[questions from oleh-wannabe. i'm working on getting them signed on to h also, but one thing at a time ; )]

do you become automatically become a citizen after making aliyah?
how long til you can get an israeli passport?
do you get certain "rights" as an 'oleh/olah' that other citizens don't? if so, why is israel doing this?

yes
a year
yes, like $$.
I assume its to encourage people to live here.
HTH

When I made Aliya, we didn't become citizens until 3 months later. I heard this is how it works.

Yes, you get "zchuyot". Discounts on apartment, car, appliances... But it may have changed by now. I hear there are less zchuyot.

Really? I got my Tudat Zehat (Israeli ID card) two days later. If you have a TZ you are a citizen.

It is possible to land here on a tourist visa and then "make Aliyah" later while you are staying here.

But if you land with an Aliyah visa you become a citizen right away I believe.

Nope, now you get cash money.

Dunno what we did. We landed at airport sat in the offices for a few hours while my mom took care of the processing and then she told me that in 3 months we will be full fledged citizens. This was 11 years ago.

Yeah...sounds like some of the paperwork was messed up. So they let you in on a three month tourist visa still they fixed it up. Who knows? But if you go with NBN you become a citizen right when you land and they stamp the Aliyah visa on your passport.

You can't get a passport for a year, but you get "a travel document" (Tudat Ma'avar) which looks exactly like a passport after three months. (And before those three months you can use a letter you get to leave and enter the country.)

The sal klita you get can be several thousand shekel a months for 6 months. You learn all the zechyot you get at an orientations seminar in the Jewish Agency when you go to open your tik (aliyah file) and start the process.

was in the country just shy of 60 months, made aliyah one day was a citizen by the time I left the Misrad HaPnim recieved my Tsav Giyus 4 weeks later and got my passport 6 months later after a few years came back to the sates and look forward tro moving back as soon as I can convince my wife to move.
My folks made aliyah and were citizens by the time they left Ben Gurion, that was before NBN was even an idea

Why not just use your American passport if you need to travel? (easier/cheaper visas to more countries)

No, having a Teudate Zehut does not automatically mean you're a citizen.
I had a "Temporary Resident" (A-1) visa, but have a Teudat Zehut.

You can use you US passport it get into and out of other countries sure... of course I would! But using anything other than an Israeli passport to get in and out of Israel if you are a citizen is a big "no no."

Besides - if you enter with a US passport you only get a three month visa. If you leave with one after making Aliyah - they won't be able to find your entry visa (except the Aliyah one.) You'll get into big trouble.

And one last point. The Israeli lines are shorter and faster! They don't ask you all kinds of crazy questions about the purpose of your trip and you don't have to fill out anything on the plane!

The official policy is that when you make Aliyah, you are automatically granted citizenship retroactively to the day of your arrival after 3 months (a true yiddshe zach) unless you specifically request not to. (in which case you are a permanent resident which is for all intents and purposes a non-voting citizen).

The reason for this is that some countries have laws where you will lose your native citizenship if you REQUEST to be come a citizen of a foreign country, but if you get it automatically it is a loophole that allows you to keep your old citizenship as well.

You can get a temporary passport (teudat maavar) immediately but it expires after a year when you can get an "official" passport. The reason for this is people coming from their world countries and making aliyah just to get an Israeli passport which is pretty widely accepted in the world. They make you stay for a year until you can get a real passport to see that you are serious.

As for a drivers license, you USED to be able just to sign a form and transfer a foreign license, but so many people came with fraudulent documents, that now they require a test (which is pretty easy if you know how to drive stick).

I walked into the Misrad Harishui w/my Pennsylvania license and my Israeli one was printed on the computer on the spot. The Britishers before me in line had to answer a lot of questions and wait 2 weeks. In the old days a license wasn't the same no matter where it came from. I think the required road test now is more to save the hassels and a feeble effort at trying to lower the accident rate. They also retest Israelis. If you can get your license in chutz, do it. In Israel the required shiurim and other expenses are prohibitive. They often don't teach you to drive, just to pass the test.

