New olim
New to Tel Aviv? Start here
Tel Aviv-Yafo has its own Olim Resident Department, with staff who speak English, French, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese. The national first steps (bank, health fund, Ministry of Aliyah) are the same everywhere; the arnona discount, DigiTel and school registration are done through the city. Nefesh B'Nefesh runs a Tel Aviv Center in the Azrieli Round Tower.
New olim
Start here
7 steps, in the order most people take them.
- 1
Follow the national order
Bank account, health fund, Ministry of Aliyah appointment, child allowance, then arnona, school registration and the teudat ma'avar.
Go (opens in a new tab) - 2
Contact the city's olim department
Balfour 14 (the old Strauss Building), olim@tel-aviv.gov.il. Help with ulpan placement, jobs and community life.
Go (opens in a new tab) - 3
Claim the arnona discount
Up to 90% on 100 sq m for 12 months within your first 24 months, at a rate each city sets. Apply at the Municipal Service Center, 69 Ibn Gvirol.
Go - 4
Open My DigiTel
The city's app and account for arnona, parking permits, garbage schedules and resident benefits. Open from age 14 with an Israeli ID.
Go (opens in a new tab) - 5
Choose a health fund
Clalit, Leumit, Maccabi or Meuhedet, chosen by nearby clinics and doctors who speak your language.
Go - 6
Start ulpan
The city lists Ulpan Gordon and Ulpan Neve Tzedek. Olim usually register through the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration.
Go - 7
Visit the Nefesh B'Nefesh Tel Aviv Center
Azrieli Round Tower, 10th floor, 132 Derech Menachem Begin. Employment guidance, help with bureaucracy and community events.
Go (opens in a new tab)
Guides
Read next
- Your first week in Tel AvivThe order I would do things in during a first week in Tel Aviv-Yafo: national paperwork, the city's olim department, the arnona discount, 106 and DigiTel.
- Tel Aviv neighborhoods comparedHow Tel Aviv-Yafo's neighborhoods differ for newcomers: where English and French speakers and religious families settle, and what the sources say on rent.
- Renting and buying in Tel AvivSourced Tel Aviv rent figures, where listings are posted, the Fair Rental Law basics, the city's model lease, and the olim purchase tax track.
- Health funds, doctors and urgent care in Tel AvivChoosing a kupat cholim in Tel Aviv, finding an English-speaking doctor, after-hours numbers, and how the Ichilov emergency room works.
- Schools and gans in Tel AvivHow gan and school registration works in Tel Aviv-Yafo, when it opens, the papers olim need, Hebrew support, and the English-language options.
Good to know
Dial 106 from any phone for city problems and questions. The arnona discount is not retroactive, so claim it in your first two years. The Tel Aviv Museum of Art lets new residents in free for up to two years. The city's olim pages link to WhatsApp, Facebook and Telegram groups in several languages.
Community groups
Where people talk
- 126 Ben Yehuda (North Central Synagogue) communityWebsite or forum · The North Central Synagogue
- Chabad on the CoastWebsite or forum · Chabad on the Coast
- French-speaking olim of Tel Aviv (WhatsApp)WhatsApp · Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, Olim Resident Department
- Moishe House Tel AvivFacebook · Moishe House
- Nefesh B'Nefesh Communities groupFacebook · Nefesh B'Nefesh
- Olim TLV (Russian, Facebook)Facebook · Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, Olim Resident Department
Source
- Nefesh B'Nefesh: first steps (opens in a new tab)
- Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality: Olim Resident Department (opens in a new tab)
- Kol Zchut: arnona discount (Hebrew) (opens in a new tab)
- Nefesh B'Nefesh: arnona (opens in a new tab)
- Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality: My DigiTel (opens in a new tab)
- Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality: learning Hebrew (opens in a new tab)
- Nefesh B'Nefesh Tel Aviv Center (opens in a new tab)
- Tel Aviv Museum of Art (opens in a new tab)
- Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality: municipal services (opens in a new tab)
This page was written for Tel Aviv from the sources above.