Updated July 6, 2021 8:23 AM IST
Last month, Chaim V’Chessed reported on an emerging plan to allow entry to Israel for yeshiva and seminary students in the upcoming school year. On July 5, Population Authority officials approved this process, and released a detailed letter regarding this process. The process was first proposed by our colleague, Rabbi Nechemia Malinowitz of the Igud, who labored tirelessly to shepherd it until its approval.
The Igud will be exclusively responsible for student visa applications. Approved yeshivas and seminaries will need to submit lists of their new students during the second half of Av. Students must be between the ages of 17 and 25 years old and must be either vaccinated or recovered from Covid. Recovered Covid patients will be required to present positive PCR tests to prove that they had Covid.
Approved students will receive entry permits to travel to Israel, and upon arriving in Israel, they will be automatically issued A2 student visas, which will be valid until December 31, 2021. Between their arrival in Israel and December 31, students will need to obtain visas for the remainder of their stay in Israel.
Chaim V’Chessed commends the Igud on this important achievement. At previous times during the ongoing pandemic, students were left hanging until the last minute. Now, thanks to this arrangement, new students can prepare for their upcoming studies knowing that they will be allowed entry to Israel.
It should be pointed out that students and their families should not contact the Igud or Chaim V’Chessed. Rather, they must be in touch exclusively with their yeshivas and seminaries, who will guide them in this process.
Note: At this point, those already holding valid visas are not required to be vaccinated/recovered to re-enter Israel should they leave the country.