Last updated: July 8, 2019

Birth and Bituach Leumi

For non-Israeli citizens who intend to live and start a family in Israel, it is important to register for Bituach Leumi as soon as possible. Bituach Leumi pays for health insurance, which covers doctor’s visits throughout pregnancy and beyond. More importantly, it is Bituach Leumi – not kupat cholim – that pays for hospitalization following a birth. If you need to see a doctor before you register for Bituach Leumi, explore different insurance options. Most kupot cholim (healthcare providers) offer different plans in which you can pay privately monthly or per doctor’s visit. Save the receipts that show that you paid privately for all doctor’s visits since you obtained your visa so that Bituach Leumi can reimburse you when you get approved.

For information on Bituach Leumi registration and on the benefits you may be eligible for once you register, see our guide on Bituach Leumi Benefits.

Registering at the Hospital

Before giving birth, you’ll need to register in the hospital that you plan to use.

If you have a teudat zehut, you can register in one of three ways:

1.Go to the hospital with both spouses’ teudot zehut and register in the Kabalat Leidah office.

2.Call the hospital of choice and they will send you a registration form which you must bring in or fax back to them together with copies of both spouses’ teudot zehut.

3.Register online. Some hospitals require that you scan the teudot zehut and send the image with the registration form. Others allow you to bring the teudot zehut along to the birth. Click here for Shaare Zedek or Bikur Cholim registration. Click here for Hadassah registration.

An Israeli woman who is married to a non-citizen on an A visa must get an ishur from Bituach Leumi like a visa holder.

If you are a visa holder, you will need to first register at the hospital, then present Bituach Leumi with a form requesting payment.

Registration in Bikur Cholim and Shaare Zedek

You can register in person, online or by fax. When registering online, the form that requests payment from Bituach Leumi will be sent to the email address you provide. This form needs to be presented in person at the Bituach Leumi office on Shimon Ben Shetach (below). If you did not register in person, both spouses will have to present the hospital with their original passports after the birth in order to receive a temporary birth certificate from the hospital.

Bituach Leumi members can register at the hospital and obtain the Bituach Leumi form via fax or email. (If you are not a Bituach Leumi member, you will need to visit the hospital to register.) To begin the process, use the following contact information:

Hadassah Ein Kerem: 02-677-6490 ext. 8 (Dan)

Hadassah Har Tzofim: 02-584-4015 (Flori) or yoldoth@hadassah.org.il (if unable to get through to number listed, call the main hospital number: 02-584-4111 and dial extension for kabalat cholim)

For further guidance on navigating birth in the Hadassah hospitals, you can reach Tamara Boretzky or another English speaking volunteer at 050-894-6695.

The Bituach Leumi payment request form must be presented in person at Bituach Leumi, along with both spouses’ passports and Bituach Leumi numbers, in your ninth month. In Jerusalem, use the office at Shimon Ben Shetach 4. Bituach Leumi will stamp the form and send it back to the hospital.

In case of emergency (premature delivery, etc.), registration can be done upon arrival at the hospital and Bituach Leumi may be taken care of after birth. You will need to bring along a postdated check for the birth in this case.

If you hold a valid A-category visa but do not yet have Bituach Leumi when registering at the hospital, Bituach Leumi will pay for the birth retroactively once you enroll. You will need to give the hospital a postdated check for the cost of the hospital stay, which the hospital will not cash if they receive payment from Bituach Leumi in time. Make sure to specify when giving in the check that it is a check pikadon, not a check dachui. A check dachui is a check that is cashed automatically at the date specified on the check. Take care of Bituach Leumi before the date on your check. If need be, you can try to work with the hospital to allow for extended time.

Note: You can register at Bikur Cholim hospital to give birth at Shaare Zedek and vice versa.

You can register in most hospitals Sunday through Thursday during work hours.

Leaving the Hospital

BBefore your discharge, you will receive these documents:

1. Teudat shichrur for mother and for baby ‒ a discharge note and medical record. Bring the baby’s teudat shichrur to your first Tipat Chalav (Well Clinic) visit. Bring your own teudat shichrur to your postpartum doctor’s visit. You will also need it if you go to a beit hachlama (convalescent home).
   
2. Vaccination record for your baby, if he/she received any immunizations. This should be brought to all Tipat Chalav appointments.
   
3. Teudat leidah chai ‒ a temporary birth certificate. This must be exchanged for the baby’s official Israeli birth certificate in Misrad Hapnim whether or not your baby is Israeli.
   

