Israel ended automatic 90 day visa extensions for B/2 tourists and workers

Israel's Population and Immigration Authority handed most visa holders three extra months without paperwork, but the window closed at the end of May.

The rule that changed

Before the shift, foreigners on tourist, work, student, volunteer and temporary resident visas had to apply in person at PIBA offices to extend their status, pay the standard renewal fees and secure an appointment that often ran weeks out. That process was suspended for a defined slice of expiries.

PIBA rolled out automatic three-month extensions in two rounds. The first, applied March 2, 2026, covered visas with original expiry dates between Feb. 22 and March 31, 2026. The second, applied March 19, 2026, covered expiries between April 1 and May 31, 2026. Both rounds added exactly 90 days to the original expiry, with no application, no fee and no office visit for anyone physically inside Israel on the roll-out date.

Who the extension caught

The covered categories span most of the foreign population living in or visiting Israel:

• B/2 tourist visas, including visa-exempt travelers holding a border entry slip
• B/1 general work visas, excluding sub-categories under the Foreign Workers Administration
• B/4 volunteer visas
• A/1 and A/5 temporary resident visas
• A/2 student visas, excluding agricultural trainees
• A/3 clergy and A/4 accompanying family visas
• DCL permits for family reunification and humanitarian cases
• Multiple-entry inter-visas tied to any of the above

The extension exists only in PIBA's internal system. Passport stickers and entry slips still show the original date, which has caused confusion at banks, employers and border posts where staff read the physical document rather than query the database.

Who still needs to act

Anyone whose visa expired before Feb. 22, 2026 got nothing from this measure and remains out of status unless separately renewed. Foreigners who were outside Israel when their round ran were also excluded, so nomads who stepped out for a Cyprus or Jordan trip during early March lost the benefit for that cycle.

With the covered window closing May 31, holders whose extended dates now fall in August 2026 must either file a standard renewal through PIBA or exit before the new expiry. Foreign experts on specialized B/1 permits should confirm status directly, since lawyers flagged that the underlying work permit wasn't clearly covered even when the visa itself was extended. Full context on status categories sits in the Israel country guide.