Not Getting SMS Codes from Israeli Websites Abroad

If a one-time code from gov.il, Bituach Leumi (Israel's National Insurance Institute), a health fund or a bank doesn't arrive while you're abroad, the cause is almost always the phone line or the number the service has on file, not the website. The code travels over the phone network to the number in your profile. Work through the checklist below, keep your Israeli number reachable, and use the email, voice-call, foreign-number or app options that some services offer.

Quick checklist

Check which number and email the service has on file. The code goes there, not to the phone in your hand.
Make sure the Israeli SIM or eSIM is in a working phone and the line is still active.
Ask your operator whether the line receives SMS in the country you're in. Roaming terms depend on your plan, and some services, such as mobile data roaming, may be off until you ask for them.
Wait a few minutes before asking for another code. Messages can arrive late on roaming, and repeated requests may be limited.
Choose another channel if the service offers one: email, a voice call, a foreign number or app login (see below).
If nothing works, update your contact details through the service's other channels. Meuhedet, for example, changes the phone number on file through your clinic or *3833.

Why the code doesn't arrive

Israeli services send a one-time code to the phone or email saved in your profile. Abroad, things go wrong in a few typical ways:

Roaming isn't set up. Abroad, an Israeli SIM works only through roaming, and what it allows depends on your plan. Check with your operator that the line receives SMS in your country.
The SIM is no longer in a phone. You switched to a local number and the Israeli SIM sits in a drawer.
The line was closed. Without the line, the code goes to a number nobody has.
The profile has an old number. The service sends the code where your profile says, not where you are now.

How to keep your Israeli number

Roaming. Keep the Israeli SIM active with roaming on. Check your operator's terms and roaming charges before you leave.
eSIM. Many phones run a physical SIM and an eSIM side by side, so you can move your Israeli number to an eSIM and keep your local SIM in the same phone. Some have no SIM slot at all: iPhone 17 models sold in the US and Canada are eSIM-only, and in the US iPhones have been since the iPhone 14 (MobileSyrup), so both numbers have to be eSIMs. Within the same operator, the move is usually done via customer service or the personal area.
Number porting. Number portability has existed in Israel since 2007: the new operator handles the transfer, so you can switch to a cheaper plan without losing the number. Ask the new operator about any fees.
Don't let the line lapse. Check how long your plan stays active without use, especially if it's prepaid.

If you're giving up the Israeli number anyway, update your contact details on each service while you still receive codes: Bituach Leumi, for example, sends a verification code to the new email and an SMS to the new mobile when you change them.

Alternatives some services offer

A foreign number for gov.il. The national identification system on gov.il lets a citizen living abroad register a foreign mobile number and get the code there by SMS; voice-call codes are not sent to international numbers (gov.il). If you no longer have the phone and email you registered with, 'forgot password' leads to an option for restoring access without them. Details: gov.il from abroad.
Email or a voice call at Bituach Leumi. The login form takes only an Israeli mobile number (05x) registered with Bituach Leumi and can send the code by SMS, voice call or email; the other ways in are a permanent user code and password or, on the same login page, the national identification system, which can hold a foreign number. Set up the email or the password while you still have the line. Details: Bituach Leumi from abroad.
Voice call elsewhere. Some services can read the code to you by phone instead of SMS — for example Maccabi Online, and the GoVisit appointment system. A call reaches you only if the line can receive calls where you are.
Biometric login in an app. Maccabi's apps support fingerprint or Face ID login once set up.
Banks. When you log in from a new device, Bank Hapoalim, for example, sends a one-time code by SMS or voice call to the number registered with it, so keep that number reachable; see Israeli bank from abroad.

Options differ between services and change over time, so check each one's help page.

When the site itself won't open

A code that doesn't arrive and a site that doesn't open are different questions. If an Israeli site doesn't open from abroad, see An Israeli website says "access denied" or won't load abroad.