Important Information for Travelers to Israel: ETA-IL Requirement

Please be informed that according to the information received by the Population and
Immigration Authority (PIBA), as of the 1st of January 2025, nationals of visa-exempt countries
must have an ETA-IL approval prior to their flight to Israel.

Important Information for Travelers to Israel: ETA-IL Requirement

The Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA) announces that starting January 1, 2025, nationals of visa-exempt countries are required to have an approved ETA-IL (Electronic Travel Authorization) before their departure for Israel.

Please Note:

Obtain your ETA-IL only at the official government website (the URL ends with "gov.il").
The ETA-IL costs only 25 Israeli Shekel, which is less than 7 dollars.
You will receive an email notification when PIBA receives your request.
You can expect a response to your application within 72 hours of submitting it.
PIBA will send a receipt for your payment. If you don't receive a receipt, you haven't used the official ETA-IL website.

Do you have any questions?

Email eta@piba.gov.il 24/7!

Help Center, Information, Updates and Frequently Asked Questions

Eligibility check and application submission

About ETA-IL

Unpublish on

Wed, 12/31/2025 - 00:00

Related announcements

For emergency situations during hours when the Embassy is closed, please call +4 021 3028500 (dial 1)

It is mandatory to schedule an appointment before visiting the Consular Section in Bucharest. To do so, call +4 021 3028523 / +4 021 3028540

Payment can only be made in lei (RON) and in cash!

! Please note that it's forbidden to enter the Consular Section with bags, laptops, cell phones etc.

In situations in which banking services are required, the fees for these services are not included in the indicated price.

Telephones for the consular department

Tel: + 4021 302 8 500/ + 4021 302 8 523/ + 4021 302 8 538/ + 4021 302 8 540

Fax: + 4021 302 8 555

Emails for the consular department

- For Hebrew and English: consular1@bucharest.mfa.gov.il & consular2@bucharest.mfa.gov.il

- For Romanian and English: consular3@bucharest.mfa.gov.il

Reception hours for consular services

Monday – Friday between 09:30-12:30

Telephone reception hours for consular services

Monday – Thursday between 13:00 - 15:00

Friday: 12:30-14:30 (in case the Embassy is open)

Please note that 112 is the emergency telephone number that can be dialed free of charge from any telephone or any mobile phone in order to reach emergency services (Ambulances, Fire & Rescue Service and the Police) in Romania as well as other countries of the European Union.

Jurisdiction - Romania & Moldova

Security instructions for people who wish to obtain consular services at the mission offices

1. Please bring a photo ID.

2. Every visitor and his belongings will be required to undergo a security check.

3. For security purposes, no personal objects will be allowed into the mission, including handbags, mobile phones and electronic devices.

4. Do not bring large handbags or suitcases to the mission.

5. Do not bring food and/or beverage bottles or containers.

6. The mission’s security directives apply to people in the consular waiting room. The instructions of the security staff must be obeyed at all times.

Important notice regarding lost/stolen passports

Most countries notify daily the Interpol HQ in Lyon, France, regarding lost or stolen passports inside their territories. The information goes automatically to the database available for every border control unit around the world. Whenever an Israeli citizen reports a lost/stolen passport to the Israeli police or to the local police inside the country he/she visits and the document is later on returned to him/her or found, he/she must know that the Interpol has already been notified, therefore it will be listed in the international database of such lost/stolen passports. Hence, this passport is considered void and can no longer be used in the future. Furthermore, its use can lead to intensive questioning or intrusive inquiries by the border police. In these cases, the citizen bears sole responsibility of issuing a new travel document at the local or closest Israeli Embassy or Consulate.

Mailing material to the mission

There is no mailing service in the Consular Department. The sender is responsible for material mailed to the mission. It is important to stress that there are cases in which you are required to visit the mission in person.

Verification of public documents

There are two possibilities for verifying a public document:

1. Verification by means of apostil

In 1978, Israel signed and ratified the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents  1961 (hereinafter: the Hague Convention). The purpose of this Convention was to shorten the processes required for a particular country to recognize the official documents issued by another country, by means of apostil certification. Public documents and certificates that were issued in one of the countries that are signatories to the above Convention, and which bear the apostil stamp, are valid for presentation in Israel, without the need for additional verification / certification by the diplomatic / consular representative at the Israeli mission. Additionally, for countries that are signatories to the Hague Convention, no additional verification is required by the mission consul of the country for which the document is designated, if it was stamped with an apostil in Israel. The person is requested to apply for apostil certification on the original document at the local municipality.

2. Verification by means other than apostil

Verification of a document in a country that is not a signatory to the Hague Convention should be implemented as follows:After the document is verified by the competent authority in the foreign country (usually the Foreign Ministry or Ministry of Justice), the Israeli consular representative that verifies the signature of the competent authority.

Status of returning resident

For information on this matter, visit the website of the Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption (https://www.gov.il/he/departments/ministry_of_aliyah_and_integration/govil-landing-page), then access the Returning to Israel section and fill out the form in order to check your status.

Contacts and inquiries about improving the service provided to the citizens• Email can be sent to the following address:- For Hebrew: consular1@bucharest.mfa.gov.il or consular2@bucharest.mfa.gov.il - For English & Romanian: consular3@bucharest.mfa.gov.il

The main laws of the State of Israel on which consular work abroad is based, are as follows:

• The Law of Return, 5710, 1950, with all the amendments thereto over the years.

• The Entry into Israel Law, 5712,1952, with all the amendments thereto over the years.

• The Law of Citizenship, 5712, 1952, with all the amendments thereto over the years.

• The Passports Law, 5712, 1952, with all the amendments thereto over the years.

• The Names Law, 5716, 1956, with all the amendments thereto over the years.

• The Population Registration Law, 5725, 1965, with all the amendments thereto over the years.

• The Notaries Law, 5736, 1976, with all the amendments thereto over the years.

• The Defense Service Law (Consolidated Version), 5747, 1986 and the authority to implement it abroad, with all the amendments thereto over the years.

• The Crime Register and Rehabilitation of Offenders Law, 5741, 1981, with all the amendments thereto over the years.

Local characteristics

We are kindly requested by the Social Insurances in Israel to buy flight tickets for the Romanian citizens who, due to a work accident, must appear in front of a special commission at the Social Insurance services in Israel. A large number of Romanian citizens who worked in Israel as foreign workers must come to the Consular Section with a certificate from the Social Insurance in Israel in order to receive their life certificate. More information here: https://www.btl.gov.il/English%20Homepage/Pages/default.aspx

14/01/2025