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10 New Countries Will Be Added to List of ‘Red’ Countries by Midnight Tomorrow, December 21, 2021:
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The Israeli Government
announced earlier today that as of tomorrow midnight Tuesday, December 21, 2021, following countries
will be added to the list of ‘red’ countries due to the “rapid increase” in cases of the Omicron variant:
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United States
Italy
Belgium
Switzerland
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Morocco
Germany Hungary Portugal
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Israel has in recent days already added nine countries to the “red” list: the UK, Denmark, France, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden. South Africa and a slew of other African countries were added at the start of the month.
Under the current "red" countries
regulations, there is a significant difference between Israeli
nationals and non-Israeli nationals who visited red countries in the last
14 days before the travel to Israel:
- Non-Israeli citizens: are not allowed to enter Israel. No exceptions were
provided to this regulation, even to those who have a B-1 Work Visa with
Multiple Entry Visas. Any COVID-19 exceptional permit already
provided to a foreign national for entry from any of these countries during
the ban will be revoked at Midnight, Tuesday, December 21, 2021.
- Israeli Citizens: barred from traveling to these countries. Israelis
who do return from these countries will be forced to enter State-Run
COVID-19 Isolation Motel until their first COVID test comes back negative,
but they must remain in home quarantine for seven days, even if they are
fully vaccinated with a booster.
Daily Updates of Banned
Countries and the Difficulty to Plan Travels Ahead
The decision came a few days
after coalition party leaders agreed to update the list of banned
countries daily. This move is expected to reduce flights abroad by making it
difficult to plan trips in advance and putting every travel to Israel
in the coming weeks at a risk.
Nachman Ash, the Health Ministry’s
director-general said during a press briefing on Sunday (December 12, 2021)
that:
“Whoever is planning to travel abroad at this
time needs to know that, upon their return, they are likely to go into full
quarantine because the country will be declared a red country”. This quote
relates to Israeli nationals.
KTA Recommendations
- Foreign national with a B-1 work visa holder that
is currently in one of the newly added countries or visited those
countries in the last 14 days: to consider pulling the travel for arrival
to Israel until
Midnight, Tuesday, December 21, 2021
- Dependents with a B-2 visitor visa and multiple entry visa
that is currently in one of the newly added countries or visited
those countries in the last 14 days, to consider pulling the travel for arrival
Midnight, Tuesday, December 21, 2021
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COVID-19 Red Countries FAQ
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Q: What does the term ‘red country’ mean for foreign nationals?
A: A ‘red country’ is one that foreign nationals cannot enter
Israel from.
Q:
What are the chances of my country becoming ‘red’?
A:
It is unclear which countries will become ‘red’. The decision
of the country’s “color” is being taken according to the Israeli government’s
decision which is based on the COVID-19 morbidity of the specific country.
Q: What determines a ‘red country’?
A: A ‘red’ classification simply means that it is a destination
of high COVID-19 infection risk. This type of classification comes after a decision-making
process and joint analysis of the Ministry of Health with other relevant
governmental ministries. The assessment goes by the following:
a. The number of new cases, imported by travelers entering
Israel from a country, is higher than 50 (Over the past 30 days). OR
b. The number of new cases, imported by travelers entering
Israel from a country, is higher than 10 (Over the past 30 days) AND is higher
than 0.5% of total travelers entering Israel from that country. OR c. High
levels of morbidity and new cases in a country (according to ICL and IHME
Models), combining the frequency of VOCs, and the ratio of positive cases per
total travelers entering Israel from that country.
Q: Is there an exception provided for foreign nationals
arriving from ‘red countries’?
A: So far, no exceptions were made for foreign nationals,
including business people, foreign nationals that already work in Israel and
need to return or their dependents, new employees, etc.
Q: Can I travel to Israel from a red country through another
non-red country?
A: If an individual travels from a red country to a non-red
country, they will need to stay in that country for at least 14 days before
traveling to Israel. For example: If an employee with a valid B-1 work visa and multiple entry visa is in Spain
(currently classified as a ‘red country’), and from there travels to Greece (an
‘orange country’), they will need to stay in Greece for at least 14 days before
traveling to Israel.
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KTA
will operate a designated special emergency response team today and tomorrow
(Monday-Tuesday December 21-22) 08:30-17:00 to proactively direct our clients as well as operate
a Hotline for telephone calls: +97236138202. Please do call us if any
questions.
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Best Regards,
Amit Acco, Senior Partner, amit@ktalegegal.com
KAN-TOR & ACCO
Global Site: www.ktalegal.com
Disclaimer: The content herein is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended as legal advice. Readers are advised not to act upon the contained information without professional advice. No portion of this newsletter may be reproduced without express permission. © Kan-Tor & Acco law firm
The COVID-19 information is gathered from various public media sources at the courtesy of KTA to its clients and website visitors. Due to the rapid, sometimes daily changes in policy, we urge any traveler to get updated at the official government website before planning or taking any international travel to or from Israel.
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