Green Passport to be Available After Second Covid Shot

Amid warnings of a strict locking coming soon, the Health Ministry also gave notice that those who have been vaccinated for Covid-19 will be eligible for a green passport that will exempt them for travel restrictions.

A week after receiving the second vaccination, three weeks after the first, the recipient will be able to download the green passport from a Ministry app or printed from the website.

The document passport will exempt the holder from having to isolate when returning from abroad or after being in contact with somebody diagnosed with Covid-19.

They will also be exempt from Covid-19 survey testing and from taking tests when entering the country or other places requiring a test. The green passport will offer similar rights to the 382,000 Israelis who are entitled to a Ministry of Health certification that they have recovered from the virus.

What remains unclear is to what extent there will be international recognition of Israel’s green passport enabling holders to bypass isolation on entering another country. Cyprus, for example, has already said that from March tourists can enter the country without isolation if they have proof of vaccination and a negative Covid-19 test. Cyprus, whose tourism industry has been ravaged by the pandemic, is the first European country to adopt the easement.