Your first week in Herzliya: what to do, and where

Herzliya publishes a lot of its newcomer information in English, which makes the first week easier than in many cities. The municipality runs a separate English website with pages for new residents, olim, education, parking permits, arnona and online payments (Herzliya Municipality (opens in a new tab)). Here is the order I would do things in, and where the gaps are.

Start with the municipal olim unit

The municipality's New Olim unit offers personal consultations on your rights, arnona, Bituach Leumi and registration for municipal services, together with the Ministry of Aliyah. Office phone 09-9705256. It also runs two quiet WhatsApp groups, 'Herzliya Muni - Important Updates' and 'Olim Community in Herzliya'; the join links are on its page (Herzliya Municipality (opens in a new tab)). See the listing.

The municipal events calendar has an audience filter for olim, so you can see what the city runs for newcomers (Herzliya Municipality (opens in a new tab)).

Which Ministry of Aliyah office?

gov.il lists Herzliya among the places served by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration's Tel Aviv District office, 6 Esther HaMalka St, Tel Aviv (03-9733333 or *2994, appointments via myVisit). Herzliya is not on the Netanya or Sharon (Kfar Saba) branch lists (gov.il (opens in a new tab)). A business directory still points the Sharon area to Kfar Saba; I went with the government page, but confirm when you book. See the listing.

ID, address and passports

The Population and Immigration Authority office for Herzliya is at 11 Bareket St, 8th floor (*3450). Passports and ID cards are by appointment only, payment is by credit card only, and you must show your teudat zehut: a driving licence does not count as ID (gov.il (opens in a new tab)). Visas and status are by advance appointment, Sun, Mon, Tue and Thu 08:00-12:00 (gov.il (opens in a new tab)). See the listing.

Government self-service kiosks in Super-Pharm at 25 Sokolov St and at 1 Yordei Yam St (marina) print an ID appendix (sefach) and a population-registry extract; the marina kiosk also handles change of address (gov.il (opens in a new tab)).

Arnona: who pays, and from when

• If you rent, the landlord must notify the arnona department in writing and attach a lease of at least one year showing both parties' ID details. When the lease ends, you notify the municipality in writing. The payer changes only from the date the written notice arrives (Herzliya Municipality (opens in a new tab)).
• Arnona phone centre 09-9591601, Sun-Thu 08:00-16:00; in-person service at 22 Ben Gurion by appointment only (Herzliya Municipality (opens in a new tab)). See the listing.
• Ask the olim unit about the new-immigrant discount when you register.

Parking: the Ani MeHerzliya permit

If the car owner's ID address is in Herzliya, you can get the free digital Ani MeHerzliya permit: free parking in blue-and-white zones across most of the city, except the two-hour sections of Ben Gurion, Sokolov and the business district (Herzliya Municipality (opens in a new tab)).

International residents (diplomats or foreign staff) can get a temporary permit with a passport, an arnona bill or Herzliya lease and a car-rental contract, by email or at 29 HaSharon St (Mon 14:30-17:30, Tue-Thu 08:30-11:00). In some zones you must still activate Pango or Cello (Herzliya Municipality (opens in a new tab)). See the listing.

Bituach Leumi, post and free advice

• Bituach Leumi, 22 Ben Gurion Blvd: Sun, Tue, Thu 08:30-13:00 by appointment; phone *6050, Sun-Thu 08:00-17:00. Self-service kiosks are there and at Lev HaIr, 2 Ben Gurion (Bituach Leumi (opens in a new tab)). See the listing.
• Central post office, 68 Sokolov St; Israel Post says to book a queue in advance (Israel Post (opens in a new tab)).
• A free Citizens' Advice Bureau (Shil) at 5 Shvidelson St (09-9541998) helps with rights and forms (gov.il (opens in a new tab)). See the listing.

Ulpan: the honest gap

I could not find a municipal or private ulpan in Herzliya. The only one I found is the Reichman University ulpan in the Ministry of Education's list (data.gov.il (opens in a new tab)). Ask the Ministry of Aliyah about eligibility and places. See the listing. If you know of another ulpan in town, please tell me and I will add it.

Who else helps

• AACI lists offices only in Jerusalem and Netanya, with no Herzliya branch (AACI (opens in a new tab)).
• Nefesh B'Nefesh says olim receive municipal benefits according to the law, and to contact the relevant municipal departments or the NBN representative (NBN (opens in a new tab)).
• For French speakers, Qualita is the national umbrella organisation (Qualita (opens in a new tab)). See the listing.
• Residents aged 20-40 can use Enzo, 5 Sokolov St, for co-working space, meetups and subsidised career counselling (Herzliya Municipality (opens in a new tab)). See the listing.
• Library membership is free from age 16 with a credit-card deposit, and the main library at 56 Sokolov St opens on Saturday 10:00-14:00 (Herzliya libraries (opens in a new tab)).

Numbers to save

• Municipal hotline 106, 24/7, also 09-9591520 (Herzliya Municipality (opens in a new tab)).
• Police 100, ambulance (MDA) 101.
• Dogs must be registered with the municipal veterinary department; report stray or injured animals to 106 (Herzliya Municipality (opens in a new tab)).

The newcomer checklist on this site turns all of this into ticks you can save on your phone.