skills-il Making Aliyah: Your First 90 Days
A course for new immigrants (olim) to Israel who have just landed, or are about to. It walks you through the first 90 days in the order things actually need to happen, so you stop reacting to a pile of unrelated to-dos and start moving through one sequenced path.
You can read this course here on the site, or open it in your AI assistant at https://agentskills.co.il/courses/making-aliyah-first-90-days and ask it questions as you work through your own absorption.
Overview
The hardest part of the first 90 days is not any single task. Opening a bank account, registering with a health fund, booking the absorption-ministry meeting: each one is manageable on its own. The hard part is that nobody hands you the order. You arrive with a folder of papers and a dozen things that all feel urgent, and the official guidance is scattered across gov.il pages, a Nefesh B'Nefesh PDF, and a Facebook group thread from 2019.
This course gives you the order. There are three moves that are genuinely time-sensitive and must happen in your first week. There is a second wave that should happen in the first month. And there is a long tail of rights and benefits that you have months or years to claim, but that you will lose if you never learn they exist.
The distinction matters because olim burn energy on the wrong things. They spend week one comparing kupot cholim plans (a decision they can revise later) while missing the bank-account-before-sal-klita sequence that determines whether their absorption payments arrive on time.
How to use this course
Read the chapters in order on the first pass. Chapter 1 is the critical path: the three week-one moves and why their order is fixed. The later chapters expand each wave and add the decisions you make along the way.
Each chapter pairs the "what to do" with a catalog skill that answers your specific follow-up questions. This course is the map of the whole journey; the skills are the turn-by-turn navigator for any single street. When you need to go deep on one topic (which kupah, how to plan a customs shipment, what a specific Bituach Leumi form is for), install the matching skill and ask it directly.
If you open this course in your AI assistant (link at the top of the page), you can give it your real situation (family size, country of origin, arrival date) and it will apply the timelines here to your specific case.
A note before you start: amounts and rules in this course (the absorption basket sums, tax windows, conversion deadlines) are indexed to 2025-2026 and change year to year. Treat every number as a starting point to confirm against the official source linked in each chapter, not as binding advice.
Chapter 1: The First Week: Three Deadlines That Can't Wait
Most new olim arrive with a mental to-do list that has twenty items and no order. Bank, health fund, ID card, ulpan, driver's license, apartment, furniture, SIM card. They all feel equally urgent, so olim do them in whatever order they bump into them. That is the mistake. Three of those items sit on a critical path, and the rest can wait.
Israel received roughly 31,000 olim in 2024. Every one of them faced the same first week, and the ones who had a smooth absorption were not the ones who did the most in week one. They were the ones who did the right three things in the right order.
The week-one critical path
Three moves are time-sensitive and order-dependent. Everything else in this course can wait until they are done.
- Confirm your Teudat Zehut and Teudat Oleh. You receive a temporary paper Teudat Zehut and your Teudat Oleh benefits booklet at the airport from the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration desk. Without these you cannot do steps 2 and 3. If for any reason you did not receive them on arrival, this is your first errand.
- Open an Israeli bank account. Sal Klita (your absorption basket) is paid into an Israeli account. No account means your absorption payments have nowhere to land. This is why the bank comes before the absorption-ministry meeting, not after.
- Open your file with Misrad HaKlita (the absorption ministry) and confirm your Sal Klita. Your first installment is paid at the airport on arrival, and ongoing monthly payments are administered through your personal area on the Ministry of Aliyah online system. Call *2994 (the Ministry hotline) or use the online system to open your file, confirm the payments route to the account from step 2, and get your ulpan referral. An in-person advisor meeting is one channel, not a strict prerequisite.
The order is the point. Olim who sort out their Sal Klita before opening a bank account have no account to route the monthly payments to, and have to circle back. Bank first, then the absorption file.
What is NOT on the critical path
These feel urgent and are not. You have weeks or months, and rushing them in week one is wasted effort:
- Choosing or switching your kupat cholim (you are covered from arrival regardless; chapter 4)
- Enrolling in ulpan (you have 18 months; chapter 5)
- Converting your driver's license (you have 5 years; chapter 5)
- Signing a long-term apartment lease (a rushed lease is an expensive mistake; chapter 5)
The most common first-week mistake is spending it on this second list while the critical path waits.
The israeli-aliyah-navigator skill is the reactive companion to this chapter. When you hit a specific question (what to bring to the bank, what the absorption advisor will ask), install it and ask. This course tells you what to do and when; that skill answers the detail questions as they come up.
Chapter 2: Teudat Zehut, Teudat Oleh, and Misrad HaPnim
Your identity documents are the keys that unlock everything else, and olim get them in two stages that are easy to confuse. Getting this wrong means showing up to open a bank account or register a child for school with the wrong document.
