South America
Making aliyah from Panama
324 people moved from Panama to Israel between 2015 and 2025, including 18 in 2025. Here is what the official record shows about them, and what the process looks like from Panama specifically.
Olim in 2025
18
granted oleh status on arrival
Total since 2015
324
11 years of the record
Busiest year
2021
46 arrivals
Most chosen town
Jerusalem
72 people
Settlement concentration
Not ranked: Panama 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 Panama, in the ministry's own files
Every arrival counted once, in the year they landed and the town they registered in.
Arrivals from Panama by year
Where they settled
Absorption town recorded on arrival.
- 1Jerusalem72
- 2Tel Aviv-Yafo25
- 3Herzliya23
- 4Ra'anana23
- 5Karmiel13
- 6Netanya12
- 7Haifa11
- 8Rishon LeZion11
- 9Holon10
- 10Giv'at Ze'ev9
Age on arrival
23% arrived as children, 4% at 65 or over.
- 10-1773
- 218-24114
- 325-3453
- 435-4936
- 550-6434
- 665+14
What they did before moving
Occupation recorded at registration. "School pupil" and "student" reflect how many arrive as dependants.
- 1Student55
- 2Not stated54
- 3School pupil44
- 4Unskilled10
- 5Homemaker9
- 6Retired8
- 7Professional services8
- 8Social sciences graduate6
Destination
More went to Jerusalem than anywhere else
72 of the 324 arrivals from Panama registered in Jerusalem, ahead of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Herzliya, Ra'anana.
That is 22% of everyone arriving from Panama, against 8.2% 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 Panama
The Jewish Agency for Israel runs the process through its regional office and the Israeli consulate.
Commercial flights, usually via Europe or a direct seasonal route.
Latin American olim have strong footholds in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ra'anana, Netanya and Be'er Sheva.
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 Spanish 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 Panama compares with everywhere else on the full statistics explorer.
An open-plan office floor of screens and desks.
Aliyah from elsewhere in South America
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 Panama each year?+
18 in 2025, and 324 in total between 2015 and 2025. The strongest single year was 2021, with 46 arrivals.
Where do olim from Panama settle?+
Jerusalem takes the largest share, followed by Tel Aviv-Yafo, Herzliya, Ra'anana. 22% of olim from Panama settled in Jerusalem, against 8.2% of olim overall.
Who handles an aliyah application from Panama?+
The Jewish Agency for Israel runs the process through its regional office and the Israeli consulate.
Is aliyah from Panama mostly families or individuals?+
Of the 324 arrivals recorded, 23% were children under 18 and 4% 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.