Expedited Short-term work visas for foreign workers

Anyone interested in employing foreign workers is required to arrange their legal status and work permit. This is also true for foreign experts and short-term foreign workers who enter Israel for urgent projects, employee facilitation, seminars, and the like. Short-term work visas for foreign workers can be received via an expedited process.

When we hear the phrase “foreign workers,” most of us picture construction workers, agricultural workers, or nursing workers, who usually come to work in Israel from third world countries to send money back home. This is all true, of course, but there are other populations that also fall into the “foreign worker” category. For example, there are foreign experts who specialize in high-tech, cyber, technology, science, journalism, research, and academia. Just like caregivers and construction workers, they are obligated to regulate their legal status before entering Israel.

In some cases, foreign workers are not interested in spending a long time in Israel, and they come with the intention of staying here a relatively short period of time – several months or even less. Even in these cases, all permits must still be issued legally in advance. So if you plan to hire foreign experts for a short period of time and you are interested in knowing more about short-term work visas for foreign workers, this article is for you.

Work Permits, Residence Visas, and More

As stated above, the foreign population interested in working in Israel is heterogeneous. In the era of globalization and the global village, cross-country and continental cooperation is growing. The number of foreigners coming to Israel for work and applying for a work visa is increasing, and includes both manual workers and foreign experts. This is no different from Israelis who relocate abroad, even for a short time, and are interested in regulating their legal status vis-à-vis the authorities in the destination country.

A company that intends to employ foreign workers must contact the Ministry of Interior to initiate a bureaucratic procedure. It is advisable to do this through an immigration lawyer. Naturally, this is not a procedure that you know in depth, and you are certainly not familiar with all the details of the law, so a professional immigration lawyer who has already gone through the process more than once or twice and gained much experience and knowledge in the field is the right person to help you issue a work visa for your foreign worker as required by all sections of the law. Issuing the permit is very important, since employing a foreign worker without a permit has far-reaching consequences.

Short-Term Work Visas for Foreign Workers

In the past, if you were interested in employing a foreign worker at your company for a short period of time, you would probably find yourself in a process that begins at the permit unit, lasts at least several weeks, and ends at the Ministry of Interior. This process still exists and is currently used mainly for workers who plan to remain in the company for an entire year, after which it is possible to extend the stay if necessary.

Today, however, things have changed and there is significant relief in the bureaucratic procrastination of obtaining short-term work visas for foreign workers. If you are interested in a short-term work permit, you may issue a permit that is limited to 45 days for each calendar year, which may be divided across the year.

The above-mentioned visa is a short-term B/1 work visa. This visa is for foreign workers, unlike a type B/2 tourist visa, which does not allow working while visiting Israel. The procedure vis-à-vis the authorities is also shortened, with the understanding that the companies’ need is urgent. This certificate is relevant mainly for companies that need foreign experts, who bring with them skills that are not available in Israel and come for a short period of time. Due to this positive change, such a certificate may be obtained within just six business days, which was the target set by the Population and Immigration Authority – the Ministry of Interior’s independent subsidiary unit.

To ensure that work visas for foreign experts are given justifiably to companies that need the services of these experts, the quality, skill, and affiliation of the foreign expert to the position for which he is being invited are examined. The foreign expert’s contribution to the economic and business viability of the company inviting him are also examined, as well as the expert’s academic and professional education, the lack of Israeli experts in his field, and even the expected salary paid to him, to ensure that it is not too low.

All of these details must be backed up with documents and evidence, which will make the process vis-à-vis the authorities efficient and quick; although short-term certificates are usually issued quickly in any case.

The Advice That You Need for Hiring a Foreign Expert

As stated above, a B/2 visa, i.e., a residence visa or standard tourist visa, enables entry into Israel for a short period of time, but is not sufficient for an expert who wishes to work for a salary in Israel. In the same breath, obtaining an expert visa is a bureaucratic procedure that is unfamiliar to many of us, especially if it is done for the first time. For this reason, an immigration lawyer will be able to assist, even with a short-term work visa, so that you can be at peace, follow the law to the letter, and get a work visa for your foreign worker.