Benefit to orphans and children eligible to a special allowance (abandoned children)

• An orphaned child – a child who is an Israeli resident, with both parents deceased or one parent deceased and the other in prison or absent - and unable to fulfill his or her parental duties toward the child on a permanent basis.
• A child eligible to a special allowance (an abandoned child) – a child who is an Israeli resident, with at least one parent an Israeli residentA person whose life is centered in Israel. Criteria for determining this include: Israel is your permanent place of residence, where your family resides, where your children go to school, your primary place of work, or where you are studying. , and has been abandoned either by both parents, or by one with the other missing or not living with the family and cannot fulfill his or her parental duties towards the child on a permanent basis. 
  An adopted child is not considered eligible to a special allowance unless he or she have been abandoned by the adoptive parents.
• A child entitled to a survivors pension - may be eligible for income support benefit provided that he doesn't live with the second parent.
• A child who abandoned his parents' home.
• A child in a boarding school paid for by the state or a local authority - will be entitled to a benefit only for the period during which he or she is on a long vacation from the dormitories (summer vacation, Tishrei holidays, Passover and similar holidays among the Christian and Muslim communities). An income support benefit claim must be submitted.
  A child leaving the boarding school again will be required to submit a claim again, if this occurs before 6 months have passed since the month of the end of previous entitlement period. However, it will be necessary to file an income support renewal request.
• A child living with close relatives - may be entitled to a benefit, until these relatives are recognized as foster families by Welfare Authorities.

Ineligible for a benefit

• A child living with a foster family on a permanent basis.
• Adopted child

The period of entitlement is one of the following:

• Until the age 18. 

An abandoned or orphaned child under 18 can submit a claim and his eligibility will be examined even after turning 18 in the following cases:

• Between 18 and 20 years of age - for those completing high school studies or studying in a pre-military academy recognized by the Ministry of Defense.
• Between 18 and 21 years of age - for those spending a year of volunteering for the community on behalf of an authorized organization prior to military service, in an authorized institution.
• Between 18 and 24 years of age - for those serving in national service or learning in a technological/academic pre-army framework.
• For those who don't meet above criteria, but received a special benefit for a child before the age of 18 - their continued entitlement will be examined according to the conditions of entitlement.

Benefit rate as of Jan 01, 2024

• For one child - NIS 2,294 .
• For two children - NIS 3,361 .
• For each additional child, a benefit of NIS 981 is paid.

Filing a claim

To receive the benefit, one must file the claim form for income support benefit to the local National Insurance Institute branch. 
The claim may be filed by the child’s carer, appointed guardian, social worker, or by the child himself, if he already reached the age of 17. Here is a form fill-out video guide (Hebrew).

It is important to meet an income support clerk at the local National Insurance's branch in order to examne the minor's additional rights with the National Insurance.

Please note that income support benefit is paid from the month of claim submission only. Thus, to avoid delaying the date of benefit eligibility, it is advised to submit a claim even without supporting documents, and provide these documents later on. Further documents may be required depending on each case circumstances.

Take-up of rights at other organizations