How long can an oleh use the state Zakaut mortgage, 10 or 15 years?

15 years from the day you received immigrant status, as the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration states. The 10-year figure was the rule until 2012; Government Decision 4433 of 18 March 2012 changed it, and the ministry's circular made it effective on 1 November 2012.

When does the 15-year clock start?

On the date you received immigrant status, which is the date on your teudat oleh (תעודת עולה), not your flight date or the date you got your ID card. The same date drives your seniority points.

How much Zakaut loan does an oleh family get?

An oleh family gets a fixed 730 points, and its total is never below 1,700 points in the first year or 1,800 from the second year. Points convert into a base loan from ₪54,240 (599 to 999 points) up to ₪161,665 (2,200 points or more).

What happens to my Zakaut rights after 15 years?

You lose the oleh-specific terms, such as the fixed 730 points and the 1,700 and 1,800 floors, and you are assessed like any veteran resident. This can be a real drop, so run both calculations before you decide on timing.

Can I still qualify for Zakaut if I owned an apartment before?

You must also pass the chasar dira test: no family member may have held rights in an apartment, or part of one, in the 10 years before you apply. Whether an apartment you own abroad counts could not be settled from official sources, so ask the mortgage bank or the Ministry of Aliyah line (*2994).

Olim Mortgage Eligibility: 15 Years, Not 10

The short answer: you have 15 years

If you made aliyah, Israel offers you a government-backed housing loan, called a mashkanta lezaka'im (משכנתא לזכאים, an "eligibility mortgage"). It is a small, cheap loan that sits alongside your regular bank mortgage. As an oleh you can claim it on special immigrant terms for 15 years from the day you received immigrant status. The Ministry of Aliyah and Integration states this on its page on buying a home, last updated on 15 October 2026.

Many people, including long-time advisers, still say "10 years". That was the rule until 2012. If someone tells you your window closed after a decade, check the date on their source.

When and how it changed from 10 to 15 years

The change came from Israeli Government Decision 4433 of 18 March 2012. It was part of the housing package that followed the Trajtenberg committee on social and economic change. Clause 6 instructs the Director-General of the Ministry of Construction and Housing to write into the ministry's procedures that, for housing loans, oleh status is kept for 15 years instead of the 10 years in force until then.

The Ministry of Construction and Housing then sent a circular to the mortgage banks dated 28 October 2012 (circular no. 359/12), headed "Changes in the validity of oleh status". It says:

For olim who ask to use housing loans, oleh status is valid for 15 years from the date of aliyah.
This applies to anyone whose oleh status date is 1 November 1997 or later.
If your teudat oleh (immigrant certificate, תעודת עולה) shows a longer validity, the certificate wins.
If an existing eligibility certificate was calculated on 10 years and the registration is still valid, the ministry issues a new certificate based on 15 years.
The change took effect on 1 November 2012.

So the 15-year rule is not new. It has applied to housing loans for olim for about 14 years.

Who counts as an oleh for this loan

The loan is for people who hold a valid teudat oleh and who are "chasrei dira" (חסרי דירה, people without a home, explained below). The Ministry of Construction and Housing has separate scoring rules for oleh families, oleh single parents, single olim, and couples where one partner is an oleh and the other a veteran resident. The banks process the request, but the ministry issues the eligibility certificate (te'udat zaka'ut, תעודת זכאות). It is usually valid for one year.

Two practical points. First, an oleh can choose to be assessed under the oleh rules or under the rules for veteran residents, whichever helps more. Second, the eligibility loan is debt like any other: your total mortgage, including the bank's supplementary loan, is generally capped at 75% of the purchase price.

When the clock starts

The 15 years run from the date you received immigrant status (ta'arich kabalat ma'amad oleh, תאריך קבלת מעמד עולה). This is the date on your teudat oleh, not your flight date or the date you got your ID card. The same date drives your points: oleh families earn "seniority" points for every full year since that date.

