Often, foreign or international companies with a branch in Israel want to send a representative of the global company to oversee the operations in Israel. Sometimes the company’s representative from abroad is entrusted by the foreign management, and therefore needs to reside in Israel and supervise the activities; sometimes it is someone who formulates policy or is responsible for the employees. Even in cases where there is no Israeli branch, foreign/international companies sometimes request to send a manager or representative to examine or oversee a project in which they have business interests or concerns
It is thus possible to obtain a work permit for an expert in Israel who is a representative of a foreign or international company, as will be detailed below.
The procedure instructions for handling requests for employment permits and residence/work licenses for foreign experts explicitly state the possibility of inviting a representative or manager, and detail who is considered a “manager.” According to the definition, the representative or manager must be “a person who determines the goals of an organization or departments within the organization and holds a senior position, responsible for the provision of the organization’s services through supervision, control, authority to hire and fire employees or recommend such, or authority over other manpower-related activities.”
A visa