From today until June 15, the offices of the Israeli Ministry of Interior in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Beersheba renew and issue passports without an appointment.
The offices of the Israeli Ministry of Interior in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Beersheba opened today to renew and issue passports without an appointment. The country’s four largest Home Office offices will be open from 7.30 am to 10 pm and will remain open until June 15, and will only work on issuing biometric passports and identity cards.
However, there were queues of several hours just to get into the offices and more hours to wait after taking a number at the entrance to the office as large numbers of applicants head to the Ministry of Interior to renew their passports in time for the summer holidays. Israelis who need to get a passport urgently are advised to take a full day off work to get the job done.
Until now, those wishing to renew their passports had to make an appointment, usually more than six months away, and as a result, the country has been plagued by a huge backlog of passport applications.
After visiting the office and taking the number, Ministry of Interior technology allows the applicant to see the line on the number being received and a notification is sent to their phone approximately 30 minutes before the number is due, so they do not need to sit for hours at the Ministry of Interior office.
In order to free the Ministry of Interior employees to end the backlog of passports, Erbil decided to extend the validity of 11,000 entry visas for foreign workers.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on May 14, 2023.
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2023.
The Ministry of the Interior in Tel Aviv Credit: Kadia Levy
