When speaking to fellow travellers, globetrotters and Couchsurfers, I am always amazed how many people are afraid of visiting Israel – not because of Hamas’ rockets from Gaza or because of suicide bombers, but because of a stamp in a passport. Guys, you are missing out on the most fascinating and interesting country in the world – for no reason.
There are two myths, one which is complete bogus and one which has some truth to it, but I will give you the hot-shot traveller’s advice on how to work your way around the so-called “Israeli passport stamp problem”. I have been to Israel many times and I have also been to Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. I have never had a problem entering any of these countries at all. – I should mention that I have a German passport (or two of them as you will find out later), but as far as I am aware these rules and tips apply to all other EU passports as well as US, Australian and all other “free Western world” passports.
Myth no. 1: You can not enter Israel if you have the stamp or a visa of an Arab/Muslim country in your passport.
This is completely false.
There is absolutely no problem if you have been to an Arab or Muslim country before, whether on the same trip or long before, and want to enter Israel.
In fact, there are open border crossings between Jordan and Israel and between Egypt and Israel (in Sinai). I have used both of these border crossings myself. Upon entry to Israel, you usually receive a 3-month visa stamped into your passport. Easy thing. I have also travelled to Israel after having been to Lebanon, Syria (the land borders between these two countries and Israel are closed) and Iran and never faced any problem.
Now, of course it could be that if your passport shows visas for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, that the Israeli immigration officer will have some probing questions for you, but that’s nothing more than you would have to expect in the UK, the US or if you entered the Schengen zone.
Myth no. 2: With an Israeli visa stamp in your passport, you cannot travel to any Arab/Muslim country thereafter.
There is some truth to it. Unfortunately, some countries are so obsessed with their hatred of Israel that they do indeed not give visas to tourists if there are stamps from Israel in that passport. To make matters more complicated, many of these countries do not apply these rules stringently. Generally speaking, you will have more problems if you try to enter Iran, Syria and Lebanon, you may have problems if you try to enter the UAE or Saudi Arabia, and you won’t have any problems when you go to Jordan, Turkey, Egypt or Morocco.
But now to my tested hot-shot tips on how to circumvent this problem:
1. get a second passport
No, not with another name and not from another country. Simply a second passport from the same country that issued your first one. Tell the passport office that you are travelling in the Middle East. Usually, they are already aware of this problem. I am now on my third set of two simultaneous passports and it was never a problem to get the second one. – If your local passport office causes a problem, offer them that they can always keep one of the passports with them, if your travel plans can accommodate that. You can then go to the passport office and exchange your passports as you need them.
I then use one of these passports for all Arab and Muslim countries and the other one for Israel, Europe and the US.
One thing you have to watch out for: In many countries, the second passport is valid for fewer years than your primary one (in Germany for example, it’s 5 versus 10 years). In order to avoid suspicion when going to Iran or Afghanistan, use the second (shorter validity) passport for Israel.
2. ask the Israeli immigration officer to NOT stamp your passport
Israel is fully aware of this problem and does not want to spoil your further holiday plans.
If you arrive in Israel by plane, you were always able to ask the immigration officer at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv to please NOT stamp your passport and hand you a separate piece of paper with the visa stamp. From early 2013 on, this is now the standard procedure at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. You will now receive a separate piece of paper. Keep it and carry it with you. It is your visa. After your trip to Israel, even the most suspicious Iranian immigration official won’t detect a trace of Israel in your passport.
However, this only works at the airport. I have not yet heard of anybody doing this successfully who entered Israel via one of the land borders or by sea. At the land border crossing, it also wouldn’t make sense because Egypt for example would give you an exit stamp which says “Taba Border Crossing”. There is only a border with Israel, so everybody will know where you went, even if you don’t have an Israeli stamp in your passport.
3. plan your trip accordingly
If you are doing one big Middle East tour, you can of course simply go to Israel last. If you enter Israel via Egypt or Jordan, you can even use the land border crossing.
4. lose your passport
If you have Israeli stamps in your passport and you are planning a trip to Syria and your passport office is not cooperative with a second passport, simply “lose” your passport and apply for a new one. (The lost one will be blocked and you won’t be able to use it anymore.)
Happy travels and enjoy Israel!
The Happy Hermit 
I’m a bit surprised that Saudi Arabia would have any problems with folk traveling from Israel. Syria and Lebanon, especially with what’s going on currently, absolutely.
Sadly enough, without some nearly-miraculous occurrence, this advice is pretty much useless for me. But thanks for a great “window to the world”!
Hi John,
My experience is that I could enter Saudi Arabia with an Israeli stamp on my passport with no problem.
Actually, I’ve been to Saudi three different times with no issue.
Now I wonder what will happen if I’ll try to enter Israeli with the Saudi Visa…
I wrote about my experience here:
http://www.danielebesana.com/blog/life/is-it-possible-to-enter-saudi-arabia-if-you-have-israeli-stamps-on-the-passport/
Hi,
you’ll be able to enter Israel with that visa, you might go through a little interrogation but you’ll get in anyway
Thanks, I always went through not-so-little interrogations when going there and back anyway :)
Great tips- I have found it easy (from the US) to get a second passport, although it had a shorter expiration than my original passport.
what is the duration of the sevcond passport
Dear Andreas,
Thanks a lot for your valuable advise. I will test their applicability next Sunday when we go to Israel, both for vacations and to meet colleagues at Tel Aviv Uni. With a jewish wife and son I am absolutely positive that they will also wellcome the goj husband.
What I am more concerned is my plan to visit Iran next year. Somebody told me that on request the Israeli border police might put the visa on an extra inlay, that can be removed later. In case the Iranian border IRGF cause me some trouble, do you think I should show them your blog entry as a reference ? But perhaps this causes even more problems, right ?
You definitely have to ask the Israeli immigration to please put the entry (and later the exit) stamp on an extra piece of paper, not into your passport. Otherwise, you may run into real problems in Iran.
When you go to Iran, you have two options: You can apply for a visa beforehand, or get a tourist visa (15 days) at the airport. On both my visits, I chose the later option.
If you apply for the visa beforehand, you have to sign that you have never been to “Occupied Palestine”. If your passport shows no signs of having been to Israel, you can simply sign this.
If you apply for the tourist visa at Tehran Airport, you have a much shorter form to fill out. The main thing the Iranian immigration is interested is that you provide some name and phone number of somebody in Iran who invited you. Then you pay 50 EUR, wait an hour or two and you’ll get the tourist visa in your passport.
I would not show any printout of my blog in Iran because being associated with me could cause even more problems than being associated with Israel. (Because of this: https://andreasmoser.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/reports-about-my-trip-to-iran-in-junejuly-2009/) By the way, when I was in prison in Iran and was investigated by the Interior Intelligence Service, I told them that I had been to Israel (upon their questioning and because I found it pointless to lie). It was not a problem at all. In fact, it was the last question of all the interrogations in these 6 days in prison. After that, I was released.
Hi Andreas, I’m planning to take my American husband to Iran this summer. I’m from Iran and he has been to Israel a few years ago which is the reason I’m very nervous and found your post while seeking an answer to my question that “is there any data base that’ll show he’s been to Israel?” His passport with the Israeli visa was expired and he now has a new passport. Is there any way that they can find out that he has been to Israel?
Thst shouldn’t be any problem. I myself have been to Iran twice after I had been to Israel repeatedly. All I did was to get a new passport.
Good Lord what did you do when you finished in Iranian jail?
I quit my job as a lawyer, gave away all my stuff, adopted a slower lifestyle to celebrate my freedom, with more walks in nature, more books to read and much less work and stress. I returned to university to study philosophy and then I started moving around the world. And that’s what I am still doing now, 7 years later. :-)
Interesting info, good to know.
Regarding your last suggestion though, wouldn’t this fall under fraud and be criminally liable? In my country you actually have to swear that you are saying the truth, so you would be liable for perjury too if caught out I presume.
On the other hand, one could also conveniently “lose” it in the sea out on a walk by Dingli cliffs after carefully shredding any personal and biometric info within it.
Yes, the last option is not quite legal. Unless of course you ‘really’ lose your passport. ;-) But you have to make sure that it never pops up anywhere again.
2 years ago i asked the israeli immigration officer to not stamp my passport. it was no problem at all and like you said, they gave my a separate piece of paper and stamped this. one week later i travelled to jordan over the Sheikh-Hussein-Bridge near Bet Sche’an. There i had little problems, because i got the stamp on a separate paper and not in the passport. i explained and after a while they let me through and gave me another separate piece of paper, on which i got another stamp.
on the otherside of the jordan-river, the jordanian immigration gave my a 3rd piece of paper with a 3rd stamp. like you mentioned the problem with the “Taba Border Crossing” stamp, here it would be the same problem with an entry-stamp over jordan-river.
at the border on the way back into israel there was no problem at all on the jordanian side. the israeli side made at first little problems. because i travelled with 2 israeli arabs to jordan, they asked us a few questions and among others why i dont want an israeli stamp in my passport? i said: because i want to travell to iran and afghanistan. then they separated us and we were questioned almost 3 hours. it was quite an experience. i wanted to provoke a little and i succeeded in doing that.
so, it is possible to enter israel via land borders an not to get ones passport stamped.
there are many jordanians who do this. btw: they can keep their jordanian license-number and drive with them in israel, while the israelis have to take them at the border off and travell with jordanian license-numbers, which you get at the border. on your way back, you must give them back and then you can put the israeli number back on the car.
sorry, but you’re an absolute fucking IDIOT.
Whay would you want to “provoke” the Israelis “a little”?
You’re being admitted to THEIR country…you should show some respect.
It’s people like you that Israel should deny entry IN EVERY INSTANCE.
It’s a privilege to visit Israel.
You’re now only ignorant and cynical, but thankless and SURELY not well-educated AT ALL.
Nothing more to say.
No wonder people HATE americans everywhere lol…thanks to white trash like YOU.
Why do you go to Israel in the first place?
Next time: SPARE THEM.
They do NOT need (or want) your money (whatever little you night have, as I gather you’re SURELY NOT well-off lol), or tourism.
Go spend it with the arabs. They’ll SURELY appreciate it.
Filthy uneducated hypocrite
i can tell you why and i will.
i have a name that sounds like a typical israeli name. i was so many times in israel that i have learned the language so well, that only a few people there hear some kind of an accent, but cant tell where i am from. when i am landing at ben-gurion, they do not believe me, that i am not an israeli citizen and they taking me every single time to an office, where i always have to answer the same questions. this procedure lasts about an hour.
a good friend of mine, an israeli, who is working for arkia, suggested to do something very strange at one of the borders, so that this incident would be registrated. from then on, when i will go through a passport controll in israel, they will see it and will probably leave me alone. i have to say, my friend was right, she knew what she was talking about.
the one who does not show respect, is you! i am not an idiot, but i cannot tell, if you are one.
