I am Israeli but my girlfriend is a Chinese citizen (we both live in the US). She wants to visit Israel and we're trying to figure out the visa stuff. According to the website of the Israeli embassy in Beijing, she can get a multiple-entry visa that would be good for up to 10 years. This would be optimal, but the statement on that website is from 2016 so we were hoping to hear from people who have obtained such a visa (from China or other places).

One more complication is that she wouldn't be applying for a visa in the embassy in Beijing, but actually that in Athens. Perhaps it helps that she has a student visa in the US and some similar type of visa for Greece (which gives her Schengen access). Of course I have an address in Israel and I can vouch for her with the authorities, and we can show income proofs and stuff like that.

Thanks in advance!

My husband and I are travelling to Tel Aviv next week from Germany. I'm very nervous about the security screeners on the 'way back' (we are going to visit relatives in Venice on the way back) being horrible to us because we are a gay male couple. I've had some sneers and comments coming into the US (where I'm actually a citizen!) and going to Australia through Doha and Dubai both was really nerve-wracking - we sat separately and barely acknowledged each other since it was the Middle East. I know that Tel Aviv may be less prejudiced than the rest of the country but how is officialdom? Should I be nervous at the airport? If I encounter police?

Does anyone have tips for finding restaurants with gluten free and dairy free options? I am visiting next month and excited to see all the products at the grocery stores but would love to eat out a few times as well. Hopefully the options have grown in the past few years!

Thank you so much!

Visiting Israel in September. What do I do if I get an alert on Tsofar covering where I am? I take it "run in circles, scream and shout" is not an option but what may be second nature to somebody living there isn't to a visitor? Also will hotels, restaurants, malls, etc. have safe rooms or do I just duck and cover in the street? Sorry if these questions are silly.

Flying from the US - From a consistency standpoint it’s obviously El Al but what would be the pros with United to Ben Gurion?

I came back to Israel after about six years away and was sure Uber would finally be an option. Wrong. The app opens but barely connects you with taxis. I wasted time at Ben Gurion before realizing nothing had changed.

Locals and travelers are still using GetTaxi (Gett). It worked for me in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa. Yango exists but had fewer cars, and Raxi almost never showed up.

For longer trips like Masada or the Dead Sea, you need to book a driver in advance. If you want a clear breakdown of apps, sherut vans, and transfers, this was the most helpful resource I found: Israel taxi guide beyond Uber and Gett.

Bottom line: download Gett before you land and don’t count on Uber.

I am applying for an A1 visa, fast-tracked via a MASA Israel program. One of my requirements is a criminal background check for every country I've lived in.

I've only lived in the United States, though I've lived in two different states.

Can anyone suggest where and how to get this done? Do I need both a federal background check in conjunction with one for each state?

Thank you in advance.

I am currently on a B2 travel visa that runs out the end of september. I wish to extend this as long as possible.

I am staying in Jerusalem, with my Israeli partner. I would apply for a partner visa, but I also want to make Giyur, and understand there can be some complications with this, living with a partner.

I have contacted many universities, however most have already began and wont accept late comers. Also contacted people to volunteer to get this kind of visa.

I feel at my wits end, and have been told to go to the Ministry of Affairs government office, amd speak to them.

Please anyone who knows who to ask for, what to say etc help me. I feel lost. Thanks so much!

He would like to leave asap.

I am planning on traveling to Israel with a stop in Europe (just short layover) in the middle/end of November. I've been looking at ticket prices and not much has changed since now and a few weeks ago. I saw somewhere online that said prices may go down within the next couple of months, but I'm not sure if I should believe that. Is it better to buy a ticket now or wait a little longer?

I have a small dog and I live in the US. When I fly with him in the US, he is a "service dog," but I don't think the service dog thing exists in other countries? I am going to Israel in November for a wedding and I am planning on bringing my dog, but I want to make a stop on the way to Israel in Europe preferably so my dog can pee, etc. Does anyone know the process to bring your dog from the US to Europe to Israel?

Hi! I will be visiting Jerusalem for 2 to 3 months from August to October. I'm european and I would like to know how to make the most of my time there. I'll be staying in the Old City.

