From August, Ukrainians must obtain travel permit to enter Israel – Ambassador

Since August, Ukrainians must first apply for a travel permit and fill out an electronic form to enter Israel.

The Ambassador of Israel to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, announced this on his Telegram channel, the Ukrainian News agency reports.

Brodsky said that since June of this year, Israel began testing the ETA-IL system, according to which foreigners who are eligible for visa-free entry must first apply for a travel permit and fill out an electronic form.

He added that this practice exists in many countries, in particular in Canada, Australia, the U.S., and the European Union is also going to introduce a similar procedure in the near future.

"So far, this rule applies to citizens of the U.S. and Germany, from July 1 everyone will be able to apply voluntarily, and from August 1 obtaining such a permit will become mandatory for entry. There is no discrimination against citizens of Ukraine or any other country," he noted.

At the same time, Brodsky believes that Ukraine will not cancel the visa-free regime for Israeli citizens in return.

"A year ago, on the eve of the arrival of Israeli pilgrims to Uman, some Ukrainian representatives already tried to threaten Israel with the cancellation of the visa-free regime. However, nothing happened as a result. It will not happen now either," he noted.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, previously the Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel, Yevhen Korniychuk, said that Israel is changing the policy of entry visas and introducing entry restrictions for Ukrainians in particular. He believes that this requirement effectively ends the visa-free regime and stated that Ukraine will be forced to respond accordingly.