Teudat zehut, Bituach Leumi and your first month in Israel: the paperwork in the right order

In Israel your nine-digit ID number is the key to almost everything: the bank, the doctor, the council and the phone company all ask for it first. Get it, get registered, and the rest falls into place.

The short version

• Residents carry a teudat zehut, an ID card issued by the Ministry of Interior's Population and Immigration Authority [5]. New citizens get a temporary one at the airport, valid for three months [1].
• Every resident aged 18 or over must be insured with Bituach Leumi (the National Insurance Institute) and join a health fund (kupat holim) [2].
• B/1 work visa holders don't get an ID card or public healthcare; their employer reports them and must buy private health insurance [6].
• Open an Israeli bank account early: money, benefits and bills all need one [3].
• You'll need an Israeli mobile number for almost every appointment, because confirmations arrive by text [1].

Who gets what

What your first month looks like depends on how you arrived.

B/1 holders have no Israeli ID number, so if you ever need to claim from Bituach Leumi, you first apply online for a Bituach Leumi identification number [6].

Step 1: the teudat zehut

If you've made aliyah, you'll leave Ben Gurion with a temporary teudat zehut and a "sefach", an addendum listing your Israeli address and your family's ID numbers [1]. It lasts three months, so book the biometric replacement soon, as appointments go quickly [1].

• Where: any Population and Immigration Authority office, by appointment through govisit.gov.il, which has an English option [1].
• Who: a separate appointment for each person over 16 [1].
• What to bring: your ID number and temporary card, a valid passport, your birth certificate with an apostille, originals and copies, and two passport photos each [1].
• Cost: the first biometric card is free [1].

Bring a UK birth certificate legalised by the FCDO before you leave. Getting an apostille from Tel Aviv means posting documents back to Blighty, which takes longer than you'd like.

Step 2: the bank account

Nefesh B'Nefesh lists the main high-street banks as Discount, First International, Hapoalim, Leumi and Mizrahi-Tefahot, and suggests picking a branch near home or work because you'll be in and out a lot in the first months [3]. Bring:

• your teudat zehut and, for new citizens, the teudat oleh (if you don't yet have the ID card, the teudat oleh is usually enough) [3]
• your passport
• the "note of future bank account" from the airport, if you made aliyah [1]
• your foreign tax number: for Brits that's normally your National Insurance number or your Self Assessment UTR
• some cash or a cheque, because a small first deposit activates the account [3]

You'll sign forms about where you pay tax and where the money came from [3]. Turn up at least an hour before the branch shuts. Keep your UK account open alongside: our guide to keeping a UK bank account explains why that matters.

Step 3: Bituach Leumi

Bituach Leumi is Israel's version of National Insurance and the Department for Work and Pensions rolled into one. All residents aged 18 or over must be covered and pay two contributions: general national insurance and a health insurance contribution [2]. What you pay depends on your work status: employed, self-employed or not working, and late payment brings fines and interest [2].

Residence for Bituach Leumi isn't about your passport. It asks whether your life is centred in Israel: your permanent home, your family, where the children go to school and where you work [2]. That's why even a student can count as a resident [2].

New citizens without income get up to six months of free basic health insurance from Bituach Leumi [4]. Returning residents fill in form 628 and can face a wait of up to six months for health services, which a special payment can shorten [2].

Set up an online personal account; the phone line is *6050 [2]. And remember the rule that catches Brits out on long summer visits home: tell Bituach Leumi before any trip abroad of a month or more, and keep paying contributions while you're away, or you can lose your health cover for several months [2].

Step 4: the health fund

Each insured resident must belong to one health fund [2], and there are four: Clalit, Maccabi, Meuhedet and Leumit. New citizens are signed up at the airport and finish registering at the fund's branch five to seven days later, with no appointment [1]. Supplementary insurance costs extra but, if you join within 90 days of aliyah, the usual waiting periods are waived [1]. Our guide to choosing a kupat holim compares them.

The NHS won't cover you once you've moved, and the UK's only health agreement with Israel covers industrial accidents [5].

Step 5: the council, the phone and the rest

Arnona. Israel's council tax is billed to the occupier. Register with Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality when you take on a flat. New citizens get a discount on up to 100 m² for any 12 months within their first 24, and it isn't backdated, so apply as soon as you have a 12-month lease [1].

A mobile number. Get an Israeli SIM in week one. Government appointment systems and the banks send codes by text [1]. Keep your UK number too if you can: see keeping a UK mobile and address.

The Ministry of Aliyah and Integration. New citizens book one appointment per family (*2994) to arrange the rest of the absorption basket and register for ulpan [1].

Safety numbers. Save 104, the Home Front Command information line, and find the protected room or nearest shelter in your building. The FCDO travel advice tells everyone in Israel to follow Home Front Command instructions; when we checked on 7 November 2026 it was still current at 7 November 2026 and last updated on 27 October 2026 [8].

Your first-month checklist

1. Week one: Israeli SIM, bank account, and the shelter or protected room in your building.
2. Week one to two: health fund branch visit and Ministry of Aliyah and Integration appointment (new citizens).
3. Within three months: biometric teudat zehut (new citizens) [1].
4. As soon as you sign a lease: arnona registration and any discount.
5. Before your first trip home: tell Bituach Leumi if you'll be away a month or more [2].

And back in the UK

Send HMRC form P85 and read up on split-year treatment. Keep a UK address for post if you can, and update the DVLA, your bank and your pension providers. If something goes badly wrong, such as an arrest or a crisis, contact the British Embassy in Tel Aviv [5].

The queues at the ministry are more bearable with company, and our community group for Brits in Israel is where people share which branches have the shortest waits.

Sources

1. Nefesh B'Nefesh: Your first steps after making aliyah (last updated 24 August 2026)
2. Nefesh B'Nefesh: Bituach Leumi (last modified 9 May 2026)
3. Nefesh B'Nefesh: Opening a bank account in Israel (last modified 14 May 2026)
4. Nefesh B'Nefesh: Aliyah rights and benefits (last updated 25 March 2026)
5. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in Israel and Palestine (last updated 14 November 2024)
6. Israeli Association for International Couples: Why am I paying National Insurance on a B1 visa? (last modified 14 May 2025)
7. Israeli Association for International Couples: Partner visa in Israel – overview (last modified 21 February 2025)
8. GOV.UK (FCDO): Israel travel advice (still current at 7 November 2026, updated 27 October 2026)

Keep reading

• Kupat holim: choosing a health fund in Israel
• Banking in Israel as a Brit
• Aliyah for British Jews: the Law of Return and the first year
• Moving abroad checklist for Brits