Moving to Tel Aviv as a Brit: the routes that actually get you there

Visiting Tel Aviv takes a passport and a ₪25 online form; living there takes one of three doors, and which one you can use depends mostly on your family tree, your job or your partner.

The short version

• British visitors get permission to stay for up to three months, but since 1 January 2025 you need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA-IL) before you fly [2]. Visitors can't work [2].
• Jews, and the children and grandchildren of Jews (plus their spouses), can make aliyah under the Law of Return and arrive as Israeli citizens [7].
• Everyone else usually comes on a B/1 work visa sponsored by an employer, as the partner of an Israeli, or on one of the smaller tech routes [6][8][9].
• Israel isn't in the EU or Schengen, so none of the Brexit rules apply. There's no retirement visa and no digital nomad visa.
• Check the FCDO travel advice before you commit: when we checked on 7 November 2026, it warned of a risk of rocket and drone attacks throughout Israel [1].

First, a word on safety

It would be daft to write about moving to Tel Aviv without this bit. When we checked the FCDO travel advice on 7 November 2026, it was still current at 7 November 2026 and last updated on 27 October 2026, with new information about regional tensions [1]. Tel Aviv isn't in any of the areas the FCDO advises against travelling to, which are mostly near the borders with Gaza and Lebanon and parts of the West Bank [1]. But the advice says "There is a risk of rocket and drone attacks throughout Israel", warns of possible disruption at Ben Gurion airport, and tells you to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command [1].

In practice that means knowing where the nearest protected room or shelter is in your building, which is something you check on a flat viewing here rather than the boiler. Our guide to safety in Tel Aviv covers the alerts, the app and the shelters. And because travelling against FCDO advice can void your insurance, read the small print of any policy [1].

The routes, side by side

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = ILS 4.3162).

Aliyah: the big one

For many British Jews this is the route, and it's unusually generous. The Law of Return of 1950 says every Jew has the right to immigrate to Israel, and it extends that right to a Jew's children and grandchildren, a Jew's spouse, and the spouses of those children and grandchildren [7]. You apply from abroad through the Jewish Agency, which runs an online file, an interview where you show your original documents, and then an eligibility decision; it says the whole thing usually takes three to six months [7].

You land as a citizen with a temporary ID card and the first instalment of the "absorption basket" of cash [10]. Our guide to aliyah for British Jews walks through the process and the first year.

Work visas

If aliyah isn't open to you, a job is the usual way in. The main route is the B/1 work visa for foreign experts. Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality explains that your employer has to show you're either a specialist in a field where Israel lacks the expertise, or an expert paid at least double the average Israeli wage, and that the visa can last up to 63 months in all [6]. Your spouse and children can join you, but their permits have to be requested before they arrive [6].

The employer has to provide health insurance and decent housing, and can only claw back a capped amount from your pay for each: no more than ₪124 a month (about £29) towards health insurance [6]. For a quick job of up to 45 days, such as a consultation or an equipment repair, there's a short-term expert permit instead [6]. The FCDO adds a sensible warning: processing times vary, so don't book flights until the permit is issued [3]. Our guide to work visas in Israel for Brits who aren't making aliyah has the detail.

Tech founders

Israel's innovation visa is aimed at foreign tech entrepreneurs. The Israel Innovation Authority assesses your project, and if it recommends you, the Population and Immigration Authority can grant a B/2 permit to stay and work for up to two years [9]. There's no grant attached, and you must show how you'll pay your living costs for the whole stay [9].

Partners of Israelis

If you're married to, or living with, an Israeli citizen, there's the "graduated procedure". You start on a B/1 partner visa that lets you work anywhere, move on to a temporary resident (A/5) visa with an Israeli ID card, and finally get permanent residence or citizenship [8]. For a married couple it typically takes about four and a half years, and longer if you're not married [8].

What doesn't exist

There's no retirement visa for non-Jewish Brits and no digital nomad visa, so you can't simply turn up with a pension or a laptop and stay. Working while you're in Israel as a visitor is a firm no: the FCDO says people who work without permission can be detained and deported, and that the process can take months [2].

Before you fly

The ETA-IL costs ₪25 (about £6), lasts two years and covers visits of up to 90 days at a time [2]. Your passport needs to be valid for at least 90 days after you arrive [2]. At Ben Gurion you get a small entry card instead of a passport stamp; keep it with your passport until you leave [2].

Two family quirks catch people out. If one of your parents is Israeli, Israel treats you as an Israeli national, and you have to enter and leave on an Israeli passport [2]. And if you'll be applying for a long-term visa, the FCDO notes that UK good conduct certificates (police certificates) must be legalised [3], which in practice means an apostille from the FCDO's Legalisation Office.

Your first month in Tel Aviv

1. Find a flat with a protected room or a shelter nearby. Our guide to renting in Tel Aviv covers the hunt.
2. Get your ID sorted. New citizens get a temporary teudat zehut (ID card) at the airport and swap it for a biometric one; long-term visa holders deal with the Population and Immigration Authority [3][10]. Teudat zehut, Bituach Leumi and your first month explains the order.
3. Open a bank account and get an Israeli mobile number. Almost every appointment is booked and confirmed by text message.
4. Sort health cover. Residents join a health fund through Bituach Leumi; B/1 workers rely on the private policy their employer must buy [6]. The NHS won't help, and the UK's only health agreement with Israel covers industrial accidents [3].
5. Start Hebrew. New citizens get free ulpan; everyone else pays. See ulpan in Tel Aviv.

Don't forget the UK end

Tell HMRC you've gone, usually on form P85, and check whether split-year treatment applies. The UK and Israel have had a double taxation convention since 1962, updated by a protocol that has applied in the UK since April 2020 [5]. Israel is on the government's list of countries with a social security agreement with the UK, so a UK State Pension paid to you in Israel usually goes up every year, unlike in Australia or Canada [4]. Our Israeli tax guide explains how the two systems fit.

The British Embassy in Tel Aviv handles emergencies but doesn't issue passports, so renew yours online from Israel [3]. And for the human side of the move, from the best neighbourhoods to finding a proper cuppa, our community group for Brits in Israel is full of people who've just done it.

Sources

1. GOV.UK (FCDO): Israel travel advice (still current at 7 November 2026, updated 27 October 2026)
2. GOV.UK (FCDO): Israel travel advice – entry requirements
3. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in Israel and Palestine (last updated 14 November 2024)
4. GOV.UK (DWP): Countries where we pay an annual increase in the State Pension
5. GOV.UK (HMRC): Israel tax treaties
6. Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality: Work visas (checked 7 November 2026)
7. The Jewish Agency for Israel: Aliyah (last modified 13 October 2026)
8. Israeli Association for International Couples: Partner visa in Israel – overview (last modified 21 February 2025)
9. Israel Innovation Authority: Innovation visa for a foreign technology entrepreneur
10. Nefesh B'Nefesh: Your first steps after making aliyah (last updated 24 August 2026)

Keep reading

• Aliyah for British Jews: the Law of Return and the first year
• Work visas in Israel for Brits who aren't making aliyah
• Safety in Tel Aviv: alerts, shelters and the FCDO advice
• Moving abroad checklist for Brits