How much the loan is worth (2026 tables)

The amount depends on points. On the ministry's pages, last updated 30 March 2026, an oleh family gets 30 points in year 0, 250 after one full year, then 300, 350, 400 and 450, plus 50 for each further year. Children add 350 for one child, 500 for two, 650 for three and 800 for four. Every oleh family also gets a fixed 730 points. Whatever the total, an oleh family has at least 1,700 points in its first year and 1,800 from the second year.

Points convert into a base loan: from ₪54,240 (599 to 999 points) up to ₪161,665 (2,200 points or more). For example, 1,700 to 1,799 points gives ₪107,090 and 1,800 to 1,899 gives ₪117,985. Oleh families with more than five full years since immigrant status get a further loan of ₪19,630 (years 5 to 6), ₪28,370 (year 7) or ₪43,630 (year 8 and later). The family page states 3% interest over 28 years for this supplement. For single olim from age 21, the ministry's page gives seniority points plus a fixed 600 between ages 21 and 45, or 400 above 45, capped at 1,690. Kol Zchut (כל זכות), a widely used rights guide (page updated 2 March 2025), reads it differently: 600 points from 21, plus an extra 400 above 45. Until that is clarified, treat any estimate for a single oleh as provisional and rely on your certificate.

The interest rate is set by section 4 of the Housing Loans Law: it is the lowest of three figures. (a) The average bank rate on housing credit for your loan's term, as published by the Bank of Israel, minus 0.5 percentage points. (b) 3%. (c) The lending bank's own usual rate, if that is lower. The loan is CPI-linked at a fixed rate, for up to 30 years. Shorter terms of 5 to 25 years are also offered.

What happens after 15 years

When the window closes you lose the oleh-specific terms: the fixed 730 points, the 1,700 and 1,800 floors, and the oleh seniority supplements. You are not shut out. You are assessed like any veteran resident. For couples and families, points then come from the number of full years married, the number of children (unmarried, up to 21, living with you) and the number of siblings each partner has who are Israeli citizens living in Israel. Veteran singles qualify nationwide from age 30, with points by age plus siblings.

This can be a real drop. A family of two with no siblings in Israel, three years after aliyah, has at least 1,800 points as olim. As veterans, the same couple married three years would have 350 points, below the 599 minimum. If you are getting close to year 15, run both calculations before you decide on timing.

The other clock: the 10-year "chasar dira" test

The 10-year figure people remember still exists, but it measures something else. To be chasar dira for mortgage assistance, neither you nor any family member may have held rights in an apartment, or part of one, in the 10 years before you apply. You also must not have received government housing aid before, apart from rent assistance. The ministry's definition page was updated on 17 September 2026.

The 15-year window asks: are you still within 15 years of receiving oleh status?
The 10-year test asks: did you own any share of an apartment in the 10 years before applying?
You must pass both. An oleh who bought and sold a flat in year 4 is still inside the 15-year window in year 12, but fails the 10-year test.
There is an exception for sellers left with limited sale proceeds: up to ₪151,783 for a single person and ₪178,661 for a couple or family, if they own no other home.
You can use the assistance only once. A loan or grant already taken counts as prior government aid.

One question we could not settle from official sources is whether an apartment you own abroad counts against you. The ministry's definition does not mention property abroad. Ask the mortgage bank or the Ministry of Aliyah information line (*2994) before you rely on it either way.

What to do now

Find your oleh status date on your teudat oleh and add 15 years.
Register for the eligibility certificate through any mortgage bank. You can take the loan at a different bank from the one that issued the certificate.
Use the Ministry of Construction and Housing points calculator to compare oleh and veteran scoring.
Plan around the deadlines: for a second-hand home, the purchase contract must be less than a year old; for a new home from a developer, less than 36 months. In both cases the price must not yet be fully paid.
In Ribit's simulator, enter the eligibility loan as a fixed CPI-linked track and compare the mix with and without it.