Israel

B/5 investor visa. A business visa built for American citizens only, reserved by treaty reciprocity with the US E-2 visa: put real money into a business you will run in Israel, and you and your family can live there while you run it.

Free, with the law behind every answer

B/5 investor visa

A two-year, renewable B/5 visa to live in Israel and run the business; no automatic work rights outside it.

Who qualifies

Available only to United States citizens, mirroring the E-2 treaty investor status the US grants Israeli nationals.
US Department of State, E-2 Treaty Countries (Israel, reciprocal from 1 May 2019)
The applicant must invest a substantial sum, in practice roughly ₪800,000–1,000,000 (about $215,000–270,000), or from about ₪600,000 (about $160,000) in a designated priority development area, and hold at least 50% ownership of a business that employs Israelis.
Israel Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA)
Approval requires a recommendation from an interagency committee (Foreign Affairs, Population and Immigration Authority, Economy, Finance) before the Ministry of Interior issues the visa.
Israel Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA)

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

Does it fit your family?

One question, from the program’s own rules.

Savings you could move or invest?

Not legal advice.

What it takes.

Investment: About $215,000.
Time: 3–6 months for the committee recommendation and visa issuance once the business plan and investment are in place.
Cost: The investment itself (about $160,000–270,000) plus legal and accounting fees to structure the business, typically $10,000–25,000.
The hard part: Building a real, operating business plan that convinces the interagency committee the investment is genuine and will employ Israelis, not a shell.

Dollar figures are converted from the local currency at the rate the program’s research used; the official figure is in the local currency.

This visa doesn’t lead to a passport.

2027
First residence permit
2 years, renewable for 1 year at a time.

Language: Some knowledge of Hebrew; the law sets no level or test.
Time away: In Israel for three of the five years right before applying, and in Israel on the day of applying. The applicant must already hold the right to live in Israel permanently and must have settled or mean to settle there.
Two passports: It depends on the rules at the time and on your home country.

Time on this program does not count toward permanent residence or citizenship; the family would need to switch to one that does.
A temporary business visa: it gives no right to permanent residence, which Israeli naturalisation requires first, so the years do not build toward a passport on their own.

The law behind these dates

Kan-Tor & Acco — B-5 investor visa (two years, extensions while the company qualifies)

Living there.

Time you must spend there: No fixed day count in the visa rules, but tax residence and renewal both assume the applicant is actually living in Israel and running the business.
Tax: Becoming an Israeli tax resident (generally 183+ days a year) brings worldwide income into Israeli tax, though new residents get a 10-year exemption on foreign-source income and reporting.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

Start today.

Start with Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA).Open gov.il ↗
Gather these documents.
- Proof of the funds to invest: about $215,000, and where they came from
- Request your FBI Identity History Summary
- Health cover for the move

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