Registering a Foreign Company Nonprofit

If you represent an international NGO abroad, that is, a nonprofit organization registered outside of Israel, and you wish to operate within Israel, you may consider registering a foreign company nonprofit as an extension of your corporation in Israel at Israel’s Ministry of Justice Corporations Authority.

This Series of Articles

Our law offices specialize in Israeli nonprofit law, among other legal fields. We have written a long series of articles on Israeli nonprofit law as a resource to you.

Types of Registered Corporations

There are several types of registered corporations in Israel. For example, the private company and the registered association (nonprofit or amutah in Hebrew). You may also register a foreign company, which is a company in every respect, subject to the Companies’ Law, but perceived as an extension of the foreign corporation, and thus not subject to all tax requirements or benefits. There is also a possibility for a company, whether a private local one or a foreign one, to be registered as a nonprofit company — a hybrid between a company and a registered (nonprofit) association, also known as a charitable company or public benefit company.

In other words, as a foreign nonprofit company, you have a few options. First, you can open a new local independent amutah or start a local nonprofit company owned by your foreign corporation. The latter option would be a subsidiary “daughter” company owning all the shares. Another option is to register your foreign company within Israel as the aforementioned extension of your existing corporation. Then you can have this foreign company extension in Israel officially recognized as a nonprofit company, thus being a foreign corporation, and local company, and nonprofit organization.

Registering a Foreign Company Nonprofit

If you register your corporation in Israel as a foreign company and then as a nonprofit as well, the corporation would be subject to the Associations’ Law. This law applies to associations and other nonprofit companies in Israel. This entails reporting on the financials of the corporation in Israel according to the regulations of the Registrar of Associations, which will be made accessible to public inquiry. As an Israeli nonprofit, your corporation would be eligible to obtain certificates of approval and tax benefits, as well as be recognized by the Ministry of Welfare as an International Aid Agency and apply for work visas, if relevant.

To register as a foreign company, you must submit a list of documents. For example, this would include notarized Hebrew translations of incorporation documents with an apostille stamp. You would also have to appoint a representative in Israel with power of attorney. After incorporated in Israel as a foreign company, then the organization can apply for nonprofit status by submitting additional documents as to the nonprofit nature of the corporation abroad along with standard forms as to the nature of the new activity within Israel.