Healthcare for new Olim
Israel’s health system is organised differently from the NHS. Your first task is to confirm health-fund registration, then build a safe handover for medication, clinicians and ongoing care.
Individuals and families planning healthcare after Aliyah
Written for people moving from the UK to Israel.
Free to read and use.
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The UK-to-Israel lens
Bridge NHS care safely
Ask your GP or specialist for useful summaries, medication details, vaccination records and recent results.
Check lawful medication supply and transport before travel; keep essential medicines in hand luggage.
Register with the Israeli health system as instructed and do not assume NHS coverage follows you.
The short version
Three things to keep in view
Register with a Kupat Cholim (health fund) through the current official route.
Bring concise records and plan medication continuity before leaving the UK.
Separate the statutory health system, supplementary health-fund cover and private insurance.
How the system fits together
A Kupat Cholim is one of Israel’s health funds. Eligible residents must be registered with a health fund to access services within the statutory health system. Health-fund supplementary plans and private medical insurance are separate products with different cover and exclusions.
Before leaving the UK
- Ask your general practitioner for a concise medical summary, repeat-prescription list and relevant recent results.
- Bring generic medicine names, doses and the clinical reason for each treatment.
- Ask the appropriate clinician how much medication can safely and lawfully be supplied for transition.
- Collect maternity, child-health, vaccination, mental-health and specialist records that affect continuity.
- Check how mobility, sensory, home-care or medical-equipment needs will be supported on arrival.
Your first health appointments
- Confirm health-fund registration and how to choose a local clinic and family doctor.
- Bring identity and health-fund details plus a short written medical summary.
- Ask how referrals, specialists, prescriptions, repeat medicines and out-of-hours care work.
- Confirm whether current medicines are available under the same name, formulation and dose.
- Keep emergency information accessible in English and, where useful, Hebrew.
Children, pregnancy and ongoing conditions
Contact the health fund early if you need pregnancy care, paediatrics, mental-health support, therapies or time-sensitive monitoring. A UK diagnosis or treatment plan is useful evidence but does not automatically create the same Israeli pathway or entitlement.
Do not stop or change medication based on information on this website. Discuss continuity of treatment with an appropriate medical professional before moving.
Dental, optical and private cover
Ask what sits inside the statutory basket, what requires a co-payment, what a supplementary plan adds and what any private policy excludes. Do not assume an NHS pathway or UK policy transfers automatically.
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Sources checked for this guide
Open the official page and re-check it before a high-stakes decision. Linked services can change after our review date.
Important information: General information only, not medical advice. Use qualified clinicians and current health-fund or Ministry guidance. Read the full disclaimer.
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