A few questions I have: Is it safe throughout the whole city? Is it safe to visit Bethlehem? Also, do you have any recommendations for Ulpan programs? (I'm not Jewish, but I would love to learn some Hebrew and, if possible, about Judaism while I'm there). Any recommendations on food markets, boxing gyms or chess clubs, how to avoid cultural insensitivities, or lesser-known places to visit are also welcome

Hello everyone,

I live in Estonia, and the nearest Israeli consulate is in Finland. My last passport renewal was only for 1 year. Now, due to forthcoming travel, I need to make sure that my passport will be valid at least for 6 months longer.

The consulate mentioned that they could add 1 year validity with a sticker, but instead of issuing me a new passport.

Has anyone travelled using this sort of extension?
Is it easily accepted in the other European countries or in Turkey without any issues?

Thanks in advance!

Hi all, hoping someone has advice.

I booked a BA flight to Tel Aviv, but BA cancelled it. They rebooked me on an El Al flight outbound on 17 July. The new flight shows up in both BA’s and El Al’s systems under my booking.

I now can’t travel on the 17th and want to change my outbound date. • El Al told me to speak to BA because BA issued the ticket. • BA say they can’t move me to another El Al flight as they’re only allowed to rebook me on BA flights—but there are currently no BA flights to Tel Aviv because they’re all cancelled. • I pointed out that BA initially managed to rebook me on El Al, so why not now? But they insist they can’t do it. • El Al say that as it’s “still operated by BA,” they also can’t change my flight.

So I’m stuck, with both airlines refusing to help. Has anyone been in a similar situation, or have any advice on how to resolve this?

Thanks

I'm trying to book a return flight London - Tel Aviv with El-Al from late August to early Sept (specifically 29/08-07/09) but the app and website are showing no flights for months! Has this something to do with the airspace closure during Iran bombardment? I did a trip in May and there were loads of options available. When will flights be available to book again or I'll have to book with another airline (which I would prefer not to do!)

My trip to Israel earlier this month went to shit for obvious reasons lol and I'd like to go back and visit now that the situation has calmed down. I have some time where I have to work from home during office renovations, so I figured it might be a good time to go back to Israel and do a hybrid digital nomad + tourism trip.

My company policy is that we can remote-work from abroad only if we have work authorization in that country. I'm an American working for an American company, so I'm trying to figure out if it's explicitly allowed for me to work remotely on my ETA-IL authorization (which I already have from my earlier trip).

• The Israeli official government site says the ETA-IL is good for "doing business" but doesn't give more details and I'm not sure exactly what that entails (if this means I could even work an Israeli job in Israel it seems implied that working remote for a US company would definitely be fine, but I want to see this stated explicitly somewhere)
• some private agency says "As a digital nomad, you can still work remotely for international clients while in Israel under the B/2 visa, as long as you’re not engaged in business with Israeli companies" but I don't know if this is corroborated by any government source

I know in practice most countries/employers essentially have a don't ask-don't tell approach to this, and don't care at all if you work on a tourist visa. But my new manager is particularly strict about this policy and I just want to find some official confirmation that it's fine before I consider making this trip.

Hi All,

I've got a flight coming up this August from Tel Aviv airport to London which departs at 6:30am.

What do you think is my best option to travel to the airport?

I'm assuming taxis will be expensive at this time of night and Google maps says it is a 1 hour drive from where I'll be staying in Jerusalem to the airport meaning I'll have to leave the hotel around 2-3am.

I looked at the high speed train but they obviously don't run at this time of night.

Thanks in advance

Hello, I have a travel question. I am an Israeli citizen whos married to an American citizen and living in new york since 2017. We have two kids who have American passports. I have an American passport with an expired Israeli passport. My husband has an American passport. We would like to visit Israel for a wedding in October. The Israeli consulate in NYC is not answering any calls or emails so we are left confused.

Will we be able to travel to Israel on the US passports. I never registered my kids in Israel. Also I will be in israel for 6 to 8 weeks but my husband is only going for 2 weeks due to work. We haven't decided yet if we are all flying there together and ge Flys back separately or if we will leave NY separately and fly back together. Would I need additional documentation to fly with the children alone, without my husband?

