What Is Sal Klita?
סל קליטה (Sal Klita), literally the "Absorption Basket," is the grant the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration (Misrad HaKlita) pays new olim who meet its conditions over the first six months in Israel: NIS 21,694 for a single adult and NIS 41,359 for a couple on the 2026 table1. If you land on an oleh visa it starts with a prepaid bank card handed over at Ben Gurion; olim who change status to oleh inside Israel get the whole first payment to their bank account instead. It is not a loan and it is not income-tested; you keep it whatever you earn later. Think of it as a financial runway while you settle in, learn Hebrew, and find your footing.
Eligibility follows oleh status, not the organization you flew with, and the basket must be claimed within a year of receiving that status. Leaving the country stops the payments, and they resume only if you are back within a year of your aliyah.
Who Is Eligible?
Sal Klita is available to anyone who meets all of the following conditions1:
- Made aliyah (immigrated as a Jew or family member under the Law of Return)
- Holds a valid Teudat Oleh (immigration certificate)
- Entered Israel on a new-immigrant ("Oleh") visa, or otherwise holds full eligibility for new-immigrant ("oleh") status
- Resided in Israel for up to 24 months, whether consecutively or cumulatively, during the three years before receiving new-immigrant status or eligibility
- Is a new immigrant, not a returning resident or tourist
Children under 18 are included in the family payment and do not receive a separate basket. Spouses who are not Jewish but immigrated together are also covered.
How is Sal Klita paid out?
Sal Klita is paid in seven parts over six months, and it ends there1:
- Airport payment - The first portion of the first payment, loaded onto a prepaid bank card while you are still at the airport if you arrived on an oleh visa. Olim who changed status to oleh inside Israel get the whole first payment into their bank account instead. This covers your first days: a hotel, initial groceries, and getting a SIM card.
- Monthly payments (months 1–6) - Six monthly installments deposited directly into your Israeli bank account, starting from your first full month of residency. This is why opening a bank account on day one is so important.
- After month 6 - Sal Klita stops after the sixth monthly payment. There is no ulpan-attendance extension to month 12. What the Ministry tells you to do once the payments end is check whether you qualify for assured income (Havtachat Hachnasa, the Dmei Kiyum most olim hear about), a separate means-tested support covered in the assured income article of this section. Rent assistance from the Ministry of Construction and Housing also starts only once the Sal Klita payments have ended3; its two regimes by oleh-status date are in the guide to olim rent assistance.
Knowledge Check
When do you receive your first Sal Klita payment?
How Much Will You Receive?
Amounts are set by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and published as an annual table. The 2026 table, over the standard six months, comes to:
- Single adult: NIS 21,694 in total: NIS 1,250 on a prepaid bank card at Ben Gurion, NIS 1,544 to your bank account as the rest of the first payment, then six monthly payments of NIS 3,1501
- Couple: NIS 41,359 in total: NIS 2,500 at the airport, NIS 4,023 to the bank, then six monthly payments of NIS 5,8061
- Single-parent family: NIS 35,071 in total1
- Each child: NIS 8,521 (age 4-18), NIS 12,831 (under 4) or NIS 11,300 (18-21) on the same schedule, and a family of six or more gets a further NIS 5,9181
The airport figures apply to olim who land on an oleh visa; if you changed status inside Israel, the whole first payment goes to your bank account. Either way the airport card is a small slice of the total (NIS 1,250 of NIS 21,694 for a single adult); the bulk arrives as the six monthly bank transfers. Separate tables apply to olim within five years of retirement age (NIS 26,785 single, NIS 50,888 couple) and to those past it (NIS 22,779 single, NIS 34,263 couple)1. The Ministry republishes the table each year, so check the current one against your aliyah date.
How do you receive your Sal Klita payments?
The process is largely automatic once you land:
- At the airport: If you arrived on an oleh visa, the Ministry representative loads the airport portion onto a prepaid bank card; the rest of the first payment goes to your bank account once it is registered. Olim who changed status inside Israel skip the card and receive the whole first payment by bank transfer. Keep your Teudat Oleh accessible - this is your entry document for everything.
- Monthly payments: You must register with the local Absorption Ministry office (Misrad HaKlita) in your city within the first few weeks. They will set up your ongoing payment schedule to your Israeli bank account.
- Bank account required: Payments after the airport go directly to your bank account via bank transfer. Open your account as quickly as possible - ideally within your first week.
The Absorption Ministry has English-speaking staff in most major cities and can walk you through the full process. Offices are located in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beer Sheva, and other absorption centers.
What Can You Use It For?
