Entering Israel
- Entering Israel is complicated. There are a lot of procedures to follow and without proper preparations it can be a very frustrating process.
- Down here you can see some useful information but since every vessel is a different case, it is always better to use an agent to prepare your entry.
Staying in Israel with a yacht
- Israel is not a part of the EU, mentality is different, customs and tax issues are sometime surprising… You need some local assistance in order to make your stay in Israel as enjoyable as possible.
For yacht arriving Israel
Formalities:
- All passengers and crew must have a valid passport.
- EC, US, Canada and most “Western countries” citizens can enter Israel without a visa, all others must have a valid visa to Israel.
Approaching Israel:
- You should contact the Israeli Navy 30-50 miles off the Israeli coast (The earlier the better…) and give the IMOT of the yacht which will include: Name, Registration Number, Flag, Port of Registry, Length, Width, Draft, Color, Type, last port, the port before the last port, destination, ETA, Number of crew, Number of Passengers, Name of the Captain and a list of all crew and passengers which will include – Name, Nationality, Date of birth, Passport number.
- You should expect a Navy ship to get very close to you, inspect the yacht and talk with you.
- In a very bad weather and high seas, the only safe port is Haifa, all others will be completely impossible to enter (you may enter Ashdod port too, but it is uncomfortable to stay in that port in bad weather).
- The clearance includes Immigration, Customs and Security. It may take a couple of hours to complete. During this process no one allowed to come on board or go off the yacht.
For yachts staying in Israel
- You may go out sailing with the yacht, just inform the marina office. If you want to use the dingy you must have:
- A “Tender to …” sign on it;
- Life jackets for every person – they must have them on if outside the marina;
- A written permission from the marina’s manager to use the boat.
Customs:
If you wish to send any goods by air from other countries to the yacht in Israel, you should bare the following in mind: Israel is not a part of the European community, every item sent to Israel from a foreign country may be treated as an import and may be a subject to additional payment or rejected. You should instruct the sender to state that it is a shipment for a yacht in transit, this may help. In most cases, every delivery, value more then $1000 will be held for inspection, Electronics (VHF, DVD, CD, Car stereo, TV, Telephones, etc.) will have to pass an authorization from the proper office in Israel and sometimes they don’t let it pass and you’ll have to ship it back…
The release of goods from the customs takes time (sometimes more then a week) and money, you’ll have to pay for the forwarder, for the storage in the customs, taxes, etc. A common procedure is to ask you to place money in the value of the goods as a guarantee and after leaving Israel with the goods onboard the money is returned to you (it will take 2-3 months till you’ll actually see it…)
So, if you have the possibilities, try to ship the goods to the port before Israel, if you must send it to Israel, we’ll do our best to reduce the extra time and money.
