Translated material
Ten year visa
It will be easier for Russians to get to Israel
Citizens living in the territory of the former USSR, including Russia, will be able to travel to Israel under simpler visa rules than before. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has already made a decision on this, but, as Vremya Novostei learned, it will take two more days for the orders to reach the Israeli consulates in Russia and the CIS countries. Immediately after this, the new rules will come into force.Israel is seeking to attract more tourists. In an interview with Vremya Novostey a year and a half ago, the then Minister of Tourism, and today the Minister of Finance, Abraham Girshzon, said: “The procedure for issuing visas, especially in Russia and the CIS countries, is complicated by bureaucratic delays. We risk losing Russian tourists.” After a year and a half, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has finally simplified the visa regime.
The greatest concessions in obtaining a visa await those who have the right to move to the Jewish state for permanent residence. According to the Law of Return, Jews, as well as children and grandchildren of Jews, can repatriate to Israel. For these people, especially if they have relatives or friends in Israel, it will be possible to obtain a multiple-entry visa valid for ten years. Previously, such a visa was issued for a period of no more than three years.
In addition, now not only citizens of Russia, but also residents of the CIS can apply for a visa via the Internet; they just need to fill out the form correctly on the website of the Israeli consulate. Single tourist visa applications will be processed in the same manner as tourist group applications. Previously, in order to visit relatives, tourists often had to buy a tour to Israel, since it was easier to obtain a group visa than a single one. In addition, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has canceled the payment of a cash deposit when obtaining entry permits for relatives or friends of Israeli citizens. “The requirement to pay a cash deposit will be made only in “exceptional cases,” while today about 3% of all tourists arriving from the CIS countries face this,” the Israeli Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement.
The deposit in question is 15 thousand shekels (3.5 thousand dollars). The amount had to be paid for invited guests if officials had suspicions about the purpose of their visit. Most often this happened when young unmarried girls from the CIS went to Israel. If, after the expiration of the period of stay in the country, the tourist for whom a deposit was paid did not return to his homeland, the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not give the money. But not all Israelis could pay $3,500 to meet their relatives.