Comparing the Lesse-Passe and Darkon

March 23, 2022 2754 Time to read: 5 min.

In Israel, there are two documents that allow a citizen of the country to travel abroad – these are the lesse passe (or Teudat Maavar) and the Darkon.

At the same time, their main difference lies in the list of countries available for visiting without a visa.

From the summer of 2017 to December 2020, all Israeli citizens, including new repatriates, were eligible to receive a Darkon. But on December 8, 2020, the Israeli Interior Ministry adopted a new procedure for issuing passports to repatriates, which we have described in detail here.

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This news caused a considerable resonance among non-resident Israelis. However, the new order is not a reason for panic. For new returnees, the changes will not entail serious consequences.

Let’s examine the three main differences between Lesse-Passe and Darkon:

Lesse-passe has a bright red cover, and Darkon has the usual blue one.
Teudat Maavar is issued for no more than 5 years, and the Darkon – for up to 10 years.
The owners of the lesse pass can enter the territory of about 60 countries without a visa, and the owners of the Darkon – more than 150 states.

However, it should be noted that with the lesse pass you can freely visit most European countries. The only noticeable disadvantage is the need to apply for a visa to the UK.

To make it easier for you to understand the differences between the lesse-pass international travel document and the Darkon passport, RIC specialists have prepared a list of visa-free entry countries.

	Darkon	Lesse Pass
Austria	v	v
Albania	v	v
Andorra	v	v
Argentina	v
Armenia	v
Aruba	v	v
Bahamas	v	v
Barbados	v
Belarus	v	v
Belgium	v	v
Belize	v
Bermuda	v	v
Bulgaria	v	v
Bolivia	v
Bosnia and Herzegovina	v
Botswana	v
Brazil	v
Burundi	v
Vanuatu	v
Great Britain	v
Hungary	v	v
Haiti	v
Guadeloupe	v
Guatemala	v
Germany	v	v
Guernsey	v
Honduras	v	v
Hong Kong	v	v
Grenada	v	v
Greenland	v
Greece	v	v
Georgia	v	v
Denmark	v	v
Dominica	v
Dominican Republic	v
Jersey	v


Egypt	v
Zambia	v
Zimbabwe	v
Jordan	v
Italy	v	v
Iceland	v
Spain	v	v
Ireland	v	v
Cape Verde	v
Cayman Islands	v
Cambodia	v
Kenya	v
Kyrgyzstan	v
Colombia	v
Cyprus	v	v
Comoros	v
Colombia	v	v
Costa Rica	v	v
Laos	v
Latvia	v	v
Lesotho	v
Lithuania	v	v
Liechtenstein	v	v
Luxembourg	v	v
Mauritius	v
Madagascar	v
Mayotte	v
Macedonia	v
Malawi	v
Maldives	v
Malta	v	v
Macau	v
Martinique	v
Marshall Islands	v
Mexico	v

Mozambique	v
Moldova	v	v
Monaco	v	v
Mongolia	v
Montserrat	v
Myanmar	v
Nauru	v	v
Nepal	v
Netherlands Antilles Islands	v
Netherlands	v	v
Nicaragua	v
Niue	v
New Zealand	v	v
New Caledonia	v
Norway	v	v
Isle of Man	v
St. Bartholomew Island	v
St. Helena Island	v
Cook Islands	v
Turks and Caicos Islands	v
Palau	v
Panama	v
Paraguay	v	v
Peru	v
Poland	v	v
Portugal	v	v
Russia	v	v
Romania	v	v
El Salvador	v
Samoa	v
San Marino	v	v
Swaziland	v
Seychelles	v	v
Senegal	v
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	v

Saint Kitts	v	v
Saint Lucia	v	v
Saint Martin	v
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	v
Serbia	v	v
Singapore	v	v
Slovakia	v	v
Slovenia	v	v
Solomon Islands	v
Suriname	v
Taiwan	v
Thailand	v
Tanzania	v
Timor-Leste	v
Togo	v
Tonga	v
Trinidad and Tobago	v
Tuvalu	v
Turkey	v
Uganda	v
Ukraine	v
Wallis and Futuna	v
Uruguay	v	v
Faroe Islands	v
Federated States of Micronesia	v
Fiji	v	v
Philippines	v
Finland	v	v
Falkland Islands	v	v
France	v	v
French Guiana	v
French Polynesia	v
Croatia	v	v
CAR	v
Montenegro	v

Czech Republic	v	v
Chile	v
Switzerland	v	v
Sweden	v	v
Sri Lanka	v
Ecuador	v
Estonia	v	v
Ethiopia	v
South Africa	v
South Korea	v
South Sudan	v
Jamaica	v
Japan	v	v

The WRAI provides consultations and practical assistance in obtaining Israeli citizenship. We are ready to answer your questions and accompany you in obtaining an Israeli passport and obtaining a lesse pass or a Darkon – leave a request on the website or contact us in any convenient way.

What is the difference between a Lesse Pass and a Darkon?

A Lesse pass is a temporary travel document that entitles Israeli citizens to cross the borders of more than 50 countries. Currently, the registration of this document on the territory of Israel has been discontinued.

Darkon is a permanent foreign passport of an Israeli citizen. The list of countries for visa-free regime in the presence of a Darkon is much larger than in the presence of a Lesse Pass, and amounts to 159 countries in 2023.

Learn more about the difference between Lesse-passe and Darkon.

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