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Regulations for an Investor Visa to Israel – Business Visa Requirements

Joshua Pex
Joshua Pex

The investor visa to Israel will allow American citizens to work and live in Israel together with their families. In this article, Advocate Joshua Pex, Israeli immigration lawyer at our law office, outlines the regulations for an Israeli investor visa.

The Israeli former Minister of Interior, Mr. Gideon Saar, together with the Ministry of Economy, and in accordance with the interior committee of the Knesset, have amended section 5 of the 1974 entrance regulations to Israel as follows:

“Business initiative” – a company or business established in Israel, controlled and managed in Israel, for the purpose of business activity aimed for profit in Israel.

“Senior manager” – a US citizen who is employed by the business initiative or the investor and whose main attention is management of the business initiative.

“Investor” – a citizen of the US or a company that has at least 50% of its shares held by US citizens and who has invested in the business initiative in Israel.

“A worker of special qualifications” – a US citizen employed by the business imitative or the investor who has special qualifications essential for the efficiency and success of the business initiative in Israel.

“Essential worker” – a senior manager or a worker of special qualifications.

“A business” – business activity which is not a corporation, and the advising committee has decided to recommend it as a business initiative according to these regulations.

The Minister of interior will appoint an advising committee to recommend issuing the investor visas to Israel according to these regulations (hereinafter: “advising committee”) which will consist of the following five members:

  1. Worker in the Ministry of Interior – chairman of the advising committee.
  2. Worker in the Ministry of Finance.
  3. Two workers in the Ministry of Economy.
  4. Worker in the Foreign Ministry.

The advising committee will recommend issuing the investor visa to Israel to the Minister of Interior. Decisions will be made by a majority of three members on the committee.

These are the conditions which the investor must meet in order to receive the investor visa to Israel:

  1. The investor must prove they have a significant investment in the business imitative, which should be sufficient for the operation of the business initiative and proof of unconditional commitment to the business imitative.
  2. The investor is the owner and legal holder of controlling interests in the capital invested, which is from a legal source.
  3. The business initiative may cause financial growth in the economy and create work places and contribute to achieving the state’s financial goals.
  4. The business initiative is active and supports more than the investor himself and his family, or at least has the potential to grow significantly in a reasonable period of time.

In case the Ministry of Interior, according to the recommendation of the advising committee, finds that the aforementioned conditions have been met, he may issue an investor visa to Israel as follows:

  1. B/5 “investor visa” – issued to an investor who wants to reside in Israel in order to develop the business initiative only and will leave when the visa expires.
  2. B/51 “essential worker visa” – issued to an essential worker who resides in Israel and wishes to work in the business initiative. The essential worker will need to prove that he will leave Israel when his visa expires and that he is indeed essential for the business initiative. The salary, expertise, period of employment, training of local workers and phase the business initiative is in will all be examined.
  3. B/52 “spouse of investor or essential worker visa” – issued to a spouse of an investor or essential worker who wants to reside in Israel; even if they don’t work for the business imitative, it can prove they will leave Israel when the visa expires.
  4. B/53 “child of investor or essential worker” – issued to a child of an investor or essential worker who proves they will leave Israel when the visa expires.

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