As of January 2025, Israel is introducing a new Electronic Travel Authorization system ETA-IL. With the new system, all visa-exempt nationals, including Estonian citizens, will be required to obtain ETA-IL approval before they start their journey to Israel.
All foreign nationals who are currently eligible to travel to Israel without a visa for short-term visits as tourism, business and other similar purposes will need to obtain approval from the ETA-IL system prior to traveling to Israel. The system will be launched in January 2025 and will cost NIS 25. The approval will remain valid for up to 2 years, or until the expiry of passport. In other words, as long as an ETA-IL authorization has been received, the foreign national does not have to reapply even when visiting Israel several times in 2 years period. However, if a foreign national obtains a new passport or change your name, gender or country of citizenship, they will be required to apply for a new travel authorization.
ETA-IL authorization will become mandatory as of January 2025. The ETA-IL authorisation is a new security measure and does not affect any other rules applying for visa-exampt nationals. Estonian citizens will be able to travel to Israel visa-free and stay for up to 90 days in 180 days period as before.
The purpose of ETA-IL system is to add an additional security measure regarding visa-exampt nationals entering Israel. The system will enable Israel border control to identify intended travel purpose (tourism, business, work etc) more effectively. More information could be found here: https://israel-entry.piba.gov.il/learn-about/
