Professional information :
The Israeli government only permits the employment of foreign workers with unique expertise that is not available in the Israeli labor market.
Who is a foreign expert :
As defined in the procedure for handling applications for employment permits and residence and work permits for foreign experts –
“ Expert foreign worker “ (hereinafter: “expert”): “is a foreign worker with unique expertise that is not available in Israel and whose employment the Commissioner has decided to permit, at his sole discretion and under the conditions he has determined, and taking into account, among other things, the international obligations of the State of Israel, the provisions of the law and relevant government decisions, and the characteristics of the labor market in the various labor sectors and employment areas.”
When you want to employ a foreign expert, a process is carried out that includes two main steps that must be completed before the foreign expert arrives in Israel: The first, obtaining a special employment permit from the Permits Unit at the Authority. The second, issuing a “B/1 Specialist” residence and work visa specifying the profession approved for employment (as detailed above in the previous subsection).
The expert must fall into one of the categories listed below that are approved by the government, otherwise he/she will not be granted an employment permit. Please note that employing a foreign expert without an appropriate permit is against the law and may result in the imposition of fines and criminal sanctions against the employer and the employee.
Professional information –
A foreign national with a B/1 specialist license may work in Israel only with the same employer who submitted the application for his employment, following which the license was granted, and only in the type of work for which the license was granted.
The foreign expert must comply with the laws of the State of Israel. Violation of the laws of the state can lead to the revocation of the license (after a hearing).
In addition, the foreign expert must leave Israel upon the expiration of his residence and work permit or within 30 days of the termination of his employment. He is required to enter and exit Israel only through Ben Gurion Airport. (A foreign expert who comes to Israel for temporary work only must leave the country at the end of the period of the permit granted to him).
The maximum period of stay in Israel for a foreign specialist is 63 months. A residence permit will not be extended beyond this period.
Categories of work permits for foreign experts –
Foreign expert in a specific field :
- Manager, senior representative or trusted employee in a foreign or international company – a permit that refers to the most senior employees in the organization, who direct the organization’s goals, have extensive authority, and have supervisory and control capabilities to hire/fire employees. Currently, a foreign/international company can employ up to two foreign employees of this type.
- A senior staff member at an airline or foreign shipping company in accordance with the international commitment of the State of Israel.
- Lecturer or researcher at an institution of higher education – an institution: recognized under Section 9 of the Council for Higher Education Law, 5718 1961, an institution that has received a permit or approval under Section 21A of the said law, or an institution whose degree it awards has been recognized under Section 28A of the said law. 3.1 A researcher employed within the framework of the European Union Framework Program to which the State of Israel has joined, in accordance with Section 9 of Government Decision 2292 of 15.1.2017.
- A well-paid medical worker or specialist in a hospital.
- Diamondman.
- A foreign photographer or foreign correspondent.
- Foreign artist.
- A foreign academic graduate in high-tech subjects.
- A foreign expert who comes to Israel for a short period of up to 90 consecutive days to carry out a temporary or transient assignment.
- Foreign experts who come to Israel for a cumulative period of 45 days in a calendar year (for whom there is an expedited permit issuance process).
- Foreign expert who is paid “expert salary” – the broadest category for employing foreign workers in Israel in general fields that are not included in categories 1-10 above. Foreign workers who are included in this category are characterized as having a high level of expertise and essential and unique knowledge that is not available to workers in Israel. The threshold condition for employing a foreign expert under this category is that his salary must be at least double the average salary in the Israeli economy. This permit is granted on an annual basis, and must be extended annually. An expert chef (who will be detailed below) falls under this category.
Steps for obtaining the permit –
First step –
As stated above, the first step in employing a foreign expert is obtaining an employment permit. The organization seeking to employ the foreign expert must submit the application, including all attached documents, to the Permits Division of the Service for Foreign Employers and Workers of the Storage Authority.
