The routes to living in Israel: Israeli, oleh, partner or employee

Anyone who wants to live in Israel doesn't pick a visa from a list: your tie to the country decides the route. An Israeli needs no visa. Anyone covered by the Law of Return makes aliyah: they emigrate as an oleh (new immigrant) through the Jewish Agency. The partner of an Israeli gets a residence permit step by step. For a job, your employer first asks for permission in Israel.

Without such a tie there is little. Bituach Leumi, Israel's National Insurance Institute, names four A visas with which you can become a resident: for the Law of Return, for study, for those accompanying a student, and for those applying for a residence status through, for example, a marriage. A visa for retirees or people living off their savings is not among them.

Which route fits you?

Who are you?	Route	What you get	Duration according to the source
Israeli, also with a Dutch passport	no visa; return as a resident	residency and healthcare back in order	after a long time away: healthcare after at most 6 months' waiting period
Covered by the Law of Return	aliyah through the Jewish Agency	immigrant visa, then citizenship	application usually 3 to 6 months
Still undecided, covered by the Law of Return	A/1 visa	temporary residence permit and temporary ID number	at most 5 years
Partner of an Israeli	cohabiting: B/1, then A/5	residence and work, with A/5 a temporary ID number	with a citizen: 3 years B/1, 4 years A/5
Employee with an Israeli employer	work visa (B visa)	permission to work, no residency	according to the approval in Israel
Retired, without these ties	no residence visa found	visit with an ETA-IL	at most 90 days

I am Israeli and live in the Netherlands. What do I need to arrange?

Not a visa. With Israeli nationality and a valid Israeli identity number you also need no ETA-IL, the digital travel authorisation, according to NederlandWereldwijd. What you do arrange is your position as a resident. Bituach Leumi generally still treats you as a resident for five years after you leave. If you have been away longer, you have your residency established again.

You can do that in advance, with an online declaration as a returning resident: 30 days before you return, and only once you are genuinely winding down your life in the Netherlands. If you were away for five full years, it can also be done after arrival through a short track at the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration. According to that ministry's guide (December 2022), after two years away you get an assured income and a customs concession, after five years also help with work and training. Ask what applies now. Healthcare and the waiting period: see healthcare in Israel.

Children with Israeli nationality abroad can ask the embassy to defer military service from the age of 16 years and 4 months. After the return, the army, the IDF, decides.

I am covered by the Law of Return. How does aliyah work?

The Law of Return of 1950 gives every Jew the right to come to Israel. Section 4A extends that to the child and grandchild of a Jew, and to the spouse of a Jew, of their child or of their grandchild. So you do not have to be Jewish yourself.

The application runs through the Jewish Agency: a questionnaire, a call from an account manager within two business days, an online file, and an interview with your original, legalised documents, such as a letter from a rabbi about your connection to Judaism. After approval you receive an immigrant visa. According to the Jewish Agency it usually takes three to six months.

Aliyah makes you an Israeli. For a Dutch national, that can mean the end of Dutch nationality. Read dual nationality and Israel first, before you collect your visa.