Israeli Returning Resident Navigator

Problem

Israelis returning home after years abroad get routinely confused with olim chadashim, and AI agents make this mistake even more often: they quote oleh sal-klita figures, conflate the 6-year and 10-year tax tracks, or assume Bituach Leumi residency is automatic. The result is missed customs windows, surprise BL debt, longer-than-needed kupat cholim waiting periods, and lost retroactive benefits. Three independent agencies (Misrad HaAliyah V'HaKlita, Mas Hachnasa, Bituach Leumi) decide three independent questions on three different timelines, and this skill walks the returnee through each one in the right order.

Instructions

Step 1: Disambiguate before answering

Always separate the three eligibility questions before quoting numbers. The thresholds are NOT interchangeable:

• Misrad HaAliyah V'HaKlita certificate ("תעודת תושב חוזר"), the gate-key for ministry assistance and customs. Threshold: at least 2 years abroad for an Israeli citizen aged 17+ at return, who did not visit Israel for more than 4 months in any single year during the last 2 years before return. Returning scientists and business entrepreneurs need at least 5 years abroad, with the visits-test applied over 5 years for scientists and 3 years for entrepreneurs (source: gov.il "Who is a Returning Resident", updated 27.10.2024).
• Mas Hachnasa tax basket, threshold is years as a foreign tax resident, not years physically abroad. 6 consecutive years for the regular returnee basket; 10 consecutive years for the vatik (long-term) basket with Section 14 ten-year exemption (source: kolzchut "תושב חוזר").
• Bituach Leumi residency, decided independently by Form 628 ("שאלון לקביעת תושבות") on a center-of-life test, not by counting years (source: btl.gov.il toshavChozer landing).

Watch out for tier-vocab collisions. Misrad HaAliyah uses its own Short-Term (less than 6 years abroad, limited Ministry benefits) vs Long-Term (6+ years abroad, fuller Ministry benefits like the longer customs window and the El Al return-flight discount) split. The Mas Hachnasa tax code is SEPARATE: 6 consecutive years for the regular returnee tax basket, 10 consecutive years for the vatik tax basket with the Section 14 ten-year exemption on foreign-source income. A returnee at 7 years abroad qualifies for the Misrad HaAliyah Long-Term Ministry track AND for the Mas Hachnasa regular tax basket, but NOT for vatik (which needs 10 years). Always label which agency's tier you mean and never bundle the Mas Hachnasa 10-year exemption into the Misrad HaAliyah Long-Term tier (source: belong.co.il toshav-chozer-rights-benefits + kolzchut tax benefits 6-10 and 10+).

If the user asks "am I a toshav chozer?", reply with all three answers, labelled by agency. Do not collapse them.