David stop being a fool, people doing business need to travel and I 100% certain that the Israely government may well disagree with you these people are not needed!!
Your comment just show what a thick shit you are and points to you being the fucking idiot. Oh and I’m British and we gave Israel to the Jewish people, your welcome.
It’s very sad to hear such hate in a reply David, you should be ashamed of yourself. White trash? Not sure how you would know that from an online post. You must be very very clever or quite the opposite.
We all need to grow up and understand this is our planet. This type of hate is why we have these problems in the first place. accept we have our differences in skin colour, countey of birth and upbringing and be happy. We have one world and one chance at life and enjoying this world. One chance. It’s not a practice run, this is it! Chill out and spread happiness not hatred and bad comments like that.
well, David was right about the white colour, but wrong about the quality of it. furthermore he was absolutley wrong about my nationality.
ok, ok, he was wrong about many other things, but Tim, i think you are right about this opposite thing you mentioned.
I am also a Jew, just like you. David. With what you just wrote, you make me feel ashamed of this fact. Shame on you, idiot!
“sorry, but you’re an absolute fucking IDIOT.
Whay would you want to “provoke” the Israelis “a little”?
You’re being admitted to THEIR country…you should show some respect.”
Funny how within 3 sentences you call someone an absolute fucking idiot and then talk about showing some respect.
Not provoking you, of course. Just finding it amusing.
Of course, Israel – the occupier of Palestine – doesn’t need his money because they milk the US taxpayers money in military aid and use it to usurp the lands of Palestinian families that have been there for generations.
Israel will reject entry to Western born Muslims due to their religion and ethnicity especially if they come across as practicing Muslims. It’s a shame
Apart from the political and historical misrepresentation, which shall not become the focus of this particular blog post with travel advice, I know many “Western born” and indeed other Muslims who have gone to Israel and they have all received visas or were allowed to enter. Anything else would also be strange, as there are more than a million Israelis who are Muslims themselves.
FREE PALESTINE
I agree. It would be nice to see Hamas go, so that people in Gaza can live in freedom.
Thanks for the article it is really amazing , how will be peace in earth as long as people like David in it , Thanks Alnso for your feedback , and don’t worry Oliver we have many of David in our part of the world as well ,
Dear Andreas,
To be honest, I am much less concerned about the issue of having a stamp of the “zionistic entity” in my passport, when asking for an visa to Iran. This is all pure ideology, isn’t it. And however hypocratic the IRI mullahs are, they will somehow realize that foreigners with an interest in Iranian affairs like you (even if they really have never been to Israel), are a much more sever problem. Last year two german reporters were arrested, for “illegally” interviewing the family of Sakine Ashtiani (who was sentenced to death for adultery). Recently, an american-iranian lady, who went to Tehran to see her family and friends, was arrested with a fabricated accusation of drug-smuggeling, sentenced to death and hanged. Some time ago, three americans, hitch-hiking through the country were also arrested and accused of espionage. Your own case also shows that the IRI authorities are really afraid of people who come to the country not only to visit the cultural heritage or the beauty of the nature, but who have an interest in the politics and want to meet the people and exchange ideas.
You yourself are perhaps the best example: after your participation in the 2009 green movement, after openly writing and talking about the violence of the Basij forces in your blog, in the Spiegel journal and in the HBO documentary, do you think that they would let you travel through Iran freely ones again ?
I know from several Iranian friends here in Germany, that they are always afraid that any negative comment they are doing here, in particular if it is via internet (Blogs, forums, Facebook etc) might become known to the security forces in IRI, and later they might got problems when they want to visit their families and friends.
O.k., if I apply for a visa beforehand, and it got rejected, I know that I have to wait for a change of the regime, hoping that a more liberal gouvernment in Tehran will also be less restrictive against foreign visitors. But if I would enter the country with the visa from the border police (as you did), and later they would find out that I used to make naughty comments about the human rights situation in IRI on blogs etc., I could imagine they try to catch me red-handed somewhere when i visit friends in the country. Let alone the prospect to be arrested for fabricated political reasons the second time in my life (after spending some nights in Berlin-Rummelsburgs Stasi cells), I would have special concern to bring friends in Iran into trouble. They have no place to escape to or to be expelled to.
I’m really curious hearing your opinion.
Michael ( Radius)
Well put. Yeah, our brilliant idea to try getting a U.N. car thru the Lebanese border didn’t work out so well…ah, the foolishness of our youth! But seriosuly, even people in Lebanon will tell you to use an extra piece of paper to visit Israel. The popular choice is to travel to Cyprus between the two. Also, if your mother or wife has a Jewish last name, you can always just refer to her married name on any official documents when traveling through the Middle East to avoid complications. It’s common for Arab women to use their maiden names on official documents, but they are familiar with other traditions. I first learned of this strategy from an Iranian friend whose mother was Jewish and father was Muslim. He obviously wanted to visit both cultures but had to be creative.
Great advice. And yes, everyone should visit Israël. It is AMAZING!! And is very safe!!
I have recently visited Israel, followed by a trip to Saudi Arabia. You can now get a separate paper visa while border crossing from Amaan to Jerusalem. We just had to make sure that any stickers on the outer cover of the passport and the visa was discard before boarding the flight to Jeddah. Also in some cases luggage is checked so to be on a safe side concealing product with Hebrew writing helps.
Thank you very much for the updated information!
Being Indian, I had to get an actual visa sticker in advance from the Israeli embassy in Paris this week. I dont think I will ever have plans to actually visit a Middle Eastern Muslim country, but I will transit Oman on my way to India later this year (just staying in the international zone at Muscat airport). I am wondering if there will be a problem.
On the other hand, I noticed that Saudia has some really attractive fares from Europe to India, almost $200 less than the usual price. I am tempted to buy, but I keep having visions of being hauled to prison and getting beheaded by authorities in Jeddah or Riyadh…What is the worst they will do if for some reason they decided to flip through my passport in Jeddah or Riyadh and discover the Israeli sticker?
I have visited Isreal twice , and i have done transit via dubai and doha many times after Isreal visit. you have no need to worry for transit if you fly emirates or Qatar
but pl avoid Saudhi which is very strict.
hi Balakumaran.. and Andreas,
i was working here in Qatar and next year on my vacation i was planning to visit the Israel to fulfill my dream and see the Jerusalem but i have a little bit confuse because they said that if i had a stamp from Israel i can’t enter here back in Qatar..so what do you think that could be good things to do or easy way so that after i visit Israel i can easily come back or enter again in Qatar to continue my work..? thank you.
Dear Andreas,
Thank you very much for your clearly presented and nicely illustrated article.
We read it with great care!
This summer we’re planning to go to Tel Aviv –> Jerusalem –> Amman –> Beiroet.
We’ll be arriving from Belgium by plane in Tell Aviv and tell not to stamp our passports (as you mentioned) afterwards we’ll go to Jerusalem. Here we wanted to cross the Sheikh-Hussein-Bridge to enter jordan (we’ll already buy our Jordan visas in advance in Belgium). We’ll also ask to put an Israeli exit stamp on a different sheet. The entrance stamp of Jordan we will also ask to put on a different sheet, because of the location.
Do you think we we’ll be able to enter Libanon flying from Amman with only an exit stamp from Jordan??
Thank you in advance and the kindest Belgian regards,
Belgiumcouple
I think it could pose a problem because Lebanon will notice that you have no entry stamp to Jordan, making them suspicious.
It really all depends on the person checking your passport.
If you want to be on the safe side, you would need to change the itinerary of your trip and go to Israel at the end of your holiday.
Ok thanks Andreas, we’ve changed it accordingly! You’ve helped us a lot!
Greetings from belgiumcouple
Hi Andreas , Im an Indian and already got two business visa of Israel on my passport, now Im planning to move to Bahrain on a permanent job opportunity , i already got the Visa to travel , but after seeing all this Im worrying , do you think I could be stopped at border control in Bahrain . I tried this with Dubai but it worked absolutely fine and i worked there on employment visa too but not sure about Bahrain ? please help.
wondering how as an Indian you are afraid to get to Saudi Arabia or Emirates there is a lot of Indian living out there dude. maybe more than locals
I am planing to go from Egypt to Jordan by ferry to Israel then through Cyprus by ferry to Turkey.. Do you think I will have a problum with a Stamp from Israel?
No, that’s absolutely fine. Even the other way round would be unproblematic. All of the countries you mentioned have no objection against you having visited Israel.
Enjoy the trip!
Thanks for the info!
Im heading to israel soon and then on to egypt and sudan. The sudanise embassy wont give you a visa if you visit israel. But my problem is that I enter egypt via the tabas crossing. Is it possible to get a stamp into egypt on a seperate piece of paper?
Dear Andreas,
How funny, as a student in Palestine (West Bank) I was writing a blog post about how hard it is to get a visa, which led me to your page. I know Muslims who have been denied entry to Israel for no reason, or who have been interrogated as to why they’ve visited Malaysia (which is one of the closest transit points). The racial profiling is a huge problem. Also I know people who are not Muslim who have been refused entry into Israel because they’ve visited Iran, or Azerbaijan (obscurely enough). How funny that our experiences are so completely different.
I know how hard it is for Palestinians to travel, not least because I helped many Palestinian clients myself when I worked as an immigration lawyer in Germany. Of course the whole thing becomes even more ironic when you consider that Palestinians with an Israeli passport have no problem at all to travel to Europe or North America.
As to people being denied entry, it happens with all countries, not only Israel. The US, Germany, the UK, Lithuania, Italy, France and most other countries also deny entry to some people for some (random) reasons. Nobody has an entitlement to enter another country. Even if you have been issued a visa, the border police can still turn you away.
Hey, thanks for your post. I have a question. I am backpacking across the world, and will be in India soon. From there I will be visiting United Arab Emirates, Oman, Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey. From Turkey, I plan to go to Greece, and from Athens to fly to Tel Aviv. Would all these stamps from Muslim countries be OK? There is also the problem in that while I am an American citizen (born, raised, and live in the US my whole life), my parents are of Indian descent (Hindu) and thus I am dark-skinned and may be perceived as Arab/Muslim. I was planning on going for 10 days or so, but I’m afraid I will be denied entry because of my skin color and my travel itinerary before arriving in Israel and that I will have to sit in one of their “facilities” for 10 days before getting my flight back to Europe. Do you think I will have any problems?
No, I don’t think you will have any problem at all.
Hi , if you have Israeli stamp in passport you cannot enter UAE !
I had no problems entering the UAE last year with an Israeli stamp in my German passport.
even with an israeli passport you can enter the uae!!
Hello,
I have been a student here in EGYPT for past two years,i have EGYPT visa and i have my various EGYPT student residence permit on my passport,i have also visited RUSSIA,Philippines and i have also visited UAE having the entry stamped and exit stamp of UAE also various Egypt entry and exit stamp on my passport ,I always enter and exit Egypt via CAIRO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT..