The application must detail the company’s special needs in employing the foreign expert in Israel. This must be accompanied by a reasoned letter, resume, references attesting to the employee’s expertise, affidavits, support from government bodies (if any), and any other documentation and description that supports the employer’s request and the expert’s expertise. In addition, the Authority will sometimes require various legal and accounting approvals depending on the circumstances of the application, and payment of various fees is required.
Second stage –
After the application is received by the Permits Division, its compliance with the conditions and requirements is reviewed, and if necessary, the applicant employer will be required to complete missing documents or correct deficiencies within 21 working days of receiving the application. If there is a change in the application, the employer must notify the relevant entity at the Immigration Authority in writing within 7 days of the change.
After completing the missing documents by the specified deadline, the application will be forwarded to the Commissioner for a decision. As a rule, the decision will be made within 30 working days from the date of completion of the documents. In the event that an opinion from a recommending party or a request from the advisory committee to receive additional documents is required, the decision will be made within 30 working days from the date of receipt of the opinion or additional documents.
Any application by a foreign or international company for a permit to employ a foreign expert in Israel will be forwarded for an opinion from the Director of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Economy. The decision on the application will be made by the Authority within 21 working days from the date of receipt of the opinion.
If the application is approved, the Permits Division will issue a permit to employ the foreign expert, the validity of which will be subject to the terms of the Population and Storage Authority procedures. Subject to the conditions specified in the permit and in the application and/or in a document accompanying the permit, the employer will be directed to the relevant authority office, as specified in the permit, to submit an application for a residence and work permit for the requested foreign expert.
The maximum validity of a permit approved for the first time will be two years, for a foreign expert in a specific field (sections 1-9 above) and one year for a foreign expert in a field that does not require a higher academic education, with an obligation to pay expert salaries.
An extension of the permit’s validity can be granted, but not more than a cumulative period of up to 63 months of work by the foreign expert in Israel on a B/1 work permit.
If it is decided to refuse the permit request, a reasoned decision will be sent to the applicant’s employer or his representative.
The authority may revoke the license and/or permit granted to the expert and the employer, subject to a hearing, if non-compliance with the procedures is found or failure to provide complete and comprehensive information is discovered and/or a recommendation is received from a public authority to revoke the license and/or permit, all of which is in addition to any other sanction by law.
Permit to employ a foreign expert who is paid “expert salary “:
A foreign expert who does not meet the categories in sections 1-9 above may be employed if it is a foreign expert who has been proven to possess knowledge at a high level of expertise or has essential and unique knowledge for the service provided by the employer.
Accordingly, the employer must pay that foreign expert a basic monthly salary equal to or higher than twice the average wage in the economy for an employee position. Note: If the industry in question is one where the regular wage is higher than the average wage in the economy, the entity that will examine the application may condition the granting of the permit on the payment of a salary higher than twice the average wage in the economy.
Calculating the average wage in the economy for an employee position twice : The calculation of the wage in each calendar year will be based on the average wage for an employee position published in January of that year by the National Insurance Institute.
For more information on the subject of a foreign expert who is paid at the “expert salary” rate, see “Procedure for handling applications for granting employment permits and residence and work permits to foreign experts” (attached at the link: [1] ). (hereinafter: “Procedure for handling applications for granting a permit”).
Foreign expert in the role of chef :
Employing a foreign expert as a chef includes a number of unique provisions, in addition to provisions regarding a foreign expert who is paid “expert wages” and is employed in professions that do not require a higher academic education.
A permit to employ a foreign chef at the expert’s salary (as detailed above) will be granted only to restaurants that prove that they are restaurants that serve food based on a purely Asian ethnic menu from countries such as China, Japan, India and Thailand. The applicant will be asked to declare this in advance in his application and to attach current menus for the restaurant. A decision on the application will only be made after an inspection team from the Authority arrives at the restaurant to determine the type of restaurant.