Note: Hospitals often give vouchers for a free night in beit hachlamah, but they might not offer it unless you request it from the office before you leave.

Legal Matters Following Birth

The following legal matters need to be taken care of after having a baby (in the order listed):

• 1.Kupat cholim – register your child with your health care provider
• 2.Teudat leidah ‒ Israeli birth certificate

The rest of this list is only for foreigners without a teudat zehut

• 2.Foreign birth certificate and passport (see our Foreign Citizenship information guides)
• 3.Valid visa for the baby
• 4.Bituach Leumi

Before taking care of any baby documents, both parents must have valid visas. (To receive an Israeli birth certificate, it can be either an A/1, A/2, A/4 or tourist visa. For Bituach Leumi, it can only be an A/1, A/2, or A/4.) For more information about visas, see our Visas information guide.

Kupat Cholim

For Israeli citizens born in Israel, kupat cholim registration happens automatically. An Israeli baby born outside Israel must first be registered on his or her parents’ teudot zehut before he or she can be registered with kupat cholim.

Foreign citizens must notify their kupat cholim about their new child as soon as the child is discharged from the hospital. Kupat cholim registration will not happen automatically and it is vital that your child be covered immediately should the need arise. If a child is re-hospitalized shortly after birth and is not yet covered by kupat cholim, the hospital stay will not be covered, even retroactively. Moreover, kupat cholim does not accept applicants who have been hospitalized within the last five days; a baby who is re-hospitalized after birth must wait until after the hospitalization to register with kupat cholim.

Meuhedet offers foreign citizens up to six months of free coverage for newborns. Be sure to take care of getting your new baby a passport and Bituach Leumi in as timely a fashion as possible. Waiting too long before getting your child a visa can be problematic in regard to Bituach Leumi.

If your child will be a Meuhedet member, he or she will need to wait for approval from the national headquarters in Tel Aviv unless you register with one of the following Meuhedet managers: Shaindy at Chagai 22 or Pinchas Starick at the office opposite Mir yeshiva.

If a child’s teudat shichrur identifies a preexisting condition or pending medical review, parents may be instructed to visit a private doctor for a letter dispelling the issue prior to acceptance. Additionally, foreign citizens who give birth abroad must present a letter from a doctor in Israel stating that their baby is in good health in order for the child to join kupat cholim before he or she is a Bituach Leumi member.

Note on jaundice for Meuhedet registration: When discharge papers say that bilirubin must be checked, parents can have the baby checked and bring Meuhedet a signed and stamped letter with the results. If results are lower than 10, or higher than 10 but lower than the level at discharge, parents can present the latest results to Gitti Weinbaum at Paran 5 and register. (A letter from a mohel that states that the bris was done on time is also acceptable.) If bilirubin results are not improved since hospital discharge, the baby will need to be re-tested until results show an improvement.

Once registered, the child will receive a temporary number beginning with 99. Once the child is on Bituach Leumi, he or she will receive a new permanent number.

Israeli Birth Certificate (Teudat Leidah)

The temporary birth certificate received in the hospital must be exchanged for an official birth certificate at Misrad Hapnim. In Jerusalem, both the Shlomtzion HaMalkah and Har Chomah branches provide this service.

If one or both parents are Israeli, you may apply for the birth certificate online. An Israeli child must also be properly listed on his parents’ teudot zehut. Bring the Israeli parent or parents’ teudot zehut. If only one parent is Israeli, that parent must be present to have this done, and he or she must also present his non-Israeli spouse’s passport.

If neither parent is Israeli, either spouse may go. You will be sent to Yaakov in room 209 (or a replacement if he is not there). You will need both spouses’ passports with valid visas, as well as the teudat leidah chai (temporary birth certificate) from the hospital.

In the case of a legal home birth, both parents must be present to obtain a teudat leidah.

A child born to non-Israeli parents will not be granted Israeli citizenship automatically by being born here. While Misrad Hapnim does not feel it is necessary, they can provide a certificate stating that your child is not Israeli, if you request it. The certificate costs 90 NIS (payable with Israeli credit card only). Being that your child’s foreign passport will always indicated that he or she was born in Israel, it may be worthwhile to have in order to avoid any potential complications.

For foreigners, it is best to arrange the birth certificate within a month after the birth so that Bituach Leumi will pay you kitzvat yeladim (child allowance) from the baby’s birth once he or she is registered.

