Renewing an Israeli Passport from Abroad
You can renew an Israeli passport without flying to Israel: an Israeli embassy or consulate issues a new one, and several missions accept adult renewals by mail. The catch is that what you get abroad is a non-biometric passport, usually valid for up to five years; a biometric passport is issued only in Israel. And if you also hold a foreign passport, a temporary arrangement may let you fly home before the renewal is done.
What a mission abroad can issue
Israeli embassies and consulates issue and renew non-biometric passports (travel documents). According to gov.il, Israeli biometric travel documents cannot be issued outside Israel, and missions don't issue or renew ID cards either. A passport issued abroad is usually valid for up to five years; the consular officer sets the exact date.
If you want a biometric passport, you'll need to apply in Israel — for example during a visit home.
Applying through an embassy or consulate
- Find your mission. Each mission has its own page on embassies.gov.il with its rules, forms and contacts. Rules differ between countries, so read your mission's page, not a friend's.
- Book an appointment. Visiting a mission requires an appointment in advance, through an online scheduler on the mission's site or by email, depending on the mission.
- Prepare documents. Typically: the signed application form, your current or expired passport and two recent photos on a white background in the size your mission specifies. For a lost or stolen passport you also sign a declaration, and a fine is charged on top of the fee.
- Children. Minors apply in person together with their parents. If the parents are divorced, separated or single, consent of both parents is usually required — check the details with the mission.
Fees are set by each mission in local currency, so check them on your mission's page.
Renewing by mail
Several missions (for example in the US and Canada) let adults renew an expired passport by mail: you send the originals, keep copies, and the new passport comes back by registered mail. In-person attendance is still required for minors, first passports, lost or stolen documents and, at many missions, for people who haven't visited Israel for ten years or more.
Status and timelines
Plan for several weeks: the consulate in New York, for example, quotes about six weeks for an application and 4–6 weeks for one sent by mail (Consulate General in New York). If you have a direct flight to Israel within the next two weeks, the mission can issue a one-time travel document instead: it's valid for 14 days, only for that flight, and you renew the passport once you're in Israel. Mission pages generally don't offer an online status tracker, so keep the tracking number of your envelope and contact the consular department by email if it takes longer than stated.
Flying to Israel on a foreign passport
If you also hold a foreign passport, you may not need to rush the renewal before a trip home. Under a temporary Population and Immigration Authority arrangement, Israeli citizens can enter and leave Israel on a valid foreign passport; according to the consulate in New York, it applies until the end of December 2026 (Consulate General in New York). To travel this way, apply for an ETA-IL entry authorisation on the official site (its address ends in gov.il). At check-in abroad the airline may still ask for proof of Israeli citizenship: your Israeli passport, even an expired one, or the ETA-IL approval. The arrangement is temporary and its end date has already been moved more than once, so check it with your mission before you book, and use the time to renew your Israeli passport.
What is done online
A passport can't be renewed online. Online passport renewal on gov.il was a temporary arrangement opened in April 2024; since 5 April 2025 only the ID card (teudat zehut) can be renewed online, and only by adults who are in Israel when they apply (gov.il). In Israel, adults with a biometric ID card can renew a passport at self-service kiosks in Population and Immigration Authority offices. Appointments at Authority offices, including the kiosks, are booked through the GoVisit system, with a code sent to your phone.
Forms and information live on gov.il and on your mission's page; in our check on 23 October 2026, gov.il, the mission sites and GoVisit opened from Canada. The process itself runs through the mission and the post, not through a website.
Other ties to Israel can be less simple. If you still report rent on a flat in Israel, the Israel Tax Authority sites did not open from abroad in the same check. It is calmer to set up an Israeli IP for them in advance than in the last days before a filing deadline; see Israel Tax Authority from abroad.
Requirements can change, so always confirm the current rules with your mission before you apply.
