After Aliyah: Citizenship Day, Teudat Maavar, the Passport and Dual Citizenship

The day you land is the day the status starts, but the documents come in a set order. This matters most for travel plans in the first year. The facts below come from the BRIDGES programme page and the summary of Israeli nationality law.

Citizenship on the day of repatriation

Under Article 2 of the Nationality Law 5712-1952, citizenship by return starts on the day of repatriation. There is no naturalisation application, no residence period and no exam. On arrival the immigrant certificate and the teudat zehut, the identity card, are issued.

You can say no to citizenship

An adult can declare that they do not want to become a citizen, before the day of repatriation or within three months after it. The person keeps the immigrant status. BRIDGES also mentions another option: someone with the right can take an A/1 temporary resident visa and decide on citizenship later.

The first year: teudat maavar

Since July 2023, according to BRIDGES, the Ministry of the Interior issues a travel document, the teudat maavar, rather than a passport in the first year after repatriation. The rule was introduced against repatriation made only for the passport.

The passport

A five-year passport becomes available one year after repatriation, if the person spent at least 60 per cent of that time in Israel. BRIDGES writes that the bar was lowered from 75 per cent in January 2025. These are departmental rules rather than law, and they changed twice in three years, so I check them before any trip.

Dual citizenship

Israel does not ask a repatriate to give up another citizenship. The nationality law summary notes that renunciation is required from non-Jews who naturalise after three of five years of residence, but not from Jewish immigrants. The restriction more often comes from the other side: some countries limit or do not recognise a second citizenship, so check your own country’s law first.

Children

Minor children of an immigrant usually get status together with the parent by decision of the Ministry of the Interior. A child born abroad to an Israeli citizen is a citizen by descent, but only in the first generation born abroad, according to the same summary.

What it costs

The Law of Return asks for no contribution and no investment. Real costs are translations, apostilles, archive requests and the move itself. BRIDGES does not publish the price of its support; it is given after the first assessment.