My dad have been discussing with me to go along with me to ISRAEL sometimes June this year,and i also wish to visit Israel at least for once in my life ..
AM A NIGERIAN PASSPORT HOLDER
My questions is won’t i have problem getting my visa along with my dad at my next visit to Nigeria and if granted visa won’t i have problem at Israel port of entry via tel-av-iv,if i luckily got stamped in,won’t i have problem to enter Egypt back for my schooling after holidays or won’t i have further problem entering UAE because i have family there that i do visit,
NOTE;;I do always travel to UAE via their airline EMIRATE
ANY SUGGESTION WOULD BE APPRECIATED
I have travelled myself between Israel and Egypt with the same passport, got all the stamps and it never was a problem.
About the UAE I don’t have any experience of my own, but I think somebody else commented about that above.
ANDREAS MOSER :::you mean you hold a nigerian passport?
if yes,how come about that ?if not which passport do you hold presently
Honestly i would still want an idea about the UAE issue because i travel to UAE alot at least minimum of thrice in 4 months
Hi im planning a trip to Israel in June however i’ve previously been to Pakistan & Saudi. I did think of “losing” my passport however you have to have a valid passport for 6months in order to gain entry.
Im just wondering whether I should just risk it & go with my current passport? :-/
As the section “myth no. 1” above says, you won’t have any problem with getting into Israel. Have a great trip!
Finally one good article on the topic! There are just too many myths concerning this issue, but I dont understand why people dont check out the facts. Actually, the Israelis are not stamping the passports anymore – this is as of February 2013, so quite a fresh thing. I cant find the sources for this but I have a close friend working in tourism and crossing regularly, so I know its true. Just wrote an article about the Israeli borders at my blog :-)
Thanks for both the compliment and the update!
As far as I have read the new guidelines, they only refer to Ben Gurion Airport at Tel Aviv though. While this is admittedly the main port of entry for most visitors, those crossing into Israel at a land border with Egypt or Jordan will still get their passport stamped.
Hi All – My name is Srinivas Namani, Indian citizen. I am currently working
in Israel and would like to move to Dubai. I have already received the visa approval copy from UAE and now I am worried with all these myths about my residence visa since, I am having Israeli work visa on my passport. Please suggest me before going to Dubai.
Thank you very much for the help
Hello, thanks for this site. I am currently studying abroad in the Gulf. I’ll be travelling to Israel soon, via Jordan. I have a second, short-term passport that I use for Arab countries (other than Egypt and Jordan) and a primary one that I’ve used for Israel many times. My question is, if I use the shorter passport with the Gulf stamps to get out of the Gulf and into Jordan, will the Israeli officials be suspicious when I present my primary passport to them upon entry, and it doesn’t say where I came from? I also have the same question about leaving Israel. If I leave on the primary passport and then get back to the Gulf without having any stamp for where I was last, will that be a problem? Thanks so much. Also, do the Israeli border officials realize that some people have two passports? Is there any way I would get in trouble if they found out? Thanks for your help!
You will not have any problem getting into Israel. You also do not need to hide the fact of having two passports. This solution is absolutely legitimate and is well-known to Israeli border guards.
When you re-enter the Gulf, you would need to come up with an explanation where you came from. That is you need to pick a country where your passport would not be stamped. (Typically your home country or in the case of an EU citizen all other EU countries.)
Question: Im thinking about traelling to Iran with my German passport (which has a Israeli stamp in it) , do I absolutely need a second passport? Thanks a lot!
You don’t need a second passport if you will get a new one in time. When you fill out the Iranian visa application form, you will have to sign a statement that you have never been to “occupied Palestine”.
Thanks a lot! One question: my daughter is travelling at Middle East now. She did get the Israeli stamp on her passport, and will be Dubai and Oman in 3 days. Do you think she will have any problems? Especially Oman. It’s urgent. Thanks!
Reblogged this on Wikipedia Aficionado – No veo, no oigo, no hablo..
I am in jordan and having indian passport. Is it possible for me go to israel by road from amman.. I have no prior visa for israel.. jordan on arrival visa for 14 days I have. Pleasebhelp and advuse..
Just to let you all know I successfully crossed the border from Egypt to Israel at Eilat and they offered me the separate piece of paper with the stamp on. So it works at the border too. This was in September 2011. No need for 2 passports, they completely understood the situation.
Thank you very much for that information!
Help please, i have a canadian passport with israeli stamps in it. And it was made in tel aviv. Do you know if i can enter Qatar? I dont have time to make a new passport.
I’m lucky in that I hold both a valid US and UK passport. I have never traveled to Israel, but if I did, I would do so using my US passport. I would travel to Muslim countries using my UK passport.
Seems like a lot of trouble, and in most cases quite at stake. I agree that Israel shouldn’t be avoided just because of the hideous stamp issue (you just ask not to have it and that’s it, they’ll stamp a piece of paper instead).
I have to say, I don’t agree with Myth n1. If you have an Arab country stamp on your passport, you might get into Israel, sure, but the torture and questioning that will follow is by no means something you should skip mentioning, because it happens most times unfortunately.
Plus Egypt and Jordan are the only friendly nations surrounding Israel, so the comparison in this case in unsustainable.
As I said in my article, if you have been to plenty of Arab countries or Iran and Afghanistan, you get questioned in almost ANY country. You’ll also get questioned when you enter the US, Germany, Russia or Lithuania. Some countries are responsible for more than their fair share of terrorists and thus travel to these countries will lead to some questions later. But you just answer the questions and on you go. I think the word “torture” is an exaggeration at best, or a downplaying of real torture at worst.
I have to say that I don´t agree with the part, in which you say Israel is torturing visitors who want to travel into Israel and beeing in arab countries before.
Elke, if it hasn’t happened to you I understand your point.
But to those who have been through a lot of drama with Israeli immigration security because they had particular stamps on their passport, is fairly true I’m afraid…
im a filipino citizen and im curently working in DUBAI UNITED ARAB EMIRATES for 7 years, I would like to know if i can travel to ISRAEL and with visa stamp when i coming back to UAE?
PLEASE kindly answer my question…..
tips: my cousin was in israel last month and no visa stamp on his passport.
Your cousin already seems to have answered this question for you. As the update to the article above says, there ain’t no more stamp issue.
Im moroccan citizen but im in Istanbul right now and I wanna go to israel
they will let me entre ?
I don’t know if Moroccan citizens need a visa for Israel.
Morocco doesn’t recognise the existence of Israel (along with most of the rest of the Arab League), and therefore you need specific permission from the Israeli Ministry of Interior to apply for a visa to enter Israel.
I’d be willing to guess that a Moroccan passport office isn’t going to be willing to give you two passports (as Israel is the only country you need to do this for), and so you’d probably get in trouble with the authorities when you get home.
Also, since Morocco boycotts Israel (as part of the AL), it’d be strange if Moroccan bank accounts allowed you to spend money in Israel (or didn’t report you for doing it) and so it’s unlikely he’d be able to travel to Israel.
The fact that country A doesn’t recognize country B does not prevent citizens of country A to visit country B. I have visited several countries not recognized by my home country, and it was never a problem to obtain a visa and to use a bank card there.
The only practical problem is that there is no Israeli Embassy in Morocco, so you will need to obtain the Israeli visa through an Israeli Embassy in another country.
Bank cards that are part of Visa or Mastercard work everywhere in the world, unless there are sanctions (like there used to be against Iran by the SWIFT payments system). Banks are not bound by what country is recognized, nor do they usually care.
Travel to Israel is not the only reason to obtain a second passport. Some countries also issue a second passport if you can show that you generally travel a lot and that one of your passports has to be sent to embassies in order to obtain visas regularly. You can the use the second passport to travel in the meantime.
Morocco has no problem with its citizens visiting Israel, nor with Israelis visiting Morocco. When I was in Marrakesh, I met a whole tour group of Israelis. In Israel, you will actually meet many Israelis of Moroccon descent.
To summarize, the issue of “not recognizing” a country doesn’t have any practical implications exvept for the absencd of embassies and consulates. In this case, the embassy of a friendly natiion will usually have an “interest section” where you can go to if you need help. “Not recognizing” a country is usually mere show, while trade and commerce between the two countries is going on.
hi Andreas I once had an Israeli Visa on my passport for tourism and was denied entry at Ben-Gurion Airport in 2010,. I am planning of visiting UAE for a 7 days summer holiday this summer, what are your views will i have problem entry UAE for my tourist visa
I crossed into Israel from Jordan on the Allenby Bridge border and asked them not to stamp my passport, but they did anyway. I now want to go to Iran, so will need to get another passport.
Israel is not that great a visit. Jerusalem is positively freaky with all the obvious religious tension, not to mention fanatic Jewish fundamentalists that even the Israel is can’t stand. It’s also expensive and everyone is casually walking around with guns like it’s the wild west. It’s a very strange country and certainly the most militarized nation on earth.
Israel is beautiful. Just have a look at the photos from my last road trip around Israel.
If you are bothered by religion and guns, just stay away from Jerusalem. But from my own travelling experience, I can tell you there are far more militarized countries in the world, among them many of Israel’s neighbours.
when i went to Israel i asked the women not to stamp my passport, she asked me why, i told her i might want to travel to lebanon or syria, then she stamped it while looking at me then called out ‘next’ – also, it is not just ‘some probing questions’, they take you into an interrogation cell and you can wait several hours before they will let you know if they will let you into the country or not (they will rarely refuse you, its just to intimidate you)
Be especially careful when entering Israel without an Israeli passport if you have a parent who was ever an Israeli citizen or is currently considered an Israeli citizen. If you are visiting Israeli relatives they may well ask you about your parents or you may decide to volunteer this information thinking it will speed your entry – it will not. A child of an an Israeli is automatically a citizen, and must enter Israel on an Israeli passport. I was only let in because of a very nice border guard who told me never to mention that again to a border agent because of this rule. Being turned around at the airport to go home and apply for a passport would not be fun. The Border guards realize 90% of the time the questioning they do is pointless, if you are polite and answer all their questions you won’t have issues. Do have the mobile phone number of who you are visiting. If you can book a flight that lands in Tel Aviv on Saturday do so (if they still have these), the place is a desert with few arrivals/departures and no immigration line.
Also, in our case the border agent had a lot of questions as to why my spouse had a different last name. He was not aware of this more recent cultural practice in the West.
Thanks a lot for these great pieces of advice!
Your experience is totally different from mine. I have an Israeli mother and a brother, who both live (most of the time) in in Israel. I am not Israeli and entering Israel always with a foreign passport. At the Passport-Controll the borderguards ask me every time if I have an Israeli citizenship. Every single time they do not believe me, that I don’t have it. We make a little jokes about that, because they know the facts and still asking the same questions.
A few times we even entered together at the non-foreign passport control. It was no problem at all.
I am not considered as an Israeli because my mother is one.
