolitan area, mainly residential, with no separately noted hi-tech hub status in the sources.
Country-wide risks (see safety); no city-specific risks were found in the sources.
Grocery basket
- Bread, 500 g
- $ 3,38
- Milk, 1 l
- $ 2,55
- Eggs, 12
- $ 5,15
- Chicken breast, 1 kg
- $ 14,5
- Cheese, 1 kg
- $ 17,8
- Rice, 1 kg
- $ 3,41
- Potatoes, 1 kg
- $ 1,91
- Apples, 1 kg
- $ 4,20
- Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 l
- $ 3,38
- Total
- $ 56,3
The same set for every country, so the comparison is fair.
Cost of living across the country
- Rent, 1 bedroom
- $ 1 378 a month
- Rent, 3 bedrooms
- $ 2 459 a month
- Utility bills
- $ 265 a month
- Home internet
- $ 40,6 a month
- Monthly transport pass
- $ 84,8 a month
- Single transport ticket
- $ 2,71
- Petrol, litre
- $ 2,64
- Cold medicine
- $ 11,2 for a week
Country averages. City prices, where collected, are shown above and are more precise.
Indicators
- Life expectancy
- 83,2 years2024
- Homicides
- 3,7 per 100k2024
- Road deaths
- 4,2 per 100k2021
- Unemployment
- 3,5 %2025
- Unemployment, ages 15–24
- 6 %2025
- Inequality (Gini)
- 38,32022
- Health spending per person
- $ 3 928 a year
- Air pollution, PM2.5
- 21,9 µg/m³2023
- Access to clean water
- 100 %2024
- Internet, fixed line
- 288,3 Mbit/s2026
- Internet, mobile
- 70,1 Mbit/s2026
Governance
- Political stability
- low · -1
- Control of corruption
- above average · 0,9
- Rule of law
- above average · 0,6
- Government effectiveness
- high · 1,2
World Bank estimates on a −2.5 to +2.5 scale, higher is better.
Natural hazards
- Earthquakes
- 6,9 out of 10
- River floods
- 0,3 out of 10
- Coastal floods
- 2,4 out of 10
- Tropical cyclones
- 0 out of 10
- Droughts
- 5,3 out of 10
- Tsunamis
- 2,7 out of 10
Policy towards newcomers
- Migrant integration, overall score
- 47 out of 100 · 2019
- Family reunification
- 58 out of 100 · 2019
- Permanent residence
- 46 out of 100 · 2019
- Access to citizenship
- 63 out of 100 · 2019
- Access to the labour market
- 52 out of 100 · 2019
Measures how favourable the law is towards newcomers, not one person's chances of getting a visa.
Each value carries the year it refers to. “Data lags behind” means this country's figure was collected noticeably earlier than the rest. Natural hazards use one 0–10 scale and are meant to be compared against each other.