Israel offers $3,500 to citizens of all African countries who leave voluntarily

Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority expanded its “voluntary departure” grant to citizens of all African countries after the number of people leaving fell by about 20% last year. The authority calls the beneficiaries “infiltrators,” while human rights organizations say many of them are asylum seekers.

Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority has begun expanding a program that pays $3,500 to Africans who agree to leave the country voluntarily, making citizens of all African countries eligible for the grant, Haaretz reported Thursday. Through the move, the authority seeks to halt the decline in the number of people leaving Israel with its assistance.

The program is limited to foreign nationals whom the authority says are residing in the country illegally. The rules published on its website exclude Israeli citizens, permanent residents and Palestinians, meaning that Israelis of Ethiopian origin and other Israeli citizens of African descent are not eligible.

Who is eligible for the grant?

According to the authority’s website, last updated in June, those returning to their country of origin receive $3,500. Those leaving for a third African country under a special arrangement receive $5,000 if they are women or children and $3,500 if they are men. The package also includes an airline ticket and travel documents, as well as protection from enforcement measures until the flight date.

صالة المغادرة في مطار بن غوريون قرب تل أبيب

The authority describes the beneficiaries as “infiltrators,” citing among them nationals of Sudan, Eritrea, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel. Human rights organizations, by contrast, describe many of them as asylum seekers.

Calcalist reported in July that the grant was suspended in mid-2025 as part of budget cuts, then reinstated at the beginning of 2026 only for African “infiltrators” returning to their countries or heading to a third African country, not for those traveling to Western countries.

Fewer departures, with Eritreans leading

Haaretz said the number of people who left with the authority’s assistance fell by about 20% in 2025, and that Eritreans accounted for 89% of those departing from African countries. According to official figures cited by Calcalist, 2,815 people left in 2025, compared with 3,511 in 2024, when the figure reached its peak. The authority attributed the decline to Canada tightening its asylum quotas and the United States closing its borders. According to the newspaper, about 17,600 of these migrants were still in Israel as of July.

Another system dating back to 2017 requires employers to deduct 16% of these workers’ wages and deposit it in a fund that can be withdrawn only upon final departure. In 2025, 1,499 departing workers withdrew a total of 74.6 million shekels, or about 50,000 shekels per person.

لوحة بوابة مغادرة بالعبرية والإنجليزية والعربية في مطار بن غوريون

The Rwanda and Uganda experience

This is not the first time Israel has used money to encourage African asylum seekers to leave. In 2018, it offered the same amount along with a travel ticket to Rwanda or Uganda, and threatened to imprison those who refused. At the time, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees expressed concern that those deported to the two countries would not find sufficient safety, while the plan later collapsed after arrangements with the third countries fell apart. Israel’s Hotline for Refugees and Migrants has long said that these departures were not truly voluntary.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons

Israel offers $3,500 to citizens of all African countries who leave voluntarily