It´s funny to hear that the nice borderguard told you never to mention the fact about your parents being Israeli, because they do know about it. Everything is on their computer. They know more about you and your family than you think.
Its depends if you born after you perents have a nationality of Israel you are israeli and you need israeli passport!!!!
I am happy to hear this was not just my experience. My Father lives in Israel. I do not consider myself an Israeli citizen – I was born and have only ever lived in the US. After many visits to Israel with no issue on my US passport, last year I was forced after hours and hours of questions and initial refusal on my end to pay almost $400 for an Israeli passport at the airport or not be let out of the country. I had an r/t trip from Tel Aviv to NYC, having left to Germany for a month in the middle. On my first exit to Berlin they warned me that I could leave, but this was the last time I could be in the country sans an Israeli passport. I didn’t take this seriously, thinking “I’m American, whatever.” They kept repeating that I was listed as having a national security ID #. This meant nothing to me at the time and I am still not sure what it’s about. Cut to a month later and I miss my first flight back home trying to fight it out with the immigration official. Finally I relented, in tears, paid some crazy upcharge for same day processing, paid for photos, got on the next flight. Upside! I now have an Israeli passport and my US passport holds no Israel stamp (which I’ve learned here is no longer a thing, go figure).
Hello,
I’ve been to Israel a couple of days ago. I left the country to go to Jordan so I got a stamp in Aqaba. I want to travel to Sudan so I think it can be a problem. Aqaba also has an airport so I thought that I could might say that I flew to home from there. Does anybody know if this is an option and if it’s a problem to enter Sudan when I have a exit stamp from Jordan/Aqaba?
Already thanks for your reactions!
hello i am sunita from india i have completed my engineering and i wish to work in israel as an engineer is it possible plzz reply soon….
I don’t think I’ve seen this issue addressed: will I be issued a PA-Areas-Only stamp (or slip) at Ben Gurion if I come to do some work in Gaza, and will that prevent me from doing some sightseeing in Israel afterwards?
Thanks.
If you wish to enter Gaza from Israel, you need a special permit (which has nothing to do with your visa for Israel, as Gaza is neither Israeli territory nor administered by Israel).
You can try the “Coordination and Liaison Administration of the Gaza Strip” or of course the Israeli Consulate in your country of residence.
Another option is going to Gaza from Egypt, but this depends on the border policies of Egypt on that day. From Egypt, there are of course also hundreds of tunnels through which you can cross without any visa (but for a hefty fee probably).
As to the sightseeing in Israel, I would do that before going to Gaza, as there is no guarantee that you will be able to leave Gaza on time. All of the aforementioned borders may be closed at any time for a few days. Depending on your citizenship, you will eventually be able to get out of course, but not many countries have consulates in Gaza, so there is usually no official of your country to help you.
Hi Andreas,
I have a British passport with many Israeli stamps-on the page opposite my ID for all the world to see, as well aqaba border stamps right in the middle so that always flips open immediately for the world to see also.
right now I plan to go to saudi arabia to teach english for a year (can’t say no to tax-free money!), I’ve just spoken to the British embassy in Berlin (I’m living in Germany at the moment) and they were completely useless! the receptionist as well as the consular officer told me to just look on the gov.co.uk site, which i already had done, but they just give very basic info about who can/can’t enter & what documents u need. nothing about what to do if u have israeli stamps!
Apparently the embassy/consulates in Germany don’t issue new passports and i can’t really wait 4-6 weeks to do it via mail in the uk and not really in a position to fly there & do the express service either ( at least that’s a really last resort & only if it’s confirmed i get the job). the embassy couldn’t even tell me if i can still get a normal passport or only the biometric one (which im opposed to).
how do i apply for this 2nd passport which u mentioned? coz there doesnt seem to be that option available when applying for a british pasport, just’ apply for 1st time passport, renewing an old one, lost/stolen.
the consular officer wasn’t even aware of this issue with having israeli stamps & travelling to arab countries like KSA.
i happend to read about a guy married to a palestinian who naturally had israeli stamps in his passport & wanted to go on hajj in saudi arabia,he said he spoke to the saudi embassy and they had no problems! he said he wasn’t sure if it’s coz he’s muslim & maybe that stamp rule only applies to all non-muslims.
now, i have middle-eastern looks & was wondering if i should pretend im muslim so i have less problems trying to explain my israeli stamps and also for my own security while in KSA for a year, don’t want some crazy nut finding out i’m jewish and making me the next gilad shalit!
any ideas/suggestions?
Hi! I’m very happy to stumble upon this blog while googling these issues. Thank you for posting. My friend and I are US citizens and are planning to get a second passport just for use in Israel and Jordan. From your experience, do you think the following will work?
We have roundtrip tickets from the US to Tel Aviv (US citizens). We plan to cross at the border into Jordan after visiting Israel and use our second passport for Israel and Jordan. From there fly from Amman to Beirut roundtrip. We are considering getting tourist visas from the Lebanon embassy in DC to expedite the process and use our current passports for this which will have no evidence of travel to Israel.
However, will the Lebanese ask for our air tickets to determine original departure? They would then find out that we we flew from Jordan, but see no entry/exit stamp in our current passport. I’m worried they will stalk our travel itinerary and see that we were not on any flights from the US to Beirut that day (in case we say we were on layover in Amman) and get detained. I’m wondering if they will be scrutinizing further because of the heightened security in the region overall. Thanks in advance for your advice.
Hello,
I find this very interesting! Just wanted to let you know that the stamp issue for Israel can be avoided by border crossings. I’ve just got back today from Israel and used the Allenby Bridge from Jordan. When departing Jordan they have a piece of blank paper at the window where you right your name and passport number on it. You give this and your passport to the officials. When you pay your money you get two bits of print and then they will stamp on the print and the paper you wrote on to say you exited. One of the printed bits and the one you wrote on are then taken off you halfway through the bus ride to the boarder. Once in Israel you will go through check after check after check and finally get to immigration! You can ask for no stamp and then the official will then type out info and then give you a little ticket with all your info and scan of your passport photo – this ticket is I’m place of a stamp! You then hand it to the next official and your stamp free (you can ask to keep the ticket and they will put a little tear in it). On the way back from Israel to Jordan, you will pay a departure tax and get a ticket as proof. At immigration hand your passport and ticket to the official and she/he will stamp the exit stamp on that ticket. Then on the bus you go. Too easy! Hope this helps, haven’t read anywhere about this updated procedure and was expecting the worse!
I wish some people knew how amazing Israel is. Mostly everything they hear is wrong, esp if you are hearing it from the United States.
Israeli government protect the Arab Muslims. People will never know the true.. Sigh..
hi. first of all the never protect the interest of non jews. maybe the country is amazing for some people, but I don’t like it even jesus and other best personality are from there. for me it is the centre of war and crime for jews, muslims and Christians. if you aren’t jews, you aren’t good human. jews think like this.
That last comment made me laugh, that’s all I am saying. I travelled to Jerusalem last year to see all the sights and loved visiting the various Jewish, Muslim and Christian historical sites. I was however disappointed with the horrendous, intimidating service at the border between Jordan and Israel and when I asked for the officer to not stamp my passport, he had me in for extra questioning and stamped it anyway even though I explained that it had nothing to do with political observation but rather because of the possible future travel to counties that may have an issue. Shame really. I thoroughly enjoyed Jerusalem and would love to go back.
Just being the kind of guy I am, I would insist the Israeli official stamp my passport only, and refuse any offer of giving me a separate paper with the visa.
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I have a Israeli stamp.. what if I want ot go to Malaysia or Singapore? Will I get in?
no problem. only UAE, saudi, Iran and syria.
Hi, I have been to Israel 2 years ago, got a stamp in my passport. I’ll visit Iran in January 2014. I’ll apply for visa at airport. Does anybody have recent informations if it’s possible to enter Iran without any problem?
Considering the fee for a second or new passport and the cost of a roundtrip to Iran (both of which admittedly depend on where you are from), I would not risk it.
Or if you want to, I would at least not book a direct flight to Iran, but one via Turkey for example. This way, if Iran doesn’t allow you to enter, you can at least spend your holiday in Turkey.
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very helpfull.
I have heard my friends say that having first visa of Pakistan is not good, if you are planning to visit other country. Is this true?
hallo. if you visit pakistan, the police in US and UK will think, that you have been with Al-qaida. if you aren’t muslim. no problem.
Hello Ahmad,
that’s a good point. It’s ironic how many people are worried about which country in the Middle East they can visit with what passport stamp, when the real problems will be when entering the UK or the US.
1st of all, Israel is one of the shittiest countries in the world, those dudes have no sense of joy whatsoever, it is a 1st world country, but lookswise, it is a 2nd world country.
2nd, it is always better to have you passport damaged from rain or the washing machine rather than to lose it.
The sensibleness of your second recommendation is hard to reconcile with the dumbness of your first statement.
please don’t use bad words against others, if you love your self and your people.
Hello Andreas. My question is quite particular so I doubt you will be able to answer, but maybe you’ll have some information anyway. I was born in Israel but am not Israeli, never have been and never will be, my parents were based there a few years because my father was stationed in Lebanon. There are some countries I would like to visit which have restrictions, but how strictly do you think they would be applied in my case? I’ve had my birthplace removed from one of my passports (multinational), but all they did was leave an empty space under ‘birthplace’. I imagine I would need to state my birthplace in any visa application anyway so it really doesn’t help. Do you reckon that if I can prove I’m not Israeli by carrying two passports they would let me through? If you know more about particular countries, I’m most interested in visiting Yemen, Bahrain, and Iran.
hallo. if you don’t have Israeli visa or stamp in your passport. you can visit Iran, Bahrain, Yemen, UAE. but Saudi Arab is very difficult to visit, even for muslims.
hallo. that is true that you can’t visit UAE and Saudi Arabia, if you have Israeli visa in your passport. I don’t think, it is good idea to visit Israel. if you look like Arabs or have Muslim name. they will stop you for hours for entry. they will ask you from A to Z. about your father name. your brothers. their telephone number, your e-mails, why you visit israel. they don’t respect visitors. they call them self as super power. I have visited Israel 2 time. but of you are American or European with muslim name or Arab look. don’t visit Israel. they are afraid of your look and name. better to visit egypt or jordan. they are respectful and more open for visitors. their is nothing in Israel to miss. if you aren’t crazy about Jesus.
don’t think that I am arab or enemy of Israel. I am also from Jewish tribes.
Reblogged this on Anything in Random, by MSP and commented:
Wow… just in case Japan allows dual citizenship (provided it implements the Behaltungsgemehnigung), I’ll simply use the Japanese passport for the Gulf/Arab countries while I use the Philippine passport for Israel. Das ist alles! Ijou!
