How to get a visa to Palestine: As an international travelling to Palestine, specifically the West Bank for the first time, you might be concerned about how to get the correct visa to enter Palestine or the West Bank. Many people would like to Study Arabic in Palestine, others would like to volunteer or do an internship in the West Bank for more than 3 months and wonder how to get a visa to stay in Palestine for the duration of a year or so. For those who are interested to know how to apply for a visa to enter Palestine, this article might be for you.
We will explain the process in this article, provide the necessary information and answer some frequently asked questions about getting a visa to enter the West Bank.
Airports in the West Bank and Gaza
The Yasser Arafat International Airport in Gaza, located close to the Egyptian border, was opened on 24 November 1998 but lasted only two years until the 8th of October 2000, when the second Intifada (the Arabic word for the uprising in English) started. The Gaza International Airport, as it was named at that time, was destroyed by the Israeli forces.
Therefore, since 2000, Palestine (Both Gaza and West Bank) does not possess an operating airport in its territory. This, unfortunately, means that it is not possible to get a direct flight to the West Bank, Palestine.
To keep it short, If you are interested in visiting Palestine, you need to know that you have to come via Israel and that Israel will be the authority who will issue you a visa to get to Palestine, specifically the West Bank.
Which visa do I need?
A common question for International volunteers in the West Bank, interns, Arabic students as well as the visitors to Palestine and the Excellence Center is whether or not a visa is needed to visit Palestine and if so, what one must do to get one. In addition, they look to know how long their visa will be valid.
The Israeli government and its authorities are responsible for providing you with a visa either upon your arrival or through its embassies/consulates prior to your visit. As the Palestinian Authority does not control the state borders of Israel, it is not responsible for issuing visas. A tourist visa is required for most visitors (including volunteers, interns and students). Those travelling for business or work purposes will require a different visa.
Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months after the end of your stay in Israel / Palestine.
Can I get a student visa to study in Palestine?
Unfortunately, no, if you would like to study in any university or language school in the West Bank, you have to get a visa for entering Palestine from Israel. It seems very difficult or even impossible to get one. The best option for students is to come to the West Bank via the tourist visa they get on arrival in Tel Aviv and stay for the duration of three months. If they would like 6 months, they normally leave Israel for a few days and come back to get a new tourist visa for another 3 months.
From our experience, you can not stay in the West Bank for more than 6 months unless you have a job with non-governmental or humanitarian organizations.
An Israeli visa is needed to enter Palestine
Palestine itself has no visa policy as it is regulated by the Israeli authorities. This means that in order to live legally in Palestine you will simply need an Israeli visa that you can get at the airport without needing to apply for it from home. During passport check, the Israeli security employee will ask you a few questions. The whole process may take some minutes and you may be asked to wait for a while. Do not be alarmed by this, it is standard procedure. Some visitors receive their visa quickly, others may be subject to slightly more in depth questioning before they are granted entry.
Once again, we would like to reassure you that this is a normal occurrence and we advise you to remain calm and relaxed and to cooperate with the Israeli border security staff.
The result of this process will be that you get your eagerly-awaited visa, which consists of a small blue piece of paper. Please do not lose it! Keep your visa in a safe place at all times as you may be required to show it and your passport when passing through Israeli checkpoints. You will also be asked to show it when leaving Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel in order for them to issue an exit visa.
How do I obtain a tourist visa to Palestine?
The Israeli government and its authorities are responsible for providing you with a tourist visa to get to Palestine either upon your arrival or through its embassies/consulates prior to your visit. As the Palestinian Authority does not control the state borders of Israel, it is not responsible for issuing visas.
Visas are routinely granted upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport (Tel Aviv), Israel to citizens of exempted countries, or at the Allenby-King Hussein Bridge border crossing at the Jordanian border. Tourist visas are valid for 90 days; most Americans and Europeans are issued three-month visas upon arrival and after clearing customs.
The visa that internationals receive upon arrival to Israel is all they’ll need to travel to or around Palestine and Israel.
Apply for a visa to Palestine in any Israeli embassy
You can apply for a visa to Palestine in any Israeli embassy before coming, but this will not exempt you from the questioning session. However, if you are coming from Jordan through the Allenby bridge, you may be given a stamp on your passport allowing you to travel only in the territory controlled by the Palestinian authority. This would restrict your ability to explore and is another reason why getting to Ben Gurion is more convenient if you want to visit both Israel and Palestine, the West Bank.
Israel is no longer stamping passports
You can also apply for a 10-year tourist visa to Palestine valid for multiple entrances no longer than 90 days. This is useful in case you need to come back many times in the future for a different reason, but bear in mind the fact that some Muslim countries do not accept visitors who have been to Israel. Fortunately, Israel stopped stamping passports in 2013. These are the countries that you will not be allowed to visit if you have traces of having been to Israel on your passport:
- Syria
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Kuwait
- Iran
- Iraq
- Pakistan
- Saudi Arabia
- Sudan
- Yemen
Israeli stamps on passports
if your home country does not have an exemption agreement with Israel, you will have to procure a visa from the Israeli embassy/consulate at home before you visit. Because many Arab countries do not accept Israeli stamps on passports, Israel now issues their visa on a separate small card with a bar code indicating the visa time validity. Please keep this visa card with your passport at all times.
Visa exemption agreement
Please visit the website below to verify whether or not your native country participates in a visa exemption agreement: https://excellencenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Visa-Requirement-.pdf
In conclusion
Obtaining a tourist visa to Palestine should not be a problem at all. It is likely that the worst thing that can happen is that you are delayed for some time at the airport. Relax, use this time to think about the experiences, new acquaintances and adventures that await you in Palestine!
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