Entering Israel with Passport Stamps | Israel - Lonely Planet Forum

ONLINE

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:13:43 +0000

Hello,

I'm an American citizen and have travelled quite a bit in the middle east, mostly just vacation. I have passport stamps from a number of muslim countries including Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, and I also have plans to go to Syria in the future. I'd like to go to Israel after that, and I believe that theoretically I should still be allowed in since I went to these places mostly for vacation. Has anyone ever tried something like this and how does it go? Will I get 8 hours of questioning and then turned away? Or do I just have to be upfront and will get through in due course?

Thanks.
Justin

ONLINE

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:36:24 +0000

Just answer all questions truthfully, no matter how silly, irrelevant or repetitive they seem. If you were in those countries purely for tourism and not attending a Hizbullah training camp (!) you will be let in.

To get an idea of what to expect, see this thread.

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ONLINE

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:30:43 +0000

It's really not an issue at all. You have a 99% chance of being let in within 20 minutes. Occasionally they keep somebody around to answer more questions, but I've never heard of a legitimate tourist being denied entry. Tens of thousands of people do this every year.

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ONLINE

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:15:55 +0000

I was worried about this as well as you honestly could not get a more questionable set of stamps in a passport than what I have. I have everything from Somalia to Syria to Sudan to Afghanistan... However, the Israelis just asked me a few questions and then spent 20 minutes or so carefully taking down my details before allowing me in. So, don't worry much about this issue.

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