Documents to bring for your aliyah

Gathered

0 / 17

Apostilles done

0 / 8

Get the order right

Apostille first, then translate or notarise. Doing it the other way round invalidates the work and you start that document again. An apostille certifies the original document, so anything added before it is not covered.

Who you are

PassportAlmost everyoneYour primary identification through the whole process, and what you travel on.
Watch out: It must have at least a year of validity left. Renew first if you are anywhere near that, because renewing mid-process resets paperwork that references the old number.
Birth certificateAlmost everyoneApostilleEstablishes your identity and your parentage, which is how Jewish descent is traced.
Watch out: It must show your parents’ names. Short-form certificates from several countries do not, and are rejected. Order the long form before you need it, since some registries take weeks.
Apostille obtained
Police certificateAlmost everyoneApostilleA criminal-record check from every country you have lived in recently.
Watch out: Some certificates expire within months of issue, so ordering too early can be as bad as too late. Check the validity period for your country before you request it.
Apostille obtained
Seven-year entry and exit historyA record of your movements, requested to establish where you have actually been resident.

Your eligibility

Proof of JudaismAlmost everyoneThe document your entire eligibility rests on: usually a letter from a recognised rabbi, with supporting records.
Watch out: Start this first. It is the single most common cause of a delayed file, because it depends on someone else writing a letter and on records that may sit in another country or another century.
Conversion certificateFor converts, the record of the conversion and the beit din that performed it.
Watch out: Recognition depends on the converting body. Establish early whether yours is accepted, rather than discovering it during the file review.

Your civil status

Personal status affidavitAlmost everyoneApostilleA sworn statement of whether you are single, married, divorced or widowed.Apostille obtained
Marriage certificateApostilleRequired for a couple making aliyah together, and it determines your Sal Klita rate.Apostille obtained
Divorce decree or death certificateApostilleWhere a previous marriage ended, the document proving it did.
Watch out: A civil divorce is not always sufficient on its own. If the marriage was religious, expect to be asked about a get as well.
Apostille obtained

For your children

Birth certificate for each childApostilleEach child needs their own, listing both parents, and each needs an apostille.
Watch out: People remember their own and forget the children’s. Every child is a separate document with a separate apostille.
Apostille obtained
School records and reportsUsed to place your child in the right year and to assess what support they need.
Watch out: Get these BEFORE you leave. Requesting transcripts from a school in another country after you have moved is far harder than it sounds.
Vaccination recordsNeeded to register a child with a health fund and to enrol at school.

Your qualifications

Degree certificates and transcriptsApostilleRequired to have a foreign degree recognised, which sets your public-sector grade and salary.
Watch out: Order transcripts as well as the certificate. Recognition usually needs both, and universities are slow.
Apostille obtained
Professional licence and registrationApostilleFor regulated professions: medicine, nursing, law, teaching, psychology and the rest.
Watch out: A licence usually has to be current, and reinstating a lapsed one from abroad can be much harder than keeping it alive through the move.
Apostille obtained
Driving licenceBring the physical licence: converting it depends on it being valid, not expired.
Watch out: Renew it before you leave if it expires within the year. Converting an expired licence is a different and much worse process.

Issued once you arrive

Teudat OlehAlmost everyoneYour immigrant certificate, issued on arrival. It unlocks the absorption basket, the arnona discount and the rest.
Watch out: Keep it safe and photograph it. Almost every benefit claim asks to see it.
Teudat ZehutAlmost everyoneYour Israeli ID. Nearly everything downstream waits on it: the bank, the health fund, the phone contract.
Watch out: The appointment is the bottleneck, not the card. Book the biometric slot the moment you can, because waits run from weeks to considerably longer.