The Israeli government began issuing two different tourist visas at the border, with one granting entrance to mainland Israel and the other to Palestinian Authority-controlled areas, according to a new post on the U.S. consulate website. Previously, upon entering Israel at a border crossing, a traveller would receive a general visa for Israel and could then enter the West Bank freely.
Israel’s primary border crossings are:
With the new visa-type, individuals entering at the Allenby Bridge border who receive the new visa may only travel into the West Bank. Those travellers arriving at Ben Gurion Airport must immediately cross into Palestinian-controlled areas and lack permission to re-cross the green-line into Israel. The visa does not grant access to Arab East Jerusalem, where numerous NGOs are headquartered.
The new visas may create serious headaches for diplomatic and business travelers with needs on both sides of the green line. Individuals, who mistakenly receive a Palestinian Authority-only visa, lack freedom of movement between East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Moreover, the consulate warned that changing the visa-type after leaving a border crossing area may prove exceedingly difficult.
The consulate website reads:
“Since the spring of 2009, Israeli border officials at both the Allenby border crossing and Ben Gurion Airport have begun using a new entry visa stamp that permits travel only in Palestinian Authority-controlled areas. Anyone indicating that they either have connections to the West Bank, or are planning to travel to the West Bank, may get this stamp, which does not permit them to enter into (or, in the case of Ben Gurion, return to) green-line Israel. The Consulate can do nothing to assist in getting this visa status changed; only Israeli liaison offices in the West Bank can assist — but they rarely will. Travelers should be alert, and pay attention to which stamp they receive upon entry.”
The visa situation in Israel is already complicated enough. Israelis are not permitted to use the Allenby Bridge border crossing, primarily to prevent Israelis for unnecessarily travelling through the West Bank. Moreover, all travellers must receive a visa at the Jordanian consulate or embassy before using the Allenby Bridge border crossing. Further, Israelis travelling to the Sinai Peninsula can receive an Egyptian visa at the border. All travellers who want to leave Sinai and enter the rest of Egypt must previously receive a visa at the Egyptian consulate or embassy. For non-Israelis, the process of obtaining a visa takes one day; for Israelis, a two-week process including a security check from Cairo.
Morale of the story: if you’re planning a trip in and around Israel, check your visas and how to obtain them ahead of time.
Map taken from here.