Two documents, two stages
At the airport (day zero): the Ministry of Aliyah desk issues you a temporary paper Teudat Zehut and your Teudat Oleh. The paper Teudat Zehut is valid for roughly three months and is enough to open a bank account, register with a health fund, and book your absorption meeting. The Teudat Oleh is your proof of new-immigrant status; it is what you present to claim olim benefits across every agency.
Within the first weeks (by appointment): you book an appointment at Misrad HaPnim (the Population and Immigration Authority) to receive the permanent biometric Teudat Zehut smart card. The initial issuance is free for olim. The card arrives roughly a month to six weeks after the appointment.
What the temporary paper ID can and cannot do
This is the table olim wish they had in week one:
| Task | Temporary paper TZ | Need biometric card |
|---|---|---|
| Open a bank account | Yes | No |
| Register with a kupat cholim | Yes | No |
| Book the Misrad HaKlita meeting | Yes | No |
| Most online government services (with a digital ID) | Limited | Yes |
| Travel as proof of Israeli citizenship | No | Use your passport |
The practical rule: the paper TZ unblocks your week-one critical path, so do not wait for the biometric card to start. But book the Misrad HaPnim appointment early, because the card takes weeks and you will want it for online services.
The most common mistake here is assuming the paper document is "not real" and delaying the bank or health-fund steps until the plastic card arrives. It is real. Use it.
For the specifics of what to bring to your Misrad HaPnim appointment and how the biometric enrollment works, the israeli-aliyah-navigator skill covers the document checklist in detail.
Chapter 3: Sal Klita and Your Bank Account
Sal Klita, the absorption basket, is the cash the state gives new olim to land on their feet. Understanding how it is paid (and why the bank account has to come first) is the difference between a smooth first six months and a stressful one.
How the absorption basket is paid
Sal Klita is not a lump sum. It is a first installment paid shortly after arrival, followed by monthly payments across roughly the first six months. The total depends on your family composition. For 2025, the published figures were approximately ₪20,491 for a single adult oleh and approximately ₪39,065 for a couple. Single-parent families and families with children receive different totals.
A 2025 rule change added an assets declaration: olim declare their assets, and those above a high threshold may be disqualified from the basket while those below may receive a modest increase. Confirm the current rule and your eligibility at your absorption-ministry meeting.
Why the bank account comes first
The payments are routed to an Israeli bank account that you provide when you open your file with the absorption ministry. This is the mechanical reason the bank account sits on the week-one critical path in chapter 1: no account, no destination for the money.
A worked example for a couple, to make the cadence concrete. Suppose the couple's basket total is approximately ₪39,065. A first installment lands shortly after arrival, and the remainder is spread across the following months:
| Timing | Approximate payment | Running purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Shortly after arrival | First installment | Immediate landing costs |
| Months 1 through 6 | Monthly installments | Rent, ulpan period, setup |
| End of basket period | Final installment | Transition to self-support |
The exact split is set by the ministry and confirmed at your meeting. The lesson is to plan your first six months knowing the basket tapers and ends, not as if it were a permanent income.
Opening the account
Many Israeli banks offer olim fee waivers or discounted account packages; the specifics vary by bank, so ask each one directly about its olim package. Bring your passport, your temporary Teudat Zehut, and your Teudat Oleh.
For tracking your Sal Klita payments and reconciling them against what the ministry promised, the israeli-bituach-leumi skill covers the benefits side, and israeli-aliyah-navigator covers the absorption-payment tracking specifically.
Chapter 4: Health Coverage From Day One
Israel has universal health coverage, and as a new oleh you are inside it from arrival. The anxiety many olim carry about "getting insured" is misplaced; the real decisions are which fund and which supplemental tier, and those you can take calmly.
You are covered from arrival, with no waiting period
New olim are registered with a health fund (kupat cholim) on arrival and there is no waiting period, unlike returning residents who face a waiting period or a redemption fee. Register with a kupah within your first weeks to lock in supplemental-benefit eligibility without waiting periods.
During the absorption-basket period (roughly your first six months) as an oleh receiving absorption support, the Ministry of Aliyah covers your health-insurance contribution. Bituach Leumi applies this exemption automatically; you do not file for it. Confirm the exact duration at your absorption meeting, because once the covered period ends you pay the standard health contribution like any resident, and olim are sometimes surprised by the first deduction.
Choosing a kupah
Israel has four health funds: Clalit, Maccabi, Meuhedet, and Leumit. The basic health basket is identical across all four by law, so the differences are in supplemental insurance tiers, clinic locations near you, and English-language service availability. For olim, proximity and language service often matter more than the marginal plan differences.
The decision is reversible: you can switch funds, so do not treat the week-one registration as permanent. Register with a reasonable choice now, and revisit it once you have settled.
This is exactly where a skill goes deeper than a course can. The israeli-hmo-navigator skill compares the four funds, their supplemental tiers, and referral processes for your specific situation. Install it when you are ready to choose or switch, and ask it about the funds available where you live.
