Eastern Europe
Making aliyah from Latvia
818 people moved from Latvia to Israel between 2015 and 2025, including 43 in 2025. Here is what the official record shows about them, and what the process looks like from Latvia specifically.
Olim in 2025
43
granted oleh status on arrival
Total since 2015
818
11 years of the record
Busiest year
2023
161 arrivals
Most chosen town
Tel Aviv-Yafo
161 people
Settlement concentration
Not ranked: Latvia has fewer than 1,000 olim on the detailed record, so its top three towns say more about one absorption programme than about a pattern.
The record
Aliyah from Latvia, in the ministry's own files
Every arrival counted once, in the year they landed and the town they registered in.
Arrivals from Latvia by year
Where they settled
Absorption town recorded on arrival.
- 1Tel Aviv-Yafo161
- 2Haifa87
- 3Bat Yam66
- 4Netanya51
- 5Rishon LeZion38
- 6Karmiel35
- 7Jerusalem29
- 8Holon25
- 9Petah Tikva21
- 10Herzliya20
Age on arrival
22% arrived as children, 14% at 65 or over.
- 10-17176
- 218-2483
- 325-3495
- 435-49203
- 550-64150
- 665+111
What they did before moving
Occupation recorded at registration. "School pupil" and "student" reflect how many arrive as dependants.
- 1School pupil133
- 2Not stated86
- 3Retired78
- 4Economist60
- 5Student28
- 6Mechanical engineer16
- 7Primary school teacher15
- 8Civil engineer14
Destination
More went to Tel Aviv-Yafo than anywhere else
161 of the 818 arrivals from Latvia registered in Tel Aviv-Yafo, ahead of Haifa, Bat Yam, Netanya.
That is 20% of everyone arriving from Latvia, against 12.3% of olim from all countries.
The town is recorded once, on arrival, so the chart above shows where people registered rather than where they live now.
How it works
The process from Latvia
The Jewish Agency for Israel runs the process through its regional office and the Israeli consulate.
The Jewish Agency organises assisted departures, and in emergencies has run dedicated flights.
Russian-speaking olim have long-established communities in Haifa, Netanya, Bat Yam, Ashdod and Nof HaGalil.
Documents are the slow part everywhere: birth certificates, proof of Jewish descent, police clearance and, in most countries, apostilles. Start collecting before you open the file, not after. The full sequence is in the aliyah guide.
Arriving with Russian as your first language, ulpan is the single biggest determinant of how fast your first year goes. New olim are entitled to free Hebrew study, and the Hebrew alphabet and essential phrases pages are a no-cost head start.
Before you go
Work out what your money is worth: the cost of living page has rent, groceries and salaries in real numbers, and the shekel converter gives today's rate.
A market stall in Jerusalem with prices marked in shekels.
Check the calendar you are moving into: holiday dates close the country for whole weeks in autumn and spring, and Shabbat times govern the week.
A sesame-topped challah loaf, freshly baked.
See how Latvia compares with everywhere else on the full statistics explorer.
An open-plan office floor of screens and desks.
Aliyah from elsewhere in Eastern Europe
Total arrivals 2015 to 2025, in brackets.
Start here
The move itself, in six steps
Eligibility, opening the file, the documents, the visa, landing day and the absorption benefits that follow. The guide is the same wherever you are starting from.
Frequently asked questions
How many people make aliyah from Latvia each year?+
43 in 2025, and 818 in total between 2015 and 2025. The strongest single year was 2023, with 161 arrivals.
Where do olim from Latvia settle?+
Tel Aviv-Yafo takes the largest share, followed by Haifa, Bat Yam, Netanya. 20% of olim from Latvia settled in Tel Aviv-Yafo, against 12.3% of olim overall.
Who handles an aliyah application from Latvia?+
The Jewish Agency for Israel runs the process through its regional office and the Israeli consulate.
Is aliyah from Latvia mostly families or individuals?+
Of the 818 arrivals recorded, 22% were children under 18 and 14% were 65 or over. That is a family-heavy profile.
Source: Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, published on data.gov.il. Figures count people granted oleh status on arrival. Rebuilt 2026-08-05.