Israel's Population and Immigration Authority is expanding its digital service network in an effort to shorten the long waits for passports and ID cards. The agency plans to add 100 more self-service stations, open four new digital service centers in accessible locations, and eventually allow passport renewal from home and, later, from a mobile phone.
At present, 112 digital stations are already operating. Two dedicated digital offices have been opened in Tel Aviv, one in Tel Aviv Center at the government complex on Begin-Kaplan Street, near the regular branch, with 10 stations, and another in Tel Aviv South with 15 stations for self-service passport and ID issuance. Since the project began, 119,873 requests have been filed through the digital stations. The authority said use fell during the war, when many offices were closed, but has risen sharply since the fighting ended.
Right now, a first ID card can be issued at a station from age 16, while passport issuance or renewal is limited to ages 18 to 61. Applicants must already be in the biometric database, or hold a biometric ID card or biometric passport. The average processing time at a station is four to five minutes, compared with an average wait of two to three months for an in-person appointment in central Israel.
Population Authority Director General Boaz Yosef said the goal is to expand eligibility gradually, first to people over 61 and later to younger teens. He said the digital shift will not reduce staffing, and that more employees are planned for complex cases and face-to-face service. Yosef said roughly 2 million people visit the authority each year, and that digital services saved about 1 million work minutes last year. He also said four new digital branches will open over the coming year, likely in malls or other accessible sites, with priority for the center of the country. The long-term goal is a digital passport on a cellphone, which he said could become practical in about three years. Yosef also said Israel is expected to have more than 330,000 foreign workers within a year, up from about 242,000 now.
