Hello, friends!
My family is thinking about urgent repatriation to Israel. The reason for urgency is that my grandmother encountered cancer a week ago, and we all want that she receives treatment in Israel, hoping for the best...
However, we have been living in Uzbekistan for all our lives and we have family and relatives here who are not Jewish and who we want to see. My father, who is not jewish, might even want to return to Uzbekistan at some point.
My questions:
1. Is it possible to leave Israel without giving up Israeli citizenship? (E.g., going to Uzbekistan for medium and long-term residence)
2. Are there any fees that olim has to pay if he decides to leave Israel as described in (1)? Some people told me that he would have to pay off all the aid that the ministry of absorbtion grants to him upon his first arrival to Israel.
Again, I want to clarify, that the intention is not to use the aid given to Aliyah for 6 months and then leave the country. The intention is to be able to freely move from Israel to Uzbekistan and back for medium and long-terms (6 months - 3 years)

If it were me, i'd talk to an Israeli lawyer and forgo asking an online message board. But, that's just me.

Or the Jewish Agency office in Tashkent, located at

Rostovskii Proesd 1
Tashkent 700100 Uzbekistan

Ilana Levy
Regional Manager
Tel: (99871)152-3864
Fax: (99871)152-1576
E-mail:ilanal@albatross.uz

You actually cannot give it up if you are army age.
No one takes away your citizenship. Ever. Just don't be an ex-ww2 nazi, and don't blow yourself up on a bus.


There may be fees for, what used to be, 3 years from your arrival. But if you show them that you are leaving to shortly come back, you may get away.

See, no one is forcing you to make aliya. You can technically stay in Israel without becoming a citizen. The only reason you want to go the "aliya" way, is to get the financial aid for those first 6 months. Is it really that important for you? What would you be doing after the 6 months? See if the 6 monthworth of subsidies is worth the trouble for you. Maybe, just your grandmother can make aliya, and the rest of the family will stay obligation free.

While there are variations in the Sal Klita (Absorbtion Basket) based on Origin Country, the Israeli obligations are pretty clear cut. There are oligations to getting your Sal Klita, the biggest being Ulpan. You must go to the 5 month free course, or you'll lose other rights. You need to check with an Uzbekistanian Lawyer for questions regarding Dual Citizenship with Israel.

I've never heard of anyone having to give back Sal Klita money, however they won't give it while you're out of the country, and there's a good chance they won't start it up again when you return. There are private charitable organizations that make a time commitment for monies received.

If you come as an Oleh and leave before 1 year, you won't get a passport, you'll get Travel Documents, which will work the same.

Under three years, you'll lose any unused rights until you return, at which point you'll be coming back as a Toshav Hozer. who has a different package.

If you leave Israel for residency elsewhere before 6 years pass, you'll have to pay taxes on anything you bought or brought in Tax-Free or discounted, or you'll have to take them with you when you leave.

If you're thinking that you might want the Sal Klita at some future point, consider coming in as an A1 (Foreign Resident), and then when you know you want to stay here longer, switch to Aliya. I think you need to be here for 6 months a year to declare that status.