What are the benefits of Bituach Leumi for children?
Benefits of Bituach Leumi for children include:
- Health insurance coverage, including free kupat cholim
- Kitzvat yeladim (child allowance) ‒ monthly stipend for parents
- Chisachon l’kol yeled (savings for every child) – monthly savings deposit for each child
Adding Israeli children to an existing plan
Israeli children are automatically registered with Bituach Leumi as soon as they have a mispar zehut (Israeli ID number). Children of foreign citizens must be registered manually. There is no extra fee for adding children to a family plan. At age 18, children must register with Bituach Leumi as adults and pay separately.
Adding a Non-Israeli Child to an Existing Plan
When a child is born, arranging proper medical insurance should be top priority. Parents must notify their kupat cholim of the birth before the child turns one month old. Prior to obtaining Bituach Leumi, the newborn may be added to Kupat Cholim as a passport holder. However, this provides coverage which is not comprehensive. Furthermore, children born with any medical issue- even a minor one- are likely to be rejected if they do not have Bituach Leumi. See our guide on Kupat Cholim for details.
In order to register your child for Bituach Leumi, they are required to have a foreign passport as well as a valid visa. Please see our guides on these matters.
Please note: If both parents are already members of Bituach Leumi, the child is not required to have been in Israel for 183 days before being registered.
Online Registration for Non-Israeli Children
To register a child for Bituach Leumi, submit the online application here.
You will need to provide a daf knisot v’yetziot when applying for Bituach Leumi.
To obtain a daf knisot v’yetziot, every adult applying must go to Misrad Hapnim. It is only issued to an adult (age 18+) who is present. Children do not need to come. You do not need an appointment and can go during any of their opening hours (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 8:00 am-12:00 pm; Monday and Wednesday afternoons 2:30 pm–5:00 pm.) The daf knisot v’yetziot is printed free of charge.
Before beginning the online form, prepare the following:
- Daf knisot v’yetziyot (original page of entries and exits) for the child and all family members from Misrad Hapnim. In some cases, the Misrad Hapnim clerk that issues your child’s visa might be willing to print out your dapei knisot v’yetziot to save you from having to wait on another line. Although a Daf Knisot V’yetziot is officially required for all family members, Bituach Leumi may accept the application with only the Daf Knisot V’Yetziot for one of the parents and the child who is registering. See more on Dapei Knisot V’Yetziot here. The online form will request that you upload a daf knisot vyetziot only for the child. Merge the child’s daf knisot vyetziot with the parent’s into one file and upload together.
- Passports of parents and child
- Valid visas for parents and child
- Bituach Leumi numbers of parents
- Very clear photo of child (head shot). This photo should resemble the current photo in the passport.
- For first child only: upload proof of bank account in mother’s name with account number; e.g. a voided check or ishur nihul cheshbon
- Read the opening instructions then click on לשלב הבא to continue to the next page.
- In Step 2, you will be asked for the subject of your request: אני מגיש את הטופס עבור נושא. Choose: תלמיד ישיבה או בן משפחתו המבקשים לקבוע תושבות וחברות בקופת חולים, מיועד לבעלי אשרות א/2/A א/4/A.
- You will then need to select on whose behalf you are submitting this application: choose “child”. You should enter the applicant’s details and the details of the applicant’s parents. Note: If you (the parents) are existing members of Bituach Leumi, enter your 77 number from Bituach Leumi as your ID number, and choose מספר מזהה זמני בביטוח לאומי.
- After completing each page, click on לשלב הבא to continue to the next step.
Based on the responses in your application, you will be given a list of documents which need to be uploaded.
Please note that it is critical that all of your documents are extremely clear including the copy of your passport and your photo. (If you have a filter which blocks out faces, upload your documents from another device).
At this time you can also upload these completed forms to apply for Kitzvat Yeladim and Maanak Laida.
You can save your request before it is complete by clicking on the word שמירה at the top of the page. After verifying your phone number and email address, you will be given a code with which you can access the form at a later time.
After uploading all of the required documentation, you may submit the request.
Note that there is a reference number in the top right corner of your application called סימוכין which can be used to receive technical support: Save this number!
For technical assistance (with uploading documents etc.), call 1299.
After successfully submitting your form, you will receive an email confirmation with another reference number (מספר מזהה) beginning with 83.
You will probably be contacted by email with confirmation of your child’s acceptance and his new ID number which will begin with 77. Be sure to check all your email folders including your spam to ensure that you did not miss any correspondence from Bituach Leumi.
Applications can currently take up to two months to be processed. If you have a serious medical emergency, reach out to Chaim V’Chessed for assistance.
Registering for Kupat Cholim through Bituach Leumi
Children’s kupat cholim files will generally be updated automatically with their new Bituach Leumi member status once their acceptance has been finalized. You should receive a new kupat cholim card for your child in the mail within a few weeks of Bituach Leumi acceptance. Speak to a kupat cholim secretary to confirm that your child’s old account information, and his or her supplementary insurance membership, if applicable, has been merged into the new account.