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Hello, I need to visit Israel for work and then later on travel to Japan via Dubai. I have an European passport. Do you think I may have problems during the Dubai transit if Israelis stamp my passport at Tel Aviv (of course I will ask them not to). Thanks
Ive had the pleasure of meeting and knowing many israelis. They are a kind , educated, warm and likeable bunch. To skip out on Israel should be unthinkable, in my opinion it is one of the prettiest places in the middle eastern cluster.
If I get a separate piece of paper with an Israeli stamp from the airport in Tel Aviv and I exit the country by land to say Jordan, will the separate piece of paper get stamped or my passport?
I’m a dual citizen, and have two passports, but they have different surnames because I changed it in one of the countries. Does this cause any suspicion?
Also, if I enter Israel with one passport and exit the country over the border to Jordan, can I ask for the Jordanian entry visa stamped in my other passport even though my Israeli exit visa would be in a different passport?
Thanks
Apparently, Jordan will stamp my passport with the information of where I crossed, so it will be obvious that I came from Israel if I cross by land. However, I’m wondering if, when I then travel from for example Jordan to Lebanon (and then switch passports on arrival), will the Lebanese look for an exit visa from Jordan? They wouldn’t necessarily know what flight I was on.. so how would they know where I came from. I could have come from Europe and had a layover in Jordan right?
I visit Israel by Taba. I don’t have Israel stamp, but I have Taba stamp. Obviously, they will know that I went to Israel. I just spent 2 days, nothing more. Do you think they will reject my entry at the Airport? I intend to apply a visa here in Brazil, but I am afraid because they will check my passport and they will know about Taba.
Which country are you planning to go to?
Mr Moser,
I apologize if this is the wrong forum for this question. I have an Israeli stamp. I plan to get a new passport without a stamp so I can travel to Libya (which does not allow entry with an Israeli stamp).
Here are my questions:
Is it only illegal to enter with an Israeli stamp or is it illegal to travel to Libya if you have visited Israel?
I realize you may not know Libyan law but if you don’t perhaps you can comment on countries that have similar entry restrictions.
If someone were to report to the authorities in libya that I have been to Israel, what will happen?
Will I be put in jail because I have broken a law, or worse? Will I be sent back home?
Or will nothing happen as I didn’t have a stamp in my passport?
Your help is greatly appreciated.
I have not yet been to Libya, so my answer will relate more generally to all the countries who have something against people who have previously visited Israel:
Usually, these countries take their hatred against Israel so far that they make it illegal to visit Israel and subsequently visit their country. When applying for a visa for Iran for example, you have to sign that you have never been to “occupied Palestine”.
If you are caught out, you would at least face the charge of lying on a visa application, for which deportation is probably the best thing you can get. More seriously though, you might be charged with espionage or “working for the enemy” or other dubious charges.
You should consider that some countries have a real obsession about Israel. Remember the cases where Saudi Arabia and Egypt arrested or accused animals like birds or sharks to be Israeli spies. That’s the kind of mindset you are dealing with. So if they meet a traveller who is in their country and who lied about having been to Israel, in their mind they have caught the spy of the century. Because they want to. And you are just the unlucky one who gets caught.
We should also consider that what the law says is not that relevant in most of the countries who ban travellers who have previously visited Israel. These are not exactly rule-of-law countries, so a lot depends on the local police or the branch of the government that will get their hands on you.
For example, I was once arrested and imprisoned by the Iranian Interior Intelligence Service. They asked where else I had been in the Middle East and I was candid about my visits to Israel. That was the last question of a week-long interrogation and after that I was released. Big surprise! But maybe some other police or security agency in Iran would have made a big fuss out of it and would have brought me to (show) trial.
Thank you for your quick and thorough response.
I am not sure what to do. I don’t like to lie. Also, there is someone in Libya that could easily report that I’ve been to Israel. He has said his sibling is police. He certainly doesn’t want me there.
Its a shame I can’t see the visa form beforehand to read the wording.
So if caught, do you advise admitting to going to Israel?
You might find the visa form online or get it from some travel agency which organizes tours to Libya.
If there is someone in Libya who knows of your stay in Israel anyway, I would admit it – if confronted with it – or say that you completely forgot about it because you travel a lot and argue that it’s not much of a big deal.
Mr. Moser,
My original post was May 31, 2014.
I am still concerned about possibly lying on the visa form.
Things have changed and now I will be going to Libya to work. I have never applied for a visa so please forgive my ignorance.
The employer says he will apply for a visa, I will fly to a nearby country where everything will be waiting on me.
Does that mean I don’t fill out any paperwork myself, and thereby avoid any statement that I have not been to Israel? Or do visas always require the signature of the visa holder?
And I will have to sign when I get to the nearby country.
By the way, I did try to look online for a copy of the form but didn’t have any success.
I also emailed the travel company but they refused to send me a copy. Perhaps because a lot of fake visas are going around.
Great suggestions though.
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Mr Moser
I have spanish passport but currently I spend a lot of time in the Arabian Gulf for business pusposes. I have saudi multiple entry visitors visa in my passport and the passport is full of stamps (many, many, many) of Saudi Arabia, and especially Bahrain, because we usually are based in Bahrain, we commute to Saudi to do business and come back to Bahrain to the hotel. I also have stamps from two trips to Qatar and Lebanon.
In case I planned a tourist trip to Tel Aviv in summer, would there be many problems when entering Israel via Tel Aviv Airport?
No. Israel does not have any problems with your previous visits to any other country. You might be asked a few questions about the nature of your work, that’s all.
If you enter and leave at Tel Aviv Airport, your passport won’t get stamped, so that Saudi Arabia and Bahrain won’t notice anything.
Hello.. I am dilip from India..we are going on a trip to egypt for a vacation as we have been gifted one..In the future i am planning to apply for a student visa to the US..do you think it will impact my chances of entry negatively and will i face a barrage of questions at the Immigration counter in US by the officers
I think almost everyone faces a barrage of questions at US immigration anyway. :-) But no, as Egypt is a well-known holiday destination, I don’t think you will face any problems. I think problems can occur if people have previous visas from Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and such.
i have a NIGERIAN PASSPORT with a valid work RESIDENCE PERMIT IN QATAR and i have the intentions to come to Isreal on vacation will i have any problems getting into isreal and getting back into QATAR plase i need your comments
I am currently working in Kuwait and I’m a philippine passport holder and I understand that no visa policy in Israel for philippine passport holder. I just want to ask some advice cause I have plan to travel to Egypt first to meet my Egyptian Moslem friends then I will exit and go directly to Israel to visit since I’m a Roman Catholic then exit Israel after couple of days then travel by land to Jordan and from Jordan going back to Kuwait do you think it’s a good idea cause I heard some rumors that Kuwait won’t accept if they discover that u visited israel no matter how valid your reason is Or do I need to make some minor changes..I’m about to have my 40 days annual leave and I want to travel ..or better fly from Kuwait to Egypt then enter Israel then go back again to Egypt then from Egypt go to Jordan and from Jordan fly back to kuwait…hope to hear a response from u soon..thank you and God bless..
Plz i am pakistani muslim but i like and accpect your communatie
Hi Gelo !
I’m also working in Kuwait and planning to make a similar trip in the beginning of May. I want to land in Sharm, stay there for a few days and then cross in Taba to go to vacation in Israel. I will after have to be back in Sharm to get back to Kuwait.
Did you actually make the trip? If you did it would be great to have your feed back because I’m a bit concerned about Israeli or Egyptians stamping my passport and then not being able to get back to Kuwait.
Thank you!
Hello – would like to ask a slightly different but relevant question. I live in Israel and have an Israeli passport, but I have a Bulgarian passport as well (as my parents were born in Bulgaria). In this passport I am mentioned as a Bulgarian citizen, but also in the other page there it says that I have an Israeli residence; the birth of place is also mentioned as “ISR” for Israel. There are no Israeli stamps in this passport, as I travel in and out of Israel with my Israeli passport. Do you think that I am about to face any problems having visa on arrival in Dubai, where I would like to visit soon, using this Bulgarian passport of mine? Any advice of how to handle it? I would add that last December I travelled to Oman with it (flying there from Turkey) and had no problem whatsoever – nobody said anything about the issue at the Omani airport and I received my tourist visa and got in swiftly and easily. Thank you for all replies.
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My Swiss passport carries an Isreali stamp which I received during a visit in early 2009.
On December 31 2014 I had no issues at all to enter Dubai. I don’t think the immigration officer even spotted the stamp among all those other stamps and visas in my passport.
I assume this topic is mainly an urban myth which you can’t purge from the Internet anymore …
Like most things it depends on who is at work that day. I travel, not a whole lot, but enough, and I have learned that every trip through a border can be a very different experience (imagine showing up in Lebanon after a flare up in conflict, with an Israeli visa or vice versa). Even in Europe, I have traveled through many borders, as I live in Bosnia and not a Sechegen country, we have dealt with cranky and/or over zealous immigration agents and with nice and/or uncaring ones (admittedly, more often the later). The problem with the VISA is that it may be true for some but not all. I’m happy that you never had any problems but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. It is probably a grouping of instances that causes people to end up getting questioned or detained, but if you happen to be one of those people then it could be a bad day, missed flight, missed tours, etc. I say, regardless of the chance, get the extra paper and/or extra passport and call it day. Being on the wrong end of an interrogation because I didn’t feel like taking a few !simple! precautions seems silly, especially if I happen to show up at a border with someone who just happens to hate Israelis or Arabs or after a recent bombing or kidnapping or massacre or misunderstanding and they unconsciously decide a transference of anger is in order that day.
I am an Indian and I am planning to take a study trip to Israel at university of Haifa. But my parents are moving to Dubai for 3 years for a job. So after coming back to India from Israel can i go to UAE as i would have already been stamped with an Israeli stamp.
EU citizen here. I would NEVER recommend anyone to visit Israel with an Iran visa on their passport. That’s what I did in november and, despite not being denied entrance, I had to deal with literally TENS of hours of questioning by the authorities.
Yeah, it’s as stupid as it sounds – have I had any ill intentions I’d have gone there with a nice clean passport and maybe a few US stamps.
Wow, that’s not a nice way to start a holiday.
I went to Israel after having been to Iran, Lebanon and Syria and I had no problems. I guess I am too old to be a potential terrorist. :-)
I wish it was just the start…
Me (as well as a friend of mine, also with an Iranian visa, with different dates) were questioned literally *everywhere*. In Eilat we were kept for 5 hours and interrogated separately; to top it all off, we lost our plane and they also kept my shaver and hairdryer, which they thought of as a vacuum cleaner. :-D
My central asian visas probably didn’t help either, as those raised more than a few eyebrows and questions as well.
The police and security staff were always extremely professional and quite friendly though, no ill treatment, but the word paranoia got an altogether new meaning for me afterwards. That’s why I definitely recommend everyone to abandon all hope before entering Israel with an iranian visa. :-)
At Eilat (before a flight to Tel Aviv), I was also once questioned very intensively. I had to strip off my clothes and they all got scanned separately. In that case, they kept my phone charger.
