Aliyah and citizenship under the Law of Return
Israel · Official name: Law of Return, 5710-1950, and Citizenship Law, 5712-1952
The Law of Return gives every Jew the right to make aliyah: to immigrate to Israel as an 'oleh'. Under the Citizenship Law of 1952, oleh status gives Israeli citizenship. The right also extends to children and grandchildren of Jews and their spouses. Eligibility is checked by Israeli missions, the Jewish Agency and (for the former Soviet Union) Nativ, and the Ministry of Interior grants the status. Eligible people with a foreign passport can also first take a temporary residence visa. Spouses who married less than a year before aliyah, and adopted children, have separate tracks.
Life in Israel
Finance
3
Currency
Israeli New Shekel
ILS
Israeli New Shekel
Cost of living
106
Price level · US = 100
World Bank price levels, 2025
Tax
10–47%
Income tax (national)
VAT 18% · social security 12%
Plus a 3% surtax on income above ILS 721,560 a year (top combined rate on earnings 50%); the 2025 budget raised the surtax to 5% (reported by the IMF), and brackets are frozen for 2025-2027.
Living
1
Happiness
#8 of 145 countries
World Happiness Report 2025
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Who it’s for
Jews, and children and grandchildren of Jews, with their spouses, who want to settle in Israel.
Eligibility
Jewish descent or conversion
Sign in to check this route against your profileJews, and children and grandchildren of Jews, and the spouses of each, are covered by the Law of Return.
Proof of eligibility
Sign in to check this route against your profileFor example confirmation from a Jewish community; foreign documents must be apostilled.
Former Soviet Union
Sign in to check this route against your profileResidents of the former USSR check eligibility in person at an Israeli mission; people born there but living elsewhere go through the Jewish Agency, which forwards files to Nativ.
A sneak peek at what's inside
- Document checklist
- Steps to apply
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- 2 documents
- 4 steps
- Processing times and conditions
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Official sources
- gov.il (PIBA) - Apply for a temporary residence visa for persons eligible by Right of Return
- gov.il (PIBA) - Status for spouses of persons eligible by Right of Return who married less than a year before Aliyah
- gov.il - Check eligibility for aliya for residents of the former Soviet Union
- Ministry of Aliyah and Integration - Guide for the New Immigrant, 15th edition
