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Guide for Migrant Workers
Coming to work in Israel
Rights, obligations and working conditions
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  Before you start working in Israel, there are important things you need to know: what trades can you work in? How to obtain and extend a working visa? This section offers all the answers.
 
Occupations open to migrant workers

Migrant workers can work in Israel as specialists in one of the following trades:
 Nursing care
 Agriculture
 Construction
 Welding and industrial professions
 Hotel work
 Ethnic cookery

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Working visa

Working visa may be obtained either when you are still in your home country, or already in Israel with a tourist visa. It is forbidden to work in Israel without a working visa.

Your designated employer (including employment agencies) needs to obtain a valid work permit for you, certified by the Ministry of the Interior. Your passport will be stamped with a working visa carrying the name of your employer.

The working visa will be limited to the period set out in your employment permit and must be extended after a year, even if the permit is for a longer period. The Ministry of the Interior alone has the authority to issue and extend visas.

Note that your working visa will be valid only for one specific trade, and that it is illegal for you to work in another trade.

 Application for entry visa to Israel
 Application for entry visa to Israel - caregivers
 Application for extension of visa / change of visa category
 Application for entry visa to Israel for a purpose of work (online form – requires download)

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Recruitment by employment agencies

You may be recruited through employment agencies, both in Israel and in your native country.
 If recruited in your native country - you may be required to pay a recruitment fee, which must not exceed the total sum of NIS 3,050 (covering overall payments to agencies both abroad and in Israel), plus travel expenses.
 If you are already in Israel – it is forbidden to charge you any recruitment fee.

If you have been required to pay undue or extra recruitment fees, you can file a complaint with the Supervisor in Charge of Registration of Manpower Companies:
Tel: 03-5613461, Fax: 03-5613428.

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Opening a bank account
It is highly recommended that you open a bank account, which will enable direct money transfers to you by employers, personnel agencies, insurance companies and official bodies such as the National Insurance Institute. The Bank of Israel has directed all banks to allow migrant workers to open a bank account. You can open an account with the Postal Bank – in any post office – without making an initial deposit.

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Construction workers

As of May 2005, construction workers are only employed in Israel through employment agencies (LMC’s, “Licensed Manpower Companies”). The LMC is your employer in Israel, and it assigns you to work with various building contractors.

 Frequently Asked Questions on the employment of migrant construction workers

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