Why do you need power of attorney as an oleh?
Once you move to Israel, you will still have obligations and interests in your home country - a bank account, perhaps a property, a pension that needs attention, or tax matters that require someone to act on your behalf. Power of attorney (POA) gives a trusted person the legal authority to act for you while you are abroad.
Without it, even minor tasks - receiving a registered letter, signing a document, or closing an account - require you to fly back or navigate expensive notarized international procedures. Setting up POA before you leave is far simpler.
Which type of power of attorney do you need?
There are two types relevant to most olim:
- General POA: Covers a broad range of financial and legal matters. Useful if you want one trusted person to handle anything that comes up.
- Limited POA: Restricted to specific actions - for example, managing one bank account, selling a car, or filing a tax return. Better if you want to limit the authority granted.
For most olim, a limited POA focused on financial accounts, mail handling, and property management is sufficient. Think carefully about who you are appointing and what they should be able to do.
What are notarization and apostille, and do you need both?
For your POA to be recognized by home-country institutions from abroad, it typically needs to be notarized. For it to be used in Israel or recognized internationally, it may also need an apostille.
- Notarization: A notary public certifies your signature and identity. This is done in your home country before you leave - do not wait until you are in Israel.
- Apostille: A higher-level certification recognized by all countries that are signatories to the Hague Convention (which includes both Israel and most Western countries). An apostille-stamped document is accepted internationally without further authentication.
Have your POA notarized and then apostilled before departure. Keep the original with your appointed person and take a certified copy with you to Israel.
How do you set up full online access before you leave?
This is arguably more important than the POA for day-to-day management. Every financial account you intend to keep should be accessible online before departure. Work through this list:
- Bank accounts: Log in, confirm yourחשבון עובר ושב (Cheshbon Over VeShav) equivalent is accessible, and update your contact email to one you will actively check from Israel.
- Investment accounts: Ensure you can view balances, make transfers, and update addresses online.
- Pension portals: Many workplace pension portals go dormant. Log in, update your contact details, and download recent statements.
- Tax authority accounts: US: IRS online account. UK: HMRC Personal Tax Account. Log in and download the last five years of records.
- Insurance portals: Confirm you can access policy documents, update beneficiaries if needed.
Two-Factor Authentication: A Critical Detail
Most financial institutions use SMS-based two-factor authentication. Once you cancel your home-country phone number, you lose access to any account that sends codes to that number. Before leaving:
- Switch every account's 2FA from SMS to an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, etc.)
- Save backup codes in a secure place
- Consider keeping your home-country SIM active via a cheap data-only plan for the first few months if your carrier offers one
What financial tasks should you do in the final 30 days?
The month before departure, work through these tasks in order:
- Execute and apostille POA documents. Deliver the original to your appointed person.
- Cancel all הוראת קבע (Hora'at Keva) -style direct debits and standing orders for services you will not use in Israel.
- Notify your bank of your change of address and new country of residence. This triggers tax residency paperwork but prevents account freezes.
- Forward your mail to your appointed person or a mail-forwarding service.
- Pay off any outstanding credit card balances. Carrying a balance on a card you cannot easily manage from abroad is an unnecessary risk.
- Check that all עמלה (Amlah) (fees) on your accounts are set to "paperless" - physical statements sent to an old address are a privacy risk.
- Make a written record of all account numbers, custodian contact details, and the name of your POA holder. Store this securely offline.
Before you make aliyah, set up a power of attorney (POA) so a trusted person can act on your home-country financial and legal matters while you are in Israel. Most olim only need a limited POA covering financial accounts, mail handling, and property management. Have it notarized and then apostilled in your home country before departure, since Israeli and home-country institutions require those stamps to accept foreign legal documents. Just as important, secure full online access to every account you intend to keep (banks, investments, pension portals, tax authority accounts, and insurance), and switch two-factor authentication from SMS to an authenticator app so cancelling your home-country phone number does not lock you out. In the final 30 days, execute and deliver your POA, cancel unused direct debits and standing orders, notify your bank of your new country of residence, forward your mail, clear credit card balances, and record all account details offline.