Also is 6 weeks enough time to renew my Israeli passport in israel?

Shalom!

I plan another trip to Israel (pretty soon) but this time I want to take pictures on film which is my hobby. I have some film stocks specially prepared for this but I'm worries about the CT scanners.

I'm from a European country but normally they comply if you ask them here but not sure about Israel.

I had film pass through X-ray scanners before and nothing happened (nothing I noticed anyway) but the CT scanners will destroy it.. do they usually do this is asked to?

Also, how should I handle this at train stations and the Kotel? Once travelled from HaHaganah and I had to scan my luggage and the same goes at the Kotel. Will they hand check it if asked?

Toda rabah in advance!

עם ישראל חי!

Hi guys! My parents are planning a trip to Israel in October, they are both on their 60's, I'm kind of concerned. We are from Argentina and I'm having my first child in August. Whenever they travel I assume that if anything goes wrong I could jump on a plane and go help them, but with the baby coming I don't know... they've traveled a lot but I'm still worry. Thanks for the comments

Shalom chaverim, I'm booked to fly from the US to Israel about a week before Pride to see friends and screw around before the parties kick off.

I'm on Delta, which has only cancelled flights thru May 19, but United just recently extended their freeze until 6/13 (and other non-US airlines thru late May/even September). I didn't book El-Al originally (even though they have a codeshare with Delta) because they were way more expensive and I didn't like the one time I flew with them.

I'm thinking of the following options:

• wait it out on my original ticket (this makes me worried, because even if they don't extend it on May 20, if anything happens in the 2 weeks before my flight I'm SOL. I don't want to lose my free upgrade though 😭)
• pay to move to an El-Al flight from the US... for almost the whole cost of my original ticket
• move my Delta flight to Athens and fly an Israeli airline (El-Al, Arkia, or Israir) to TLV
• (...would it be crazy to fly into Jordan and go by land? my first stop in Israel is Jerusalem anyways lol)

Israelis here always say stuff about El-Al having anti-missile systems on their flights, but is that the reason they don't cancel? Do all Israeli airlines have that? (meaning, could I book Israir/Arkia from Athens>TLV and assume there's no cancellation risk?)

Would really appreciate some advice from Israelis or others who've travelled there a lot.

I’m supposed to travel to Israel next week but booked on a European airline and had my flight cancelled. I’m considering re-booking with El-Al, but just wanted to get a sense of how safe it feels to fly in and out right now. Are the international airlines just being over-cautious or do those in the country have a sense that flying is a considerable danger?

I know none of us can tell the future, but I appreciate any insight I can get

Hi everyone,

In about a month, my wife, our 1-year-old son, and myself will be flying to Israel to visit my wife's family – mostly for a family wedding.

We’ll be staying for about 10 days and of course we’d love to explore the country too. Her family says it's very safe and that nothing really happens where they live, but I still have some concerns. After all, there is a war going on, and we're just not used to the idea of rocket attacks or sirens, so I’m trying to understand what to realistically expect.

How safe is it really, especially around Tel Aviv? Do rocket attacks happen often there? Is it something that interrupts daily life? Like, should we expect to run to bomb shelters every evening – or is it actually much calmer than it looks from the news?

My wife wants to see some of the beautiful places she remembers from the past – like the Dead Sea, Jerusalem, and possibly take a tour of the West Bank or the Golan Heights. I’m not opposed to that at all, even if it means a bit of risk – but I’m mostly concerned because of our 1-year-old.

I imagine Jerusalem is relatively secure, but how about the West Bank and Golan Heights? Are those areas safe to visit as a family? I’ve read that some tours are accompanied by security – is that true? Are there real risks of attacks in those areas, or is it more of a theoretical concern?

Also: Are there any areas we should definitely avoid? Like near the borders with Lebanon or Jordan – are there active conflicts going on there?

And finally – we’d love some local tips! What places would you recommend seeing? Doesn’t have to be the usual tourist spots – we’d love some hidden gems or places that locals go to.

Thanks so much in advance – and shalom from Germany! Despite all our worries, we’re really looking forward to discovering Israel. :)