While you may or may not be an official citizen, you do become an Oleh Hadash as soon as you make Aliya. You get a Teudat Zahoot (Identity Card), you can vote, you get free medical coverage for ~6 months, you get a "Sal Klita" which is a set of rights and benefits, and varies depending on your country of origin.
You can get a Teudat M'Avar as soon as you make Aliya (Travel Documents) but you can't get a Darcon (Passport) for at least 1 year. If you have a Teudat Ma'Avar, you can extend it past one year, but not past 2, until you get a Darcon. You must leave Israel on an Israeli Passport/Teudat Ma'Avar, and must re-enter Israel on the same. How you get into or out of other countries is not Israel's concern, but the rights you get have a dependancy relative to how long you stay here. As there is no longer a Travel Tax for Israeli Citizens, there's no reason not to, and good reason to follow this rule.
For Olim from North America you get ~7000 NIS in direct payments starting with cash at the airport and paid over a 6 month period. You get the option of staying at a Mercaz Klita (Absorption Center) for an incredibly cheap rate (~200-500 NIS Per Month). You get 5 months Ulpan Free. (You are expected to take this. Other rights hinge on it.) You get 3 tax-free imports of household goods, and 1 each of major appliances Tax-Free (Import Duties. You will still have to pay VAT on Israeli goods and services.) You can buy an Israeli Made Refrigerator or Air Conditioner Tax free. The specifics on what is and is not allowed on an import are pretty beaurocratic, but for a typical family it helps. You get a housing subsidy after 1 year that will be enough to pay your phone bill, but again, it helps. This lasts a couple of years (noone really knows how long, but I'm still getting it monthly after almost 3 years. You can transfer your Driver's License without taking the written test, but you must take a road test, and if you flunk the road test twice, you must do the full process (Written test, ~36 private lessons, Road Test). You can get help towards a mortgage in the first 10 years. You get a discount on Car Taxes in the first three years (on one car). An Oleh only pays 72%, whereas a regular Israeli pays 120% (or 140% for Japanese cars.) You can get help with Job Placement, or free retraining (with limits, of course).
Some Caveats -
You are expected to use your rights for yourself. Buying something taxfree (or tax discounted) and then selling it and not paying taxes is illegal. Making Aliya is not something to do lightly, if you leave before 5 years, taxes will be due on anything you bought/brought, that does not go with. You only get 1 Sal Klita, and if you come and then leave, and ever want to come back, there can be problems. Not insurmountable, but annoying.

Why does Israel do this?
1 - To promote Aliya. Keep in mind, even today, there are many countries Jews are not welcome, and many countries with Jews that love to kill/torture us.
2 - To smooth the Klita (absorption) process. Whatever you might think, making Aliya is difficult. For many people from many countries, it would be almost impossible without the Sal Klita.
3 - Kacha. (This is a Hebrew word that would most closely translate to "Because", only with more meaning. I'm still trying to figure it out, but the best I can get is like "Why do Israelis love to talk? Kacha!" or "Why is this word spelled like this? Kacha!")

How is it a 'no no' if you were not given an Israeli passport to begin with? Are you in jail or something?
You don't care if the visa is 3 months or three days. You're a citizen already.
There is no big trouble. If they see an Israeli using a foreign passport, they tell him that he must use his Israeli passport when entering. So you tell them thhat their smart misrad hapnim doesn't give passports to new olim so fast. just don't worry too much - you're not committing any crime. You're not lying to anyone. They just repeat the same old mantra: "When you come back to Israel, you must use your Israeli passprt. bla bla."

So you tell them that you're Israeli, but they never gave you a passport. Stupid them.

You're in a socialist country -- get used to dealing with annoying beuracrats.

It is a big no-no because it is illegal. As soon as you make Aliya, you can get a Teudat M'avar, which will serve as your passport until you have been here long enough (1 year) to get your passport.
What will they do, or what can they do? They can hold you in jail, they can put you on an airplane back from whence you came, and other things that might make your trip less enjoyable. Chances are, all they will do is detain you, yell at you, inspect your luggage and charge you import duties an whatever they can, and send you on your way. Needless to say, if I'm stuck in line behind you because you're an idiot, I'm not going to be too happy. Of course, I'll be in the other line, so that's not my concern.
I can tell you, that the beaurocrats with whom I deal (many on a weekly basis) are capable, competent, and even nice (when treated nicely).
A basic concept that might help is to stop thinking in terms of "them" or "those Israelis" but rather "Us".

Most countries make you enter on their passport if you're a citizen. It's not just Israel. You must use your American passport to enter the US if you make aliya (unless you go to the embassy and renounce your citizenship). If both parents are US citizens, or one is and spent 5 years (not necessarily consecutive) in the US after the age of 14, children are US citizens too. You must file a Consular Report of Birth Abroad at the embassy or consulate (depending on where you live) and obtain a US passport for them to travel on.

(I married a foreigner and moved abroad so I know the drill. Also, if you're travelling with your non-American spouse, you can take them through the citizens line with you at immigration--you don't have to go in separate lines.)


btw, you can get annoying bureaucrats anywhere. Patty & Selma at the DMV anyone?
Remember, the word petty comes from "petit" - as in "petit fonctionnaire". Anywhere you go you can find bored clerks who don't care and don't want to help.

They cannot not let a citizen in.
As I said before, all they do is tell you to use your Israeli passport next time. That is, if they figure you out in the first place.