Dual Citizenship, Israel and Arab Countries
Replies: 4 - Last Post: Oct 15, 2012 1:43 PM Last Post By: Shuffaluff
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Dual Citizenship, Israel and Arab Countries
Hi all,I'm a dual citizen of both Israel and a western country, and am planning a trip to Israel and at least one Arab country (Yemen). I have been to Yemen several times before and really love the country; however, what I'm worried about is travelling to Israel afterwards. I would obviously be using my western passport before entering Israel, and would be transferring via somewhere in Africa or the Middle-East. My question though, is the legality of my travel to Arab nations which are designated as "enemy states" under Israeli law.
I have never lived in Israel before, and was told that in order to travel there I will need at minimum a "teudat maavar", a temporary travel document, which is presented to the officers at the airport in addition to my western passport. Now, my country offers a second passport specifically for the Israeli/Arab travel situation. What I'm wondering though, is what could/would happen if the authorities see Yemeni visas in my western passport (if they happen to find the second one)?
Would this all be easily avoided by just relinquishing my Israeli citizenship?
Thanks!
1
Welcome to Thorn Tree.Nobody is denied entry to Israel based solely on where they have been - Yemen, Syria, Iran, you name it. This is not of course a guarantee that one will definitely be allowed to enter, as there could be other factors involved.
But of course most tourists who do that are not dual citizens of Israel and another country. I am in no way an expert on this. The chances of anyone reading this knowing the correct answer to such a specialised question are very remote. This is a travel website, and the vast majority (all?) of people posting here are not qualified to offer legal advice on such a situation. You need to talk to someone at the Israeli consulate in your country.
I know that Israelis with a second (non-Israeli) passport have travelled in enemy countries, but I have no idea of the details or whether it all went smoothly. For what it's worth, see Wikipedia here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_passport
(fourth paragraph under "history").
If you have Israeli nationality you must enter and leave Israel on your Israeli passport. I have no idea whether it's possible to relinquish Israeli citizenship, and if so how one would go about it.
If you are prepared to take a chance on what some random poster here on Thorn Tree tells you, based on what s/he thinks might happen - "oh, no problem, try it anyway, they will never know", and you find yourself in hot water, what will you say? "Someone told me on Thorn Tree it will be OK"?
2
Thanks for the welcome!I realise that this is a travel website, and am not so naive as to believe everything I read/am told on here; however, on the off chance that someone here has been through a similar situation/read something regarding this, it might be useful to read about that experience, or at the very least it would be mildly entertaining.
I've seen the wikipedia before and done a bit of searching on my own, but there seems to be little/no information re: what happens if they DO find out. I will contact the embassy, but I'd still like to hear about experiences/advice from other dual nationals here.
3
You should contact the Jewish Agency in your home country, they may be able to help. Also, check that you were/are exempt from army service as by law all Israelis are required to serve in the army and you normally have to apply for exemption. You should have this all cleared up before you enter Israel to save hastle/