But, like in your case, they were very friendly and polite. A few months later, I received a package in Germany which had my phone charger in it. Unfortunately, my battery didn’t last for several months, so I had had to buy a new one in the meantime though.
I agree with your point in your first comment, that anyone who had ill-intent would simply get a new passport. Nobody will catch an Iranian assassin by looking for visa stamps from Iran.
Hi Andreas,
I have a question that you probably might have answered already, but I hope you can answer it one more time for me:
I am US resident and intend to travel from USA — Turkey — Beirut — Turkey — TelAviv — Jordan — TelAviv — Turkey — USA. that is my itenerary. My only question is are my chances of entering TelAviv being jeopardized because I am visiting Lebanon prior to Israel? Would I be rejected entering in Israel or get into trouble?
I am visiting Lebanon for my best mates wedding and since I am traveling so far to middle east I wish to visit Tel Aviv as well.
So please kindly advise.
cheers mate.
Your itinerary is perfect!
You should not have any problems entering Israel. I have also been to Lebanon and I had no problems at all entering Israel subsequently. (The problem would be the other way round.)
when the Israeli soldier raped my wife in front of my eyes and strangled my 3 years old daughter, i will never be happy to see someone supporting or working with my life enemy in my country
tens of years we were abused by israeli it cant be erased easily
Kareem, you are a liar!!
I will be doing a semester abroad (5 months) in Jerusalem, I have an EU passport and would like to visit Jordan during my stay for a week or so and then return to Israel. Can I let them stamp my passport or should I ask for them to do it on a separate paper?
If you will stay in Israel for 5 months, I assume you will have a visa. I have never been in Israel for so long and I don’t know if visas are issued on separate pieces of paper.
Going back and forth between Israel and Jordan is no problem (same with Israel and Egypt).
Hi there
I’m pleased you have entered this blog! I would love to go to Israel but this visa situation is making me feel wary……
Can I ask you and confirm
If I travel to Israel from Jordan via land border, I can request a visa on a separate piece of paper. If i fly out of Israel to my next destination (Greece), will ii encounter any issues for obtaining a visa from land border and it’s on a separate piece of paper?
Not sure how many times this has been mentioned:
But we crossed the TABA BORDER in Dec 2012 and then back in Jan 2013 and we didn’t have too many problems, at least with the stamp issue. I googled it before and people where telling that in any case, you would get the Egyptian stamp, so when travelling to another country that makes problems with an Israeli stamp, they would even notice without the Israeli stamp that we went there….
BUT: we asked the EGYPTIANS NOT TO PUT A STAMP in our passport, and they didn’t. The Israelis were a bit reluctant about it, but agreed too and we were very grateful for that.
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just free your mind and never go to isreal, i had been there last year and it is not worth this head ache. there are much nicer countries in the region to travel to instead.
What headache? It’s not a headache at all, as my article makes clear.
And it’s a very diverse, exciting and friendly country to visit.
Dear Andreas,
I’d appreciate your opinion about this: my passport indicates no Israeli stamps but entry and exit stamps at 2 Jordanian-Israeli border crossings. Does this mean entry to Lebanon will be out of the question? Or is it a matter of how vigilant an immigration official may or may not be on arrival? I understand the 2nd passport option may be best here but would like to ab=void! Thanks in advance.
I would not risk it. If you have stamps from Aqaba, King Hussein or Sheikh Hussein crossings, it’s obvious that you have been to Israel.
I assume you will fly to Lebanon, so you risk denial of entry and having to buy an earlier flight for your return, which is probably more expensive than a second or new passport. Of course it depends on the border guard on duty, but you can’t pick him, and there is a reasonable statistical probability that he is a member/follower of Hisbollah.
Thank you Andreas.
Hello Andreas,
I was just looking for some information on travelling to both, Israel and Lebanon, and found your post from 2012. Since the situation between those two countries isn’t much different now than 3 years ago, I wanted to ask you about something, as ‘you’ve been there, done that’.
My ‘passport situation’ is fairly easy – I’ve been to Israel several times, but never got a stamp from there, so entering Lebanon shouldn’t be a problem. What concerns me is the fact that my connections with Israel are quite strong – basically if anyone checks my FB or CS profile it becomes obvious, that I’ve been there, have friends there, am learning Hebrew etc.
So my question is, how likely is that even after successfully leaving the airport and heading to Beirut I’ll be contacted by someone from the local officers and – in best case – send back home immediately? I heard some badbad stories about Lebanese people being way oversuspicious in this topic.
Forgot to mention that I’m considering going there to attend a monthly scholarship at AUB – but still, wouldn’t be sure if it makes me any less ‘guilty’ in the eyes of local government.
Thanks for any advice,
Justyna
Hello Justyna,
I think you will be safe.
Everyone in Lebanon knows that people travel to Israel and Lebanon (and other countries) and there is nothing they can do to prevent it. (Even some Lebanese citizens go to Israel if they have a second passport.) They only enforce the “stamp/visa rule”, but beyond that the Lebanese government doesn’t seem to care much UNLESS you engage in other activities that would make them believe that you are a spy.
I have been to Lebanon myself after having been to Israel repeatedly. Like in your case, a visit to my blog would easily reveal my previous visits to, my contacts with and my sympathies for Israel. I was actually not even shy about it and mentioned it openly in discussions, also because I wanted to see how people react.
Like you said, many people are highly suspicious, but these are usually the “Zionist and American and Western global conspiracy to dominate the world” type of people, so they will be suspicious already because you are Western. Nothing will happen, except that you won’t take them seriously and vice versa. But then, we should admit that these type of people are found everywhere.
On the other hand, I sometimes encountered genuine interest when I told people that I had been to Israel. Some people realize that the Arabic media are quite biased in this respect and they long for an alternative view to broaden their horizon.
Unless you take photos of military installations or engage in political activities, I don’t think you’ll have any run-in with representatives of the Lebanese state. In my experience, admitting previous visits to Israel was not even a problem in Iran when I was interrogated there by the Intelligence Service. They asked me what other countries in the Middle East I had been to, I included Israel in the list, and they had no question about it at all.
We should also consider that except for the completely unimportant Sheeba Farms, there is no more territorial dispute between Lebanon and Israel at the moment. Right now, Lebanon has far more serious problems with its other neighbor.
Enjoy your trip!
Thanks for your response!
It’s my pleasure, Ma’am.
Hi Andreas,
I have multiple stamps and a student visa from Israel in my primary passport, so I decided to get a 2nd passport to go to Lebanon. It had not occurred to me until reading your post that my 2nd passport may raise suspicions because it is only valid for 2 years and has no stamps in yet. What are the chances they will deny me entry to Lebanon for this?
Thanks,
Dana
I should also mention that I am leaving for Beirut in a few days, so renewing my primary passport is probably not an option at this point…
That’s not a problem.
If someone asks, just say
– that you got a short-term passport because it was cheaper/faster and you just noticed that your old one expired,
– or admit that it’s a second passport, but that you couldn’t bring your first passport because it has been with the Chinese/Russian/Australian embassy for a few months already because you have applied for a PHD scholarship and a visa there.
– Or any other story that would fit around your life/career/reason for visiting Lebanon.
Excellent, thank you!
Hallo Andreas,
Thank so much for providing this invaluable resource of discussion and advice.
After spending fruitless searches online I hope you can consult me in this following matter as well: I am a Swedish citizen living together with my Jewish Israeli partner in Israel, and we are planning to start a family there together. Further, as I was raised as a globetrotter and also loved living in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, I wouldn’t want to see my children restricted in their choice of travel or residence in Islamic countries due to their country of birth being noted with ‘ISR’ in their Swedish passports.
Currently I am even considering giving birth outside of Israel for this very reason, which would naturally be a great inconvenience.
Do you think my concerns are realistic?
Would I also have to carefully consider if to give a Hebrew-sounding surname?
Thank you very much!
Regardless of passports and current political situation, it would be way better for your kids to be born in Sweden (or anywhere in the EU, for the matter) and have a Swedish surname. You never know what headaches this might spare them in 20 or 50 years from now, so better go with the safest choice.
That’s basically a question for my assessment of whether anti-Israeli policies by some Islamic countries will still be around when your children will be old enough to travel.
Thinking back what the world was like 20 years from now, I would be cautious about predicting what it will be like in 20 years from now. But anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism seem to be persistent forces, so I think your worries are not unfounded. While a Swedish passport will be scrutinized less thoroughly when traveling to Saudi Arabia or Iran, the “Israel” as place of birth might, if spotted, lead to complications.
I would be less concerned about the surname. While there are names that are more typical for one religion, there are always people of another or no religion who share that surname. Also, many people get it wrong. With my surname (Moser), I still get asked if it’s a Jewish or an Arab name when I travel in the Middle East, when it’s clearly an Austrian/German name and nothing else.
Lastly, the best option of course is not to have any children at all. They will just cause trouble either way. :-)
The surname is more about avoiding possible anti-semitism. It’d not be so uncommon for a surname to get in the way of a job interview and stuff like that – mostly in Europe. But yeah, birthplace is way more relevant for traveling.
Thanks so much for both your input!
After considering further I’m now thinking it may also be an option to simply choose a place for the birth which isn’t well known outside Israel, meaning not Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa etc, but a smaller town with a name that wouldn’t be recognised by immigration authorities (the Swedish passport can omit the birth country name!).
Children would also be carrying my (non-Israeli) surname in addition to the Israeli name, which would help too.
Fingers crossed ;-)
Modiin could sound Swedish to foreign ears, for example. :-)
Great Blog,
I hope you can help me clarify the entry and exit rules ! If I enter though Jordan by way of the Bridge, can I leave from BenGurion Airport, or do I have to leave by the way which I entered?
You are free to exit Israel through any border you want, regardless of the border you entered.
