Israel’s new restrictions in light of the Omicrom Variant have gone into effect today.

As previously reported by Chaim V’Chessed, foreign tourists are now, once again, banned from entering the State of Israel. These rules will remain in effect for at least 14 days. As Chaim V’Chessed clarified yesterday, student visa holders who are fully vaccinated or recovered will continue to be granted entry into the country. Additionally, their children under age 12 continue to have the option to apply for an entry permit, despite not being vaccinated or recovered; see here.

It should be noted that visa holders will receive a rejection notice when completing the pre-flight Health Declaration. This is normal, as the Health Ministry is not aware of their visa status. Such passengers should bring the rejection notification, along with proof of their vaccination/recovery, to the airport.

Separately, the Interior Ministry has announced that entry permits to Israel issued prior to November 28 will not be honored. It is unclear at this time if permits for children of visa holders issued before November 28 will be honored. If you have imminent travel, we suggest applying for a new permit via the Israeli Consulate in NY, as described here.

At the same time, an Exceptions Committee has been established and persons in various exceptional circumstances will be granted permits to enter Israel despite the current time restrictions. These include first- degree relatives of chosson/kalla coming for weddings, grandparents of a bar/bat mitzva and medical emergencies. Notably, at this time, permission is currently not being granted for births.

Applications for exceptional entrance to Israel may be made via the Interior Ministry for those within Israel, here. Those applying outside Israel may apply to the Foreign Ministry, here.

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