A visa-exempt partner coming to Israel as a tourist

The short answer

A passport from a visa-exempt country lets the foreign partner visit Israel without arranging a visa in advance. It does not replace the application for status. All three procedures say that a foreign partner abroad who wants to come and live in Israel with the Israeli partner must apply before arriving, even when the passport is visa-exempt. If you are both already in Israel, the procedures describe an online application made from inside Israel.

This article is based on three procedures of the Population and Immigration Authority: 5.2.0008 for spouses of citizens (edition 16, 20.07.2026), 5.2.0009 for shared life and same-sex couples (edition 17, 16.07.2026), and 5.2.0011 for spouses of permanent residents (10.12.2020).

Visiting is not the same as moving

In the procedures, a visa-exempt foreign national is one who holds a passport of a country listed in the Entry into Israel (Visa Exemption) Order of 1974. Such a visitor usually enters on a B/2 visitor licence, a tourist licence. Entry as a tourist and the extension of a B/2 licence are governed by a separate procedure, 5.4.0001, which this article does not cover.

For a married couple who live abroad and are only coming to visit, procedure 5.2.0008 recommends that the Israeli partner first registers the marriage, any births and the visit of the spouse and minor children with an Israeli representation abroad; the update then holds for future visits. If you later decide to settle the foreign partner's status in Israel, you apply under the procedure.

Applying before you arrive

The procedures set three situations, depending on where each of you is when you apply:

• Both of you abroad: you go together to the Israeli representation (the embassy or consulate) to apply for entry, with the documents the procedure lists. Both partners must attend, also when the foreign partner's passport is visa-exempt.
• The Israeli partner in Israel and the foreign partner abroad: the Israeli partner files the online application in advance, before the foreign partner arrives, with the required documents and a request for an entry visa, also for a visa-exempt passport.
• Both of you in Israel: you, or the Israeli partner, file the online application.

Documents for the Gradual Process: how recent, authenticated and translated

After the entry approval

When you apply at a representation abroad, the decision on entry is, as a rule, made within 90 days of the day the complete request reaches the Authority from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; if more checks are needed, the Israeli partner is told so in writing within that time. A partner with a visa-exempt passport collects the approval notice from the representation and shows it at border control on arrival. A partner from a country that needs a visa is given a B/2 visa valid for 30 days. No fee is charged for the entry visa of a partner from a visa-exempt country.

Approval to enter is not the start of the Gradual Process. Within 30 days of the foreign partner's arrival, you file the online application for status.

If you are already in Israel on a tourist licence

If the foreign partner is in Israel lawfully on a tourist licence, you file the online application from Israel. For shared-life couples, procedure 5.2.0009 says that a valid B/2 tourist licence held on the day you apply can be extended until the checks on the application are finished. For spouses of citizens, once all the documents have been received, a general B/1 licence may be given for up to six months for the remaining checks; that period is not counted in the Gradual Process.

Travel needs care: once you have applied, a foreign partner who holds a valid temporary licence, a tourist visa included, and leaves Israel without a re-entry visa loses that licence on departure. Ask for a re-entry visa before any trip.

Planning to marry abroad? If the foreign partner is in Israel lawfully and you have not applied yet, the Israeli partner can ask for a re-entry visa so that you can travel abroad to marry. After a first check of the relationship, the office may give a B/2 licence for three months with a re-entry visa. Once you are back in Israel as a married couple, you apply under procedure 5.2.0008.

Working in Israel during the Gradual Process

If the tourist licence has expired

The procedures also deal with a foreign partner who is no longer in Israel lawfully. When an application is filed for such a partner and no court ruling orders the partner to leave, both partners are interviewed. If the official finds at first sight that the relationship is sincere, the foreign partner is not required to leave until a decision is made, provided the application, with all its documents, was filed before any enforcement steps were taken. If the relationship seems not to be genuine, or it began after the licence expired, the foreign partner will be required to leave. Under the procedure for spouses of permanent residents, the foreign partner is not removed until a decision is made, except a resident of the Area.

Every application is checked for past stays in Israel, including any unlawful stay, removal or refusal of entry at the border. A past unlawful entry or stay, or a removal, sends the file to the head of the visa team, who decides on further checks and on whether to refuse. A foreign partner whom a court has ordered to leave Israel, and who stayed, will as a rule have the application handled only after leaving.

How IsraelVisa helps

IsraelVisa helps you see which of the three situations is yours, prepare the documents the representation or the office will ask for, and keep track of the foreign partner's licence dates, yourselves and at your own pace. IsraelVisa does not give legal advice; if you wish, you can find independent lawyers through IsraelVisa.

Frequently asked questions

My partner's passport is visa-exempt. Can we skip the application before arrival?

Not if the foreign partner is coming to live in Israel. The procedures require the application before arrival also for a visa-exempt passport: at the Israeli representation if you are both abroad, or online by the Israeli partner if the Israeli partner is in Israel.

We are both in Israel and my partner came as a tourist. How do we apply?

You, or the Israeli partner, file the online application from Israel. For shared-life couples, a valid B/2 tourist licence held on the day you apply can be extended until the checks are finished.

Does time on a tourist licence count towards the Gradual Process?

No. The Gradual Process starts only when the office approves its start; the licences given while the application is reviewed are not counted in it.

Is there a fee for the entry visa?

Not for a partner from a visa-exempt country: the procedures say no fee is charged for that entry visa. The application for status itself carries a fee, as set in the Authority's fee table.

Related guides

• The Gradual Process: how a foreign partner gets status in Israel
• Married couples: the Gradual Process
• Shared life and common-law couples: the Gradual Process

Sources

• Procedure 5.2.0008 - status for a foreign spouse married to an Israeli citizen (edition 16, 20.07.2026), sections A, C.2-C.6, C.12, C.25, D.5, E.1 and E.2 (Hebrew)
• Procedure 5.2.0009 - applications for status on the basis of a shared life (edition 17, 16.07.2026), sections C.5, C.9, C.21, E.1 and E.2 (Hebrew)
• Procedure 5.2.0011 - status for a foreign spouse married to a permanent resident (10.12.2020), sections B.3, B.7 and C.1 (Hebrew)