Please note that if a permit is granted to employ a specialist chef at a specialist salary in an Asian ethnic restaurant, and then there is a change in the type of food served in the restaurant so that the restaurant no longer serves food based purely on the Asian ethnic menu, the permit will expire immediately. The restaurant must immediately cease employing the foreign chefs. (Note: Serving a small number of non-Asian children’s dishes will not detract from the restaurant being an Asian ethnic restaurant).
It should be noted that a foreign expert chef will only be employed as a chef in a restaurant at the address specified in the permit application and in the permit, and will not be employed in any other position in the restaurant or in any other restaurant.
However, the permit holder may transfer the foreign chef he has received a permit to employ to work as a chef in other Asian restaurants he owns, provided that they also have a valid permit to employ foreign chefs/foreign experts. This is even if the number of foreign chefs specified in each permit is exceeded, provided that the foreign chef has a valid work license, and all this only after receiving written approval from the Permits Manager for the transfer.
In addition, a foreign expert working as a chef will be able to stay in Israel for up to 90 days to look for work with an alternative employer who will submit an application for a permit to employ him, and if his employment is not legally approved, he will have to leave Israel within 90 days.
Termination of employment of a foreign expert who is paid “expert fees “:
If the foreign expert’s employment is terminated before the expiration date of the permit, the employee must leave Israel. If the employee remains in Israel for any reason, the employer must report the termination of his employment and the reason for it in writing to the Population Authority Office within 7 days of the termination of employment.
The employer shall not be permitted to employ another foreign expert in place of the expert whose employment was terminated for 3 years from the date of the written report of termination of employment, unless the employer proves that special circumstances existed. In order to prove special circumstances, the employer must attach to the application confirmations of the deposit of experts’ salaries into a bank account in the name of the foreign expert who has completed his work and now wishes to appoint a replacement only.
Third stage –
Residence and work permit for a foreign expert :
After receiving a permit to employ a foreign expert, the employer must ensure that a B/1 residence and work visa is issued for each foreign expert he wishes to bring to Israel, before the foreign expert arrives in Israel. The application will be submitted to one of the Population Authority offices, in accordance with the provisions of the employment permit issued to the employer.
Fourth stage –
After submitting the application for a B/1 residence and work visa as stated above, the Population Authority will send the consulate of the expert’s country of origin a permit to issue a single-entry visa for the expert. The foreign expert must physically appear at the consulate for the visa to be issued. The single-entry visa is issued for a period of one month during which he can enter Israel. For details of the documents required for submitting the application, see “Procedure for Handling Permit Applications”.
Fifth stage –
Upon the arrival of a foreign expert at Ben Gurion Airport, the border controller will direct the expert and accompanying persons (if any) to the designated position to arrange the license.
An authority employee will check the specialist’s details and the validity of the approved license at the license processing station and verify that there is no current impediment to granting the license. If the authority employee finds that all conditions are met, he will issue the specialist and accompanying persons a license sticker in accordance with the validity of the updated license and update this in the system.
Adding relatives :
A foreign expert may bring first-degree relatives with him to Israel.
Exceptions to the rule:
A. A foreign expert whose employment permit states that he will engage in a profession that does not require a higher academic education.
B. A foreign expert whose employer has committed to paying him a salary that is double the average wage in the economy or higher.
C. A foreign expert who comes to Israel for temporary work of up to 90 days.
All labor laws in Israel apply to foreign experts .
In addition to employing foreign experts:
- Provide national insurance for foreign experts.
- Provide foreign experts with adequate housing.
- Have the foreign experts sign a formal employment agreement.
In conclusion, this process involves a great investment of resources and proper conduct with the authorities. Our firm, Shemer-Halevi, Shamir & Co., has extensive experience and success in the field. We will be happy to assist you in all stages of the process.
[1] https://www.gov.il/he/Departments/Guides/employment_of_foreign_experts_2016?fbclid=IwAR2qJPgEnDJ7JdLfvAOtxTS8Hl2jic3pzJ31T6GSyf6Pg-4u_L-VgHBmDQo&chapterIndex=2
