The Israeli Travel Document in Lieu of National Passport
To kick off our blog we are beginning with the first of what will be a series of posts discussing lesser-known travel documents / passports that despite being remarkably powerful (and held by a significant number of people) are not included in mainstream passport indexes.
Subject to a few conditions, Israel’s Law of Return allows anyone who is Jewish or who has a Jewish parent or grandparent on either side of their family tree to acquire Israeli citizenship. Under the terms of the Law, when an applicant is granted citizenship, their spouse and minor children are granted citizenship as well. The spouse of an applicant need not have Jewish ancestry. Same-sex spouses of applicants have been equally eligible since 2014.
Israel issues two different travel documents to its citizens: the Passport and the Travel Document in Lieu of National Passport. Both documents are issued exclusively to citizens and confer equal rights in Israel. Citizens via direct descent (birth to an Israeli citizen) are always issued a Passport and one with 10-year validity. The Travel Document in Lieu of National Passport on the other hand is issued to citizens via the Law of Return who have not met defined physical presence requirements in Israel. It generally has 5-year validity. In order to qualify for a Passport with 5-year validity a citizen via the Law of Return must be physically present in Israel for 60% of the year preceding their passport application. To qualify for a 10-year Passport a citizen via the Law of Return must by physically present in Israel for 60% of the 5-year period before their passport application. As a result of these conditions, many citizens via the law of return hold a Travel Document in Lieu of National Passport, some in perpetuity due to frequent travel or a move abroad after acquiring citizenship.
Both documents can be used for international travel. The Israeli Passport is ranked 18th globally in the January 2026 Henley Passport Index and has risen 7 places in the ranking since 2023. The Travel Document in Lieu of National Passport is not included in the Henley Passport Index or any other major indexes. It is however included in the International Air Transport Association (IATA) digital Travel Information Manual (Timatic) – the global system used by airlines to check visa requirements. Its Timatic Document Code is TDLIEUIL.
We have independently collected data from IATA Timatic and other sources to conclude that 49 countries and territories can be entered visa-free with a Travel Document in Lieu of National Passport. In addition to Israel this includes all Schengen Area member states except for Malta plus the following non-Schengen countries and autonomous territories: Ireland, The Faroe Islands, Greenland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Mexico, Russia, Japan, Georgia, Turkey, Hong Kong and Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
Countries and territories below in green can be entered visa-free with the Travel Document in Lieu of National Passport while countries in red cannot be.