Chapter 5: Ulpan, Your License, and Housing
This is the first-month-and-beyond wave: the things that matter enormously but are not week-one emergencies. The trap is that olim either rush them (signing a bad lease in a panic) or forget the deadlines attached to them (letting the license-conversion window or ulpan entitlement lapse).
The two windows that have deadlines
Two olim entitlements come with a clock. Miss the window and you lose the benefit.
- Ulpan Aleph (free Hebrew course): olim are entitled to a subsidized intensive Hebrew course, roughly 420 to 500 hours over about five months, usable once, within 18 months of your aliyah date. Your absorption advisor refers you. Eighteen months feels far away on arrival; many olim let it slip while "settling first" and then scramble.
- Driver's license conversion: an oleh has a 5-year window from the aliyah date to convert a foreign license (the general non-oleh window is just one year). The process runs through Misrad HaRishui: get your Israeli ID number, complete the Tofes Yarok (the green eyesight-and-fitness form, started at an optician), book a conversion test, and pass.
A simple prioritization for the first months
Use this order of attack once the week-one critical path is done:
| Priority | Item | Why this order |
|---|---|---|
| First | Short-term housing | You need a stable address before everything else; avoid a rushed long lease |
| Second | Start ulpan | Hebrew compounds: every week of delay slows every other task |
| Third | Convert license | Important but you have 5 years, so it can follow ulpan |
| Fourth | Long-term housing | Sign only once you know the neighborhood and have local references |
The most common mistake in this wave is signing a year-long lease in the first two weeks, before you understand neighborhoods, commute times, or which community fits you. Short-term first, long-term once you know the city.
For the customs and shipping side of housing (bringing your belongings, the olim shipment exemptions), the israeli-aliyah-customs-shipment-planner skill plans the three-shipment exemption and what you can bring duty-free.
Chapter 6: Knowing and Claiming Your Rights
The first 90 days end with a long tail of rights and benefits that have no week-one deadline, which is exactly why olim miss them. Nobody chases you to claim a tax exemption or a Bituach Leumi entitlement. This chapter is the list of things you do not know to ask about.
The headline tax benefit, and a 2026 change
New olim receive a 10-year exemption on foreign-source income and capital gains. This is the single largest financial benefit of aliyah for olim with assets or income abroad, and the exemption itself remains in force.
What changed: under Amendment 272, olim who arrive on or after 1 January 2026 must report their foreign income and assets even though those remain tax-exempt. The money is still not taxed; the reporting obligation is new. If your aliyah falls on or after that date, build the reporting step into your planning. This is a planning aid, not binding tax advice: confirm your specific position with a tax professional, because the cost of getting foreign-income reporting wrong is high.
The rights you do not know to ask about
A non-exhaustive list of entitlements olim routinely miss because no single agency surfaces them all:
- Bituach Leumi olim provisions (the health-contribution exemption from chapter 4 is one; there are others tied to your status)
- Property-tax (arnona) discounts that some municipalities offer olim
- Customs exemptions on the three olim shipments (chapter 5)
- Tuition and professional-recognition support for converting foreign credentials
- Bank fee waivers (chapter 3)
The pattern across all of these is the same: the benefit exists, the window is generous, and there is no reminder. The way to not lose them is to know the catalog of rights up front, which is what this chapter and its companion skills give you.
Two skills carry this chapter. The israeli-bituach-leumi skill is the reference for every National Insurance benefit, eligibility rule, and claim form. The israeli-aliyah-navigator skill ties the olim-specific rights together across agencies. Between them and this course, you have the map (the course), the rights catalog (the navigator), and the benefit mechanics (Bituach Leumi).
Companion skills
This course is the sequenced map of your first 90 days. These catalog skills are the reactive navigators for any single topic: install the one you need and ask it your specific questions as they come up.
- Israeli Aliyah Navigator (
israeli-aliyah-navigator), the reactive companion to every chapter, answering the detail questions (what to bring, what the advisor asks, which form) that the course's timeline points you toward. Install:npx skills-il add skills-il/government-services/israeli-aliyah-navigator - Israeli HMO Navigator (
israeli-hmo-navigator), for choosing or switching your kupat cholim and comparing supplemental tiers (chapter 4). Install:npx skills-il add skills-il/health-services/israeli-hmo-navigator - Israeli Bituach Leumi (
israeli-bituach-leumi), the reference for National Insurance benefits, the olim health-contribution exemption, and every claim form (chapters 4 and 6). Install:npx skills-il add skills-il/government-services/israeli-bituach-leumi - Israeli Aliyah Customs Shipment Planner (
israeli-aliyah-customs-shipment-planner), for planning the three-shipment olim customs exemption when you bring your belongings (chapter 5). Install:npx skills-il add skills-il/government-services/israeli-aliyah-customs-shipment-planner