Visa for Baby

If both parents have valid visas, the child will receive a visa that will be valid for the same term as the parents’. In Jerusalem, the visa department is on the first floor at Shlomzion Hamalka 1. It operates without appointments required from 8:00 am‒9:00 am on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. (Get there earlier than 7:30 am to ensure a smooth experience.)

What you need

1. Form of visa renewal (use pages 3-4; also available at Chaim V’Chessed or Misrad Hapnim)
2. Passports of both parents and the child
3. Birth certificate

You should receive the visa on the spot.

Bituach Leumi

If your child does not have a teudat zehut, you will need to register him/her for Bituach Leumi so that he/she can receive various benefits, including:

Kupat cholim ‒ free health insurance

Note: Each kupat cholim has a different policy regarding seeing a doctor for your child before he/she has Bituach Leumi. Meuhedet and Maccabi offer temporary insurance coverage for babies who do not yet have Bituach Leumi.

• Kitzvat yeladim (monthly stipend per child) and chisachon l’kol yeled (child savings plan)

Note: In order to receive any money from Bituach Leumi, you will need a bank account in the name of the mother, or a joint account with both parents' names. They will deposit the sum directly into your account. It cannot be received any other way.

Whenever you register your child, you can receive kitzvat yeladim retroactively for up to a year, if the child received an Israeli teudat leidah before turning one month old. If he was born outside Israel or received his teudat leidah after a month, you probably will only get three months’ worth.

One parent must go down to the Bituach Leumi office at Ben Sira 20 to register.

Adding a Non-Israeli Child to an Existing Plan

One parent should go to Bituach Leumi to register. The child does not need to come. In Jerusalem, go to the office on Ben Sira 20. They are open Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, 8:30 am-1:00 pm, and Monday and Wednesday, 3:00 pm-5:00 pm. There is a photocopy machine in the building that costs 30 agurot per copy; coins only.

Bring the following documents:

1.Daf knisot v’yetziyot (original page of entries and exits) for child and all existing family members from Misrad Hapnim, no more than 3-4 weeks old, plus a copy for safekeeping – see below. In some cases, the Misrad Hapnim clerk that issues your child’s visa might be willing to print out your dapei knisot v’yetziot to save you from having to wait on another line.

2.Passports of parents and child, plus copies

3.Valid visas for parents and child, plus copies

4.Bituach Leumi numbers of parents

5.Birth certificate from country of birth

6.2 Israeli-size (35 mm x 45 mm) passport pictures of the baby (if you already have another size passport photo, they will accept that instead)

7.Completed form BL1050 (registration form) plus a copy. In the field that asks for the purpose of your child’s stay in Israeli, specify “lagur megurei keva” (established residence).

8.Completed formBL5025 (kitzvat yeladim registration form). The bank account you provide here must list the child’s mother as the owner or shared owner.

9.For first child only: proof of bank account in parents' names with account number; e.g. a void check

10.If mother is eligible for maanak leidah: form BL300 and required attachments, including hospital discharge papers, proof of payment and proof of an Israeli bank account in the mother’s name

At the office, get a number at the main desk for Yeladim. If you have not yet filled out the necessary forms, do that while you wait. Submit all documents to the kitzvat yeladim secretary.

After Registration

It can take up to eight weeks for applications to be processed and for acceptance letters to arrive in the mail. Upon acceptance, visa holders are recognized as members retroactively for up to one year. They must pay Bituach Leumi membership dues for that time and notify their kupat cholim of their change in status. They are also eligible for a refund on kupat cholim and medical expenses that were incurred during their waiting period. Children who are registered within a few months after birth will be recognized as members retroactively since their birth.

Registering for Kupat Cholim through Bituach Leumi

If your child was registered with kupat cholim before joining Bituach Leumi, you must re-register him or her as a Bituach Leumi member to complete his or her coverage and stop paying privately.

Present your child’s passport and Bituach Leumi acceptance letter to any post office and pay about 16 NIS for kupat cholim registration. His or her new kupat cholim account number should be identical to his or her Bituach Leumi number.

Make sure to visit your kupat cholim clinic and have them close your child’s old account. Also confirm that your child’s past medical history has been merged into the new account.

You should receive a new kupat cholim card for your child in the mail within a few weeks.



Note: Each time the parents' or child’s visa expires, all Bituach Leumi benefits cease. To continue receiving health care benefits and to receive retroactive payment of kitzvat yeladim for the months you missed once the visas are renewed, you should bring the passports and a copy of the visas with the Bituach Leumi numbers written near each visa to Bituach Leumi. The longer one is without a valid visa, the more complicated it can become to re-register.