Your not mentioning the fact that U.S. BORN AMERICAN CITIZENS LIKE ME CAN NOT EMTER ISRAEL AT ALL. I am American born and Raised but I also lived in the West Bank Side of Palestine/Israel for 4 Years and since I did I had to get a Palestinian Citizenship because if you stay longer then 3 Month in Israel/Palestine they will NEVER LET YOU BACK IN EVER. Now since I have a Palestinian passport the fact that I am American and Live in the U.S. Every year I come back to visit Palestine they without question let me in but ONLY TO THE WEST BANK. I AM NOT ALLOWED TO VISIT Or go anywhere near Jerusalem or anywhere on the Israeli Side. Pretty much My U.S. PASSPRT IS USLESS AS THE ISRAELIS TOLD ME WHEN I TRY TO CROSS. I am not even allowed to ENTER THE ISRAEL AIRPORT(Ben Gurion) I Have to go through Jorden airport then CROSS THE ALLENBY BRIDGE JUST TO GET IN! Now coming from California it TAKES ME ROUGHLY 2-3 DAYS OF TRAVELING TO FINALLY GET TO THE WEST BANK AND AFTER THAT I AM FORBIDDEN FROM LEAVING THE WEST BANK UNLESS ITS BACK TO THE JORDEN AIRPORT THROUGH THE ALLENBY BRIDGE AGAIN. And I’m on,y mentioning the HALF OF THE HELL I HAVE TO GO THRU ON A DAILY BASIS ONLY FROM THE ISRAEL SIDE. I get mistreated intentionally delayed I get STUCK IN A BUS AT TIMES FOR OVER 4 HPURS WHILE TRYING TO CROSS THE ALLENBY BRIDGE BECAUSE IM FORCED TO CROSS WITH THE PALESTINIANS NOT THE AMERICANS who get the good treatment. Imagine getting stuck in a BUS WITH NO A/C NO WATER NO BATHROOM FOR OVER 4 HPURS IN 100 DEGREE WEATHER! JUST BECAUSE ISRAEL FEELS LIKE TAKING A 4 HOUR LUNCH OR GET SENT BACK BECAUSE THEY FEEL LIKE CLOSING EARLY ALL A SUDDEN. It’s BS and its Damn right INHUMANE! You gotta see it to understand the Hell Tgey put me through. You would think as an American you’d be able to go to Israel to go to the Sites and Jerusalem Haifa Tel-Aviv all these beautiful places BUT NO! Stuck only in the West Bank. Oh and BY THE WAY THEY INTERROGATE THE HELL OUT OF YOU FOR HOURS IF THEY FEEL LIKE IT, SO CMON TELL THE TRUTH. IM HERE NOW AND IM GOING THROUGH IT.
I’ve been to Israel many times and it is definitely not “the most interesting and fascinating country in the world”. In fact, if there was a list of such countries somewhere, I’m pretty sure every one of Israel’s neighbors would rank higher on that list (I’ve been to all but Lebanon). Israel is overpriced, the people can be somewhat aggressive and rude, and the hours of interrogation travelers are often subjected to on arrival range from tedious to semi-traumatic–for many people it’s simply not worth the hassle. Once you’re in, it’s more or less a 2nd-rate clone of a southern European state like Portugal or Greece but less culturally authentic and with less to do. Israel, like other settler colonial societies such as the US or Australia, is very artificial in many ways, often taking the customs of the native people and presenting them as their own (hummus, keffiyas, dabke). Unlike the US or Australia, Israel is still actively colonizing land and maintains policies of separation and denial of rights to the native people (the Palestinians) that would be considered scandalous if practiced in the West. So, there are serious ethical issues that one should reflect on before traveling there; not to mention the somewhat icky nationalistic chauvinism and right-wing politics common among the people. But if you like kitschy tourism with lots of disney-fied locations where bible stories supposedly happened 2,000 years ago, forest hikes past Palestinian villages depopulated and destroyed in the ’40s that your guide will tell you are ancient ruins (from King David’s time maybe), and hedonistic beachfront partying interchangeable with pretty much any beachfront tourist city in the world, then Israel is the place for you. Otherwise, just go to Turkey. They have some ethical issues there too with their treatment of the Kurds but it’s bigger and more interesting, has all the same benefits but much cheaper, and at least the Kurds can vote in Turkish elections (unlike the millions of Palestinians under Israel occupation for almost 50 years).
If Palestinians couldn’t vote in Israel, I wonder how a Palestinian party became the third-largest party in the Israeli parliament in the 2015 elections.
Palestinians who are citizens of Israel ( living in Israel as defined by borders before 1967 ) have all the civil rights and vote for the Israel Parlament ( The Knesset). The Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories are not considered to be citizens of Israel , don’t have civil rights and don’t vote for the Knesset.
I have this upcoming trip US-Dubai to attend Congress- Jordan (stop-over) – Israel – Jordan (tour) – Israel (tour) – US. Will I have passport issues. Also thinking of going to Egypt from Israel before flying back to US. Should I get passport stamps in Israel?
No problems at all. The border between Israel and Jordan and Israel and Egypt is open in both directions and there are no issues for foreign travelers whatsoever.
i am working in israyel i want to go to qatar can i
Hello.
I would like to visit both Israel and Iran as a tourist.
As I understood from the blog, it is more conveniet to visit Iran first and then Israel rather than the other way around?
In other words, if I get my passport stamped with Iranian visa (planning to stay for no more than a week or two) I would not have any problems when entering Israel thereafter with that same passport?
If you don’t have enough time to get a new passport then yeah, you can do it. Based on my personal experience I’d avoid it though – I didn’t have problems getting in, but I was questioned by police repeatedly and for several hours each time. Not such great fun…
1) You will have no problem entering Israel with Iranian stamps. I did that myself several times.
2) But you needn’t worry about Israeli stamps anymore. Israel now gives the visa on a separate piece of paper.
I am a Indian (Christian) and working in Saudi Arabia for past eight years.
I have two questions.
1. Can I visit Israel with my family (family at India) on spiritual tour and How can I?
2. Would I face problem to join back my job at Saudi Arabia after my spiritual tour from Israel.
Hello, Andres! I stumbled upon your blog while looking for answers for my itinerary planning. I’ve read most of the comments and your replies as well, but I just want to make sure I understood everything correctly and that I will not be leaving my country unprepared.
I’m from the Philippines and am planning to go to Israel to spend the Christmas holidays with my mother. From Jerusalem, we intend on crossing over to Jordan to visit Petra. Is it true that I must come with a group of at least 5 people to be given a Jordanian visa? I do not wish to apply for a pre-entry visa to Jordan as there is no Embassy in our country, and sending it to the nearest consulate in Tokyo would take long. The next problem I see is that my mother really wants to go visit Dubai after we exit Jordan, and before we go back to the Philippines. I understand from other comments and your replies that having a stamp from Aqaba or whichever border we decide to enter would be indicative of entry from Israel. Since we have just recently been issued new passports, there’s no way the immigration officer in Dubai will miss the only stamp on the otherwise virgin passport. Should we just forget about Dubai for now, and save it for another time? Or is it possible to ask for a different stamp? I’ve also read one blog entry wherein the blogger stated that although he had had an Israel stamp on his passport, he was merely asked by the Dubai immigration officer about his stay, and even had his entry stamp placed beside it. My mother specifically wishes to be in Bethlehem by Christmas day, and in Dubai by New Year’s, so I don’t think we could have Israel last on our itinerary if we leave only a few days before Christmas.
It’s not always we get to go out of the country for vacation, and is why my mother wishes to make the most out of the trip. I earnestly ask for your help and suggestions, and I thank you in advance!
Ah, is it possible to not receive an entry stamp from Allenby Bridge or any border crossing other than Aqaba, or have it on a separete piece of paper instead? Will this be a problem if I enter Dubai and they see that I only have a Jordanian exit stamp, but no Jordanian visa (sorry; not sure if I’ll be given one or just have a stamp when I cross borders from Israel)? Thank you!
But they keep that electronically So would I have a problem even if I changed my passport
Hi,I worked in Israel for 9 years and decided to go home in Philippines year 2011.Now I’m working in UAE for a almost 5 yrs.till present.I want to go to Jordan as tourist.Is there a possible to enter again to Israel as tourist although I have an UAE residents visa?
Yes, that’s no problem.
Is this information still up to date? :) I know that it might be the same info, but still.. it’s been almost 4 years…
But I have updated the article in the meantime. :-)
Oh really? Then my apologies and huge Thank You from me!!! ;)
No need to apologize!
Have a great trip!
I want To visit France after i visit Israël. Is that possible ?
No problem of course :)
Of course it’s possible! Tens of thousands of people do that every year.
dear sir, i am Indian passport holder , i am making plane to visit Israel to Europe can i travel ? i want to first travel to Jerusalem & then Spain Andorra Portugal Gibraltar , vinay_malhotra86@yahoo.com please send me detail . its very urgent . thank you & best regards
Of course, that’s not a problem at all.
But it sounds like you haven’t read the article above, which would answer your questions.
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Hi Andreas,
Thank you for the detailed article. I’m currently communicating with key2perisa an Iranian travel company. I visited Israel in 2011 as a tourist and got a stamp in my passport. Key2persia have told me that since the stamp is over 6 months old I won’t have any problem with this.
Have you heard any reports confirming this. Most of the info I read online just states that if you have an Israeli visa stamp you will not be allowed in to Iran.
Kind regards,
Alistair
I have never heard this before.
You are safer to just get a new passport. It will cost you less than the problems you might have in Iran or the financial loss if you won’t be allowed to enter the country and you will have paid for the trip in vain.
Enjoy Iran, it’s a fascinating country, too!
Andreas, I went to Israel, Egypt and Turkey last december. Currently, I’m planning to go climbing in the north of Pakistan. I had an Israeli tourist visa sticked on my Venezuelan passport. Would that be a problem? Also, traveling into Europe will cause any trouble at the checking points for having a Pakistan stamp on my passport?
1) I don’t have any experience with Pakistan, so I hope someone else will be able to answer that.
2) But I think it’s a great mountaineering destination, much under-appreciated in the rest of the world (like Iran). I wish you great climbing!
3) But I can say for sure that you won’t have any problems traveling in Europe. Maybe someone will ask you at the airport, but just tell them that you are a mountaineer and that they should check a topographical map of Pakistan.
Hello Andreas,
Your article sure is an eye-opener. I’m Indian and I’m 21, someone who’s obsessed with food, tech and agriculture and Israel seems to be the best option.
Just wanted to make sure if the rule of the “Paper-Visa” is still in effect?
Thanks in Advance!
Yes.
I think you will enjoy Israel.
Andreas i returned from Israel and had a blast! I look forward to future trips there and this blog post was one of the deciding factors in just going for it! Thanks!
Thank you very much! I am really happy that you enjoyed it and found Israel an interesting country.
I should post more of my photos and travel stories from Israel to entice more people to explore that fascinating country.
Hi Andreas, for the past few days I have been obsessing over this post of yours.
I was in Israel/Jordan the past weekend and I have a ticket for Iran next week. I have an israeli exit stamp (land crossing) and two Jordanian stamps. One of the Jordanian stamps are stamped directly above the Israeli exit stamp but if looked at closely, is obviously meant to cover up the Israeli exit one.
I am certain I can get to Tehran (will not be stopped by airline) because my passport allows for VOA. I live in Europe but originate from Asia.
I do not have time to get a second passport (it’s literally next week).
Please advise if I should take the risk?
The worst thing that will happen is that you won’t get a visa at Tehran airport and will have to fly back. But at least you’ll have spent a few hours at the airport.
So the risk is limited to the flight of a return ticket or an onward ticket to another country nearby where you would then holiday instead.
Thanks Andreas! :)
Hi
I am in a similar situation now. How did it work out? Could you enter Iran?
Thanks for your reply.