After you move to Israel, you will still have obligations and interests in your home country, such as a bank account, perhaps a property, a pension that needs attention, or tax matters that require someone to act on your behalf. A power of attorney (POA) gives a trusted person the legal authority to act for you while you are abroad. Without it, even minor tasks like receiving a registered letter, signing a document, or closing an account require you to fly back or navigate expensive notarized international procedures. Setting up POA before you leave is far simpler, and doing it later from Israel is significantly more complex and expensive.
There are two types relevant to most olim. A general POA covers a broad range of financial and legal matters and is useful if you want one trusted person to handle anything that comes up. A limited POA is restricted to specific actions, for example managing one bank account, selling a car, or filing a tax return, and is better if you want to limit the authority granted. For most olim, a limited POA focused on financial accounts, mail handling, and property management is sufficient. Think carefully about who you are appointing and what they should be able to do.
Notarization is when a notary public certifies your signature and identity, and is needed for your POA to be recognized by home-country institutions from abroad. An apostille is a higher-level certification recognized by all countries that are signatories to the Hague Convention, which includes both Israel and most Western countries, and an apostille-stamped document is accepted internationally without further authentication. You typically need both: have your POA notarized and then apostilled before departure. Keep the original with your appointed person and take a certified copy with you to Israel. Do not wait until you are in Israel to get these stamps.
In the US, notarization is available at most banks, UPS stores, and law offices, and apostilles are issued by the Secretary of State's office in the state where the document was notarized. Processing typically takes 1 to 2 weeks by mail or can be done same-day in person at the state capital, usually costing $15 to $30 per document. In the UK, notarization is done by a solicitor who is also a notary public, a separate qualification from a regular solicitor, and apostilles are issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), at around £30 per document via the online postal service, typically taking 5 to 10 working days. In most other countries, a notary public handles notarization and a designated government ministry issues apostilles, so allow at least two to four weeks for the full process before departure.
Securing full online access is arguably more important than the POA for day-to-day management, so every financial account you intend to keep should be accessible online before departure. For bank accounts, log in, confirm your account is accessible, and update your contact email to one you will actively check from Israel. For investment accounts, ensure you can view balances, make transfers, and update addresses online. For pension portals, which often go dormant, log in, update your contact details, and download recent statements. For tax authority accounts (the IRS online account in the US or the HMRC Personal Tax Account in the UK), log in and download the last five years of records. For insurance portals, confirm you can access policy documents and update beneficiaries if needed.
Most financial institutions use SMS-based two-factor authentication, so once you cancel your home-country phone number you lose access to any account that sends codes to that number. Before leaving, switch every account's 2FA from SMS to an authenticator app such as Google Authenticator or Authy, and save your backup codes in a secure place. You may also consider keeping your home-country SIM active via a cheap data-only plan for the first few months if your carrier offers one.
In the month before departure, work through these tasks in order: execute and apostille your POA documents and deliver the original to your appointed person; cancel all direct debits and standing orders for services you will not use in Israel; notify your bank of your change of address and new country of residence, which triggers tax residency paperwork but prevents account freezes; forward your mail to your appointed person or a mail-forwarding service; pay off any outstanding credit card balances, since carrying a balance on a card you cannot easily manage from abroad is an unnecessary risk; set statements to paperless, because physical statements sent to an old address are a privacy risk; and make a written record of all account numbers, custodian contact details, and your POA holder's name, stored securely offline.
In your first month in Israel, send your POA holder a test instruction, a small task such as confirming an account balance or requesting a document. This lets you make sure the arrangement actually works before you need it for something important.
After You Arrive
In the first month in Israel, send your POA holder a test instruction - a small task like confirming an account balance or requesting a document. Make sure the arrangement works before you actually need it for something important.
