Registration and numbers in Israel: identity number, health fund and population registry
In Israel everything revolves around one identity number from the population registry. An oleh gets it as a citizen, a partner or A/1 holder a temporary number. With that number you register with a health fund and Bituach Leumi knows who you are. An Israeli in the Netherlands keeps his details up to date through the embassy, also for children born here.
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In Israel almost everything comes together in one number: the identity number from the population registry of the Population and Immigration Authority. It is on the Israeli identity card, the teudat zehut. With that number you register with a health fund, Bituach Leumi (the National Insurance Institute) knows who you are, and you arrange the rest. How you get it depends on your route: as a new immigrant you become a citizen, as a partner or as someone still undecided under the Law of Return you get a temporary number, and as an Israeli you already have one.
Which number or document do you get?
| Who | Number or document | Where | Deadline or cost according to the source |
|---|---|---|---|
| New oleh | identity number and immigrant's card | population registry, after arrival | health fund: at the airport, online after 3 weeks, after 90 days only at Bituach Leumi |
| Holder of an A/1 visa | temporary identity number | Ministry of the Interior | at most 5 years |
| Partner with an A/5 visa | temporary identity number; cohabiting first 3 years with a B/1 permit | Ministry of the Interior | 1 to 2 years, then renew |
| Israeli in the Netherlands | Israeli passport | embassy in The Hague | € 84, plus € 11 if you renew by post |
| Israeli with a child born here | registration of the child | embassy in The Hague | free |
| Israeli who marries or divorces here | change of marital status | embassy in The Hague | certificate with apostille; the declaration of a Dutch partner costs a fee |
I am making aliyah. When do I get my number?
Before you leave, the Jewish Agency arranges the visa and notifies the Israeli authorities of your arrival. In the first three months you may travel on the passport of your country of origin together with a document from the immigration service. After that you need a travel document to travel in and out of Israel.
According to Bituach Leumi you can register with a health fund straight on arrival, at the office of the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration at the airport. If that does not work out, you can do it at any post office. Three weeks after arrival, your details from the Ministry of the Interior are also with Bituach Leumi, and you can register online. Keep your immigrant's card too: Bituach Leumi asks for it, for example, with the special old-age benefit for immigrants.
Register with a health fund within 90 days. After that it can only be done at a Bituach Leumi counter. You only receive healthcare from the moment you are registered with a health fund.
I am coming as a partner or with an A/1 visa. What is different?
You do not become a citizen, but you get a temporary identity number from the Ministry of the Interior. With an A/1 visa it applies for at most five years; after that you decide whether to make aliyah. With an A/5 visa, for those applying for a residence status through a marriage, for example, it applies for one or two years and you renew it. Living together without marriage, according to procedure 5.2.0009 (July 2026) you first get a B/1 for three years, then the A/5.
A visa does not automatically make you a resident. According to Bituach Leumi you have to show that your centre of life is in Israel: you live there, your family is there, you work there, your children go to school there. You hand in a questionnaire with proof, such as a lease or an employment contract. A child born in Israel to a parent with an A/1 or A/5 visa receives residency automatically after registration with the Ministry of the Interior.
I am Israeli and live in the Netherlands. What do I keep up to date?
Your details in the Israeli population registry do not follow your life here automatically. The embassy in The Hague handles most changes:
- A child born in the Netherlands is registered through the embassy. One of the parents with Israeli nationality comes in person. You bring the original birth certificate, with apostille and translated, and a confirmation from the hospital that the mother gave birth to the child. Registration is free.
- A marriage or divorce is reported with a certificate with apostille, at least also in English. If your partner is Dutch, he or she signs a declaration about their previous marital status before the consul.
- Your passport can be renewed by post if you have already renewed it once since turning eighteen. It costs € 84, plus € 11 for registered post. A first Israeli passport is applied for in person.
- An extract from the population registry is requested by post or by email, with an apostille if you wish.
How to settle your residency as a returning resident is in the residence routes.
What do you arrange in the Netherlands?
If you are going to live outside the Netherlands for more than eight months a year, according to NederlandWereldwijd you deregister from your municipality, even if you keep your house. See deregistering from the municipality. You will still need your DigiD afterwards for the SVB and the Tax Administration; arrange it before you leave, see keeping your bank account and DigiD.
On the health fund and the bank: see healthcare in Israel and banking and payments in Israel.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Israel or go straight to step 2.2 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- National Insurance Institute — new olim, registering with a health fund and the deadlines — btl.gov.il
- National Insurance Institute — the visa types and the temporary identity number with A/1 and A/5 — btl.gov.il
- National Insurance Institute — who counts as a resident, and children of visa holders — btl.gov.il
- Jewish Agency — aliyah, notifying the authorities of your arrival and travelling in the first three months — jewishagency.org
- Israeli embassy in The Hague — registering a child born abroad — embassies.gov.il
- Israeli embassy in The Hague — reporting a marriage or divorce to the population registry — embassies.gov.il
- Israeli embassy in The Hague — applying for or renewing an Israeli passport — embassies.gov.il
- Israeli embassy in The Hague — an extract from the population registry — embassies.gov.il
- NederlandWereldwijd — when to deregister from a Dutch municipality — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- Population and Immigration Authority — procedure 5.2.0009 (16 July 2026), cohabiting partners first B/1, then A/5 with an identity card — gov.il
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