Sal Klita is completely unrestricted. Use it for rent, groceries, ulpan tuition, public transport, setting up your apartment - anything you need. There is no reporting requirement and no accounting to anyone for how you spend it.
Sal Klita ("Absorption Basket") is a financial grant, not a loan, paid by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration to every qualifying new oleh over the first six months in Israel. On the 2026 table it totals NIS 21,694 for a single adult and NIS 41,359 for a couple, with each child adding NIS 8,521 to 12,831 depending on age. If you land on an oleh visa, a first slice (NIS 1,250 single, NIS 2,500 couple) arrives on a prepaid bank card at the airport; olim who change status inside Israel get the whole first payment by bank transfer. The rest comes as six monthly bank transfers, so you need an Israeli bank account and must register with your local Misrad HaKlita office within the first few weeks. Payments end after month six, with no ulpan extension; the next thing to check is assured income (Dmei Kiyum). Eligibility is not income-tested, and the basket must be claimed within a year of receiving oleh status. The money is unrestricted, with no reporting on how you spend it.
Sal Klita, literally the "Absorption Basket," is a financial grant paid by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration (Misrad HaKlita) to help new olim cover living expenses during their first months in Israel. It is not a loan. It is a grant you keep regardless of your income or future employment, and there is no repayment. Eligibility follows oleh status and the residency conditions the Ministry sets, not the organization you made aliyah with.
Sal Klita is available to anyone who made aliyah (immigrated as a Jew or family member under the Law of Return), holds a valid Teudat Oleh (immigration certificate), entered on an oleh visa or otherwise holds full oleh eligibility, resided in Israel no more than 24 months (consecutively or cumulatively) in the three years before receiving that status, and is a new immigrant rather than a returning resident or tourist. Children under 18 are included in the family payment and do not receive a separate basket. Spouses who are not Jewish but immigrated together are also covered.
On the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration's 2026 table, the standard six-month basket totals NIS 21,694 for a single adult, NIS 35,071 for a single-parent family and NIS 41,359 for a couple, with each child adding NIS 8,521 (age 4-18), NIS 12,831 (under 4) or NIS 11,300 (18-21). The figures include the airport card, the balance of the first payment and all six monthly installments. Olim within five years of retirement age are on a higher table (NIS 26,785 single, NIS 50,888 couple), and the Ministry republishes the amounts each year, so check the table that applies to your aliyah date.
If you arrive on an oleh visa, your first payment starts at the airport while you are still there. The Ministry representative loads the airport portion onto a prepaid bank card (NIS 1,250 for a single adult, NIS 2,500 for a couple on the 2026 table), and the rest of the first payment goes to your bank account once it is registered. Olim who changed status to oleh inside Israel receive the whole first payment into their bank account instead, with no airport card. After that, six monthly installments are deposited directly into your Israeli bank account, starting from your first full month of residency. You do not need to wait three months for money, the first payment arrives almost immediately upon arrival.
Yes. Every payment after the airport card goes directly to your Israeli bank account via bank transfer, so you should open an account as quickly as possible, ideally within your first week. You must also register with your local Absorption Ministry office (Misrad HaKlita) in your city within the first few weeks, and they will set up your ongoing payment schedule. The Absorption Ministry has English-speaking staff in most major cities (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beer Sheva, and other absorption centers) to walk you through the process.
No. Sal Klita ends after the sixth monthly payment, and there is no ulpan-attendance mechanism that extends it to month 12. What the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration tells olim to do once the payments end is check whether they are entitled to assured income (Havtachat Hachnasa, known to olim as Dmei Kiyum), a separate means-tested support for those who are unemployed or earning below set thresholds. It is not paid retroactively, so apply in month 7 if you think you qualify.
Sal Klita is completely unrestricted. You can use it for rent, groceries, ulpan tuition, public transport, setting up your apartment, or anything else you need. There is no reporting requirement and no accounting to anyone for how you spend it.
No. There is no equivalent program in the United States, the UK, or any other country; most governments do not provide financial grants to citizens who emigrate or to immigrants arriving under any legal status. The closest UK comparison might be a private, discretionary employer relocation package. Sal Klita is entirely unique to Israel and reflects the Law of Return and the state's mission to absorb Jewish immigrants from anywhere in the world. For US olim it may feel small relative to American salaries, but it provides a genuine cushion during a period when you are unlikely to be earning a full income.
Next Steps
Now that you understand the basics, the next article covers how to make the most of your Sal Klita - including what replaces it in months 7–12 (the separate, means-tested Dmei Kiyum), timing strategies, and what to do with the airport payment the moment you land.