The Population and Immigration Authority (Hebrew: רשות האוכלוסין וההגירה; PIBA), is an Israeli government agency established on July 23, 2008 which is responsible for population registry and immigration topics.

On July 30, 2002, the 30th Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, decided to establish an immigration department in the Israel Police, which would form the basis for the establishment of an immigration authority, with the aim of reducing the number of illegal residents, as well as the establishment of a support unit to handle foreign workers at the Ministry of Labor and Welfare. Gondar Rabbi (retired) Yaakov Ganot, former commander of the Border Guard (2001-2002) and commissioner of prisons (2003-2007), was entrusted with its establishment.

On April 4, 2004, the government decided on the establishment of the "Directorate of Population and Entry into Israel" in the Ministry of Interior, and determined that both the powers of the Israel Police in matters of border control and the authority unit for foreign workers in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would be transferred to the responsibility of the Director of Population. It was originally stipulated that the transfer would be made by November 1, 2004, however this date was postponed to January 2006 and later to January 1, 2009.

On April 13, 2008, the thirty-first Israeli government headed by Ehud Olmert decided to establish the "Population, Immigration and Border Crossings Authority", which will replace the Population Manager and be responsible for the population sector and the treatment of foreign nationals. Among other things, it was decided to disband the immigration police (Hebrew: משטרת ההגירה) and transfer the authority to deal with illegal residents to the new authority. The task of establishment was entrusted to the head of the Population Administration (Hebrew: מנהל האוכלוסין) at the Ministry of the Interior, Ganot, who was appointed to his position in July 2007 by the Minister of the Interior Roni Bar-On. The Authority replaced the Population Manager on July 15, 2008.

Before the establishment of the Population and Immigration Authority, the head of Population Administration (Hebrew: מנהל אוכלוסין) was subordinated directly to the Director General of the Ministry of the Interior and it was divided into a Registration and Status Division which included the Registration and Passports Department (Hebrew: מחלקת מרשם ודרכונים), the Visas and Status Department (Hebrew: מחלקת מרשם ומעמד) (also known as Visas and Foreigners Department (Hebrew: מחלקת מרשם וזרים) and the Citizenship Department and the Chambers Division which was made up of territorial Population Administration Bureaus (Hebrew: לשכות מרשם אוכלוסין) located throughout the country, sub-offices and registration stations. In addition, the Population Administration included the border control and crossings department (Hebrew: המחלקה לביקורת גבולות ומעברים) which operated in cooperation with the border control department of the Israel Police and the enforcement unit for foreigners.

The new authority began its operation on July 1, 2009.

The Population and Immigration Authority coordinates the various aspects of dealing with foreign residents in Israel who are not Israeli citizens, including applicants for aliyah and citizenship, permanent residents, temporary residents, clergy with foreign citizenship, students, volunteers, tourists and those denied entry to Israel, Palestinian workers, illegal residents, foreign workers and refugees. The authority has a number of employees in charge of enforcing immigration laws on employers (a position previously filled by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Employment), inspectors whose job it is to arrest illegal residents (which was previously the responsibility of the police) and employees of the population manager, who have the authority to order removal from the country. In addition, the authority operates an interrogation unit, whose role is to manage the processing of the applications of asylum seekers in Israel, including interviewing the asylum seekers, authority to issue residence permits and recommending who should be recognized as a refugee. Dealing with these issues requires the exercise of discretion, which forces the Authority to deal with many petitions attacking the discretion exercised.

The employees of the Population Authority draw their authority from various laws as well as from certification regulations established by the Minister of the Interior (subsidiary legislation), in which he authorizes officials to carry out his powers.