I am flying from US to Israel to visit my relatives. While I am staying in Israel I would like to visit a friend in Lebanon for three days.
-Will I have a problem entering Lebanon from Israel and then in three days going back to Israel from Lebanon?
-What’s the best way to do this?
Hey Tatyana, is that a serious question?
The border between Israel and Lebanon is closed.
You would need to fly via Cyprus or Turkey (usually the cheapest options) or any other third country.
My name is shibi.I am indaian.. I like go to Israel care giver job..I attend the interview in Mumbai. But I am failed the interview.. I am not fluent in English.that my rejected reason.my question is can I reapply Israel care giver visa porossing..
I am sorry, I can’t help with that. This article is only about tourist visas.
Hi
Would be a problem for US citizen born in Iran to travel for business to Israel with US passport ?Thanks everyone
No problem. You may get a few more questions at the border control, but I know many people born in Iran with US, Canadian or EU passports who have traveled to Israel.
Andreas
Thanks for feedback, :)
Hi, Andreas,
My passport doesnt feature a SURNAME . It is blank . Since i am planning to go Israel in about 3 months time, so how can i fill visa form so that i can get same name in my passport. and is any problem while booking tickets. Please give me valuable suggestion. Thanks
How do you do that when you book tickets for other places?
Hi Andreas,
Got 2 Israeli stamps in my UK passport. Want to go on Overlander trip to Sierra Leone (muslim population), Liberia, Guinea (mus pop), Ivory Coast and Ghana. The tour company says get a new passport if I have Israel stamps. I think they are being over cautious and are mainly concerned about their other trips to Mauritania, Western Sahara and Senegal.
Surely I wont have a problem with visa application and entry for Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Ghana? I cannot find any information anywhere (including embassy websites) suggesting any potential problems.
Thanks in advance.
Hello Andrew,
I never heard/read about anyone have any problem with Israeli stamps in any of the countries you are traveling to. In fact, I know people who went to some of these countries with Israeli passports even.
Hello Andreas,
Thanks for your reply. I’ve contacted the embassies of the countries concerned in London. All have said there is no problem or there shouldn’t be a problem. That said, I’ve informed my tour company of my decision to press on regardless of the Israel stamps. They said I’ll probably be okay. Also informing me that they’d only ever ONCE known anyone to have a problem in West Africa with an Israel stamp. So, it looks like I’m going to go ahead with the trip. I will update you either way upon my safe return. Fingers crossed.
Have a great trip!
Hi Andreas, your article gave me more confidence to travel Israel from any Arab countries. This has been my burden since I came here in Saudi for work. I wonder if I can still enter Israel since my passport has been stamped by Saudi for my working visa. I’d really wanted to travel Israel since then. I’ve heard about the piece of paper Israeli’s immigration can give you if you wish to visit Israel. You just proved it all:-) I am a Philippines passport holder and planning to visit Israel via Jordan the next year 2017. Since I am currently working in Saudi, my worries are about the visa stamping. Your article made me feel more excited to travel Israel so soon. Thanks for a thorough information. God bless!
Hi Andreas,
How about countries like Malaysia and Indonesia? These both countries included to my travel plans before heading off to Philippines.. Got my Israel stamp when I crossed the Jordan border.
Let me know please as I want to do the trip this December.. Thank you and appreciated!
Hi Andreas,
I am Indian and having Turkey work permit, and looking for biz trip to Israel. Will there be any problem while applying Schengen visa ?
Regards/ Mangesh
No, of course not.
I am indain citizen and working in Israel .if any problem to visit dubai for few days via am going to India ..any problem to came back to isreal
I don’t think so.
Hello Andreas,
Thank you for your great advice. According to everything I have read here, it doesn’t look like it will be an issue for me to enter Israel with my current passport. Never the less, a small confirmation would reassure me. I have a French passport stamped with visas from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Dubai, turkey and almost all countries in North Africa. Do you still think that I will be able to enter Israel without too much hassle? I am going in 3 weeks. Thanks a lot!
A small donation would motivate me to provide a small confirmation.
You won’t have any trouble getting the tourist visa with your passport at airport or land border, but be prepared to answer a number of stupid questions for each of the stamps you mentioned (What did you do there? Where did you stay? Did you talk to any locals? TELL US THEIR NAMES!). Seeing that you are French, in case your name sounds North African you can expect extra time with airport security when you exit the country (nothing to worry about, just budget extra time for it and arrive early at Ben Gurion).
Enjoy your holidays!
Hey there Andreas:
Without going through all prior comments; I would like to find out if it would be possible for me to transit in Saudi(Israel will be a side trip from a neighboring country) without having any Israeli stamps on my passport, since that’s the only flight that matches my schedule.
If you enter Israel by air, you won’t have any stamps. If you enter via land, you’ll have stamps from land crossings which give away your stay in Israel.
Visitors to Saudi-Arabia with signs of previous stays in Israel have had different experiences.
My name is Shibi from India .1 yr before I attend Israel care giver interview .unfortunately I am rejected .after iinterview Mumbai Israel concilet put a black seal in my passport page .Now agencies told this stamp is problem in my again start process. Is it true..can I again start same process.can I go to work for israel
I have no idea.
I do not work for the Israeli MFA, I am just a traveler with experience in traveling most countries in the Middle East. This page is meant for tourists, not people who wish to live and work in Israel
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Hello Andreas,
Thank you for your advice on this page, and for maintaining it for quite a few years for us more nervous travelers. I tried to locate an answer to my question, but didn’t find it.
I am Swedish and would like to go to Tel Aviv, then Beirut. I do not currently have two passports. Judging from your posts, I should either:
1) risk the Lebanese part of the journey and ask for no stamp in Israel, hoping they allow this, and have a good answer for where I was prior to entering Lebanon (which shouldn’t include Israel) or
2) get two Swedish passports, bring both on my journey and use one to get into and out of Israel to a neighboring country (say, Jordan), and one for going from that neighbouring country into Lebanon.
Did I miss anything?
Best wishes,
Anna
The problem with the second solution is that your passport will show an entry stamp from a Jordanian land border with Israel, unless you take a flight from Tel Aviv to Amman.
Unless you can put Israel at the end of your itinerary, it’s better to stick to airports. If you fly to Tel Aviv from anywhere and then leave Tel Aviv on a flight to, let’s say, Istanbul and then fly from Istanbul to Beirut, you won’t have any problems. Your passport won’t show any signs of your stay in Israel and if anyone asks (which I doubt they will), you can say that you flew from Stockholm to Istanbul. Nobody knows that your trip started earlier.
I wish you a wonderful trip to a very interesting part of the world! (I have only been to Lebanon and Jordan briefly, respectively, and I’d like to return to both countries for longer.)
Hello Andreas,
since a few years Israel is no longer stamping foreign passports anymore. Anna A will not have to get a second passport. Even if she will travel to Jordan and cross the landborder, Jordan will not Stamp the passport.
Not sure if it changed recently, but two years ago I got it stamped both when exiting Israel to Jordan (Eilat / Aqaba) and viceversa, on both posts.
Alessio, i am going to travel to Israel tomorrow and i will tell you, if it has changed.
Thanks for such valuable info, Iam a muslim from India and a solo traveller and have been longing to go to Israel, but just because of the visa stamping fear I was unable to plan my trip.
Alhijaz Tours is all set to provide you quality within your budget and purpose of organizing these low cost hajj packages is only so you can live your dream journey without any trouble.
Do you offer the Hajj for non-Muslims?
Hi Andreas, thank you for all information!
I have a little situation here because I went to Egypt this year (flew in/out from Cairo) but I just noticed that my ink of the exit stamp wore off :( You can see a photo of it that I took here:
http://monosnap.com/image/2NwMFan6yTwVw8itClEgaSl4H6XTIy
My question is, the chance of being rejected an entry in Iran is high? I can always explain to them what happened and even bring the receipt of the tickets that I bought to/from cairo. My fear is that they think that for some reason the missing ink is from Taba or something… Is this a legitimate concern and I should be really worried of is this kinda ok?
Thank you !
Luís
I think you should be fine, particularly if you have the flight ticket from Cairo to another country.
Generally, Iran seems to be one of the more relaxed countries (despite officially banning any visits to Israel). I have been to Iran twice and although I had no stamps in my passport, I didn’t hide my Israel photos on Facebook or on my blog, and I had no problems. I even openly talked about my visits to Israel to everyone in Iran and nothing happened. People were just curious.
Thank you for your help Andreas!
Have a great trip! Iran was one of the most interesting countries I have been to. You can read some of my stories by clicking on “Iran” in the categories cloud on the right hand side.
Will explain you exactly where the problem lies within these Visa
What about a US passport holder whose place of birth is Israel? Will he be denied entry to the Gulf countries (Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Oman)?
You have to hope that you were born in a little town, the name of which nobody associates with Israel. 😉
The place of birth simply says Israel. No town.
Iran – risk or not? hi there i only just found your blog thanks to the passport stamp issue.. i have dreamt of Iran for years and plan to go there on my Polish passport (provided Pl government does not piss iran enough till then 😉. BUT in 2 weeks i may spend 12 hours in Isreal as our trip to Jordan got rerouted and friend suiggested flying to Israel then crossing border – i will do this on my British passport. Still i am paranoid 😀 that Iran will find out that I am British or that I have dared to visit Israel (less than 12 months before visiting Israel) and they will not let me in.. what do you think? i have dreamt if Iran for years so now feel like i may have to cancel spontaneous trip to Jordan (due to Israeli border) any advice much appreciated! thank you
If you use two different passports, you will have no problem at all. I used to do the same when I had two German passports. Iran has no way of finding out where you have been, unless you publicize it yourself. But in my case, they never checked that.
With the Polish passport you should be welcome to Iran. There was once a large group of Polish refugees in Iran and there is still a Polish cemetery in Tehran.
Oh thank you i am so paranoid & scared… Pl government at the very moment now has some issues w Iran as they have to mess around (morons!) but i hope it ll clear out..
i am stil tiny bit paranoid & scared a bit (i wd be in Israel for 12-15 hours on the way to Jordan ,& on uk passport only) but feel much better thx to you 🙂
i worry i accidentally slip on ig or fb about passing through Israel (you know when you worry av yrself doing something?:) but hope all would be ok – THANK YOU AGAIN!
I understand the worries, but you should really be fine. I had been to Israel more than 10 times before going to Iran and there were photos of me in Israel all over the internet. Yet, nobody bothered.
Even when I was interrogated by the Iranian Intelligence Service (this happened in prison, not at the border, so it won’t happen to you), they asked me if I had been to Israel, and I thought there is no point in lying. When I admitted that I had been to Israel, nothing happened and they didn’t even ask about any details.
oh wow thank you! sorry you had to go to prison! thank you for sharing! The embassy told me i shd in theory wait 12 months but also admitted « no one will ask me for my 2nd passport so.. » Thank you again!
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