TLV: Minimum passport advice

Old Apr 30, 2019, 9:34 am
  #1  
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TLV: Minimum passport advice

I would appreciate some advice on minimum passport validity required to travel to TLV (with BA) in the coming two weeks as my passport renewal has, despite my best efforts, got lost in a cloud of bureaucracy. I will be using my existing eligible EU passport for tourist visa on arrival but it will have 5 months validity only.

There are certain resources online which indicate a 6 month minimum for Israel (including gov.uk) but I cant see any official Israeli source of this info. The BA website for passport requirements directs you to the IATA travel eligibility website - when I input the destination, arrival / departure dates and passport expiry date, that gives me a green light to travel. Calling BA I got through to an Indian call centre who said they cant advise. A lot of conflicting info....

I ask my fellow FTers, does anyone have deeper insight or practical knowledge?

Many thanks in advance.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 10:06 am
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Which EU passport?

For example TIMATIC (via ExpertFlyer) says a German passport only has to be valid for the period of intended stay to enter Israel:
Information as of 30APR19 / 1604 UTC
National Germany (DE) /Residence United Kingdom (GB)
Embarkation United Kingdom (GB) /Destination Israel (IL)
Israel (IL)

Passport required.
- Passports and other documents accepted for entry must be
valid for the period of intended stay.
Mind you it says the same for a UK passport.

I think gov.uk is talking crap.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 10:09 am
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To be certain, use this link for IATA's TIMATIC database and complete the form carefully. By way of example, you state that you will be entering Israel on an EU passport, but you do not state which EU member state. That may make a difference. When you check in, this is what the staff will use to determine whether to permit you to board. Thus, best to stick to this. What the UK has to say about what another country will do is irrelevant and what a BA phone agent has to say will not matter if TIMATIC provides otherwise.

https://www.united.com/web/en-US/app...aspx?i=TIMATIC
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 10:10 am
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Yes, it's one of those questions with 784 potential main answers, and a couple of hundred minor answers. In the absence of specifics, Timatic is the tool used by BA - which is IATA backed so may be the tool used by the OP already. This United Airlines front end could be used as a double check:

https://www.united.com/web/en-us/app...aspx?i=TIMATIC
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 1:45 pm
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https://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ConsularServi...ges/Visas.aspx

tourist visa (B2) requires 6 month validity beyond your stay.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 3:29 pm
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Thank you all for your replies. As usual, FT member knowledge is on point and I have learned another new useful tool in Timatic.

To answer your questions, I will travel on an Irish passport, with the trip in mid May vs a passport expiry date of late October, so just over 5 months. The website I referenced in my original post was indeed this IATA Timatic database, which is linked via BA's website here (under international flights): https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...-visas-and-api . I have tried it again, as well as the nicer UA interface and both give me a resounding good to travel.

bluemoon68 - Thanks for the link, it is the closest I got to an official answer so far. To clarify, as an Irish passport holder I do not need a visa so I don't think the 6 month validity under B2 Visa applies to me. The link further up the same page shows the list of countries that are exempt for 90 day visits (which is my situation) and includes Ireland.

Many thanks again for taking the time to reply and please do shout if you think I missed something, otherwise I can breath a sigh of relief and enjoy the Eurovision!
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 4:07 pm
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Another link from the same website:

https://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ConsularServi...FAQ.aspx#blank

My passport expires in two months. Can I travel to Israel?"I would like to visit Israel in the near future. My passport will expire in two months. Will I encounter problems when entering Israel?"

In general, the travel document presented to border control personnel upon entry must be valid for at least six months,
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 4:16 pm
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It is my understanding that the information in TIMATIC is supplied from government agencies. So the Israeli government say one thing on their website and supply other information to the TIMATIC information aggregator.

That is Not Helpful.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 5:28 pm
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Originally Posted by 27Liam
Thank you all for your replies. As usual, FT member knowledge is on point and I have learned another new useful tool in Timatic.

To answer your questions, I will travel on an Irish passport, with the trip in mid May vs a passport expiry date of late October, so just over 5 months. The website I referenced in my original post was indeed this IATA Timatic database, which is linked via BA's website here (under international flights): https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...-visas-and-api . I have tried it again, as well as the nicer UA interface and both give me a resounding good to travel.

bluemoon68 - Thanks for the link, it is the closest I got to an official answer so far. To clarify, as an Irish passport holder I do not need a visa so I don't think the 6 month validity under B2 Visa applies to me. The link further up the same page shows the list of countries that are exempt for 90 day visits (which is my situation) and includes Ireland.

Many thanks again for taking the time to reply and please do shout if you think I missed something, otherwise I can breath a sigh of relief and enjoy the Eurovision!
I will be working there for television and radio but have a brand new Irish passport due to my recent visit to Dubai!
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 7:11 pm
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Israel really doesn't care about visits to the UAE. And they no longer stamp your passport so leave no evidence of a visit there either. So no need for careful passport management any more.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 11:45 pm
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When I was due to travel, I only had 5 months left and so applied for a new passport as the rules weren't clear to me. Entry was fine, but when leaving TLV they found it odd that my passport was brand new and I got questioned and the joy of addition screening.

This added 2 hours to the time it took me to clear security.
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Old May 1, 2019, 7:29 am
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You need 6 months on your passport. That is 6 months beyond your departure date. Immigration * may* allow you to enter, but they would be within their right to turn you away. Your airline maybalso deny you boarding. The quote in # 5 is correct!

Also, you do not need to get a VISA in advance. BUT, upon entry you are given a B2 Blue Visa on a separate piece of paper. ( dont lose it!)

If you do a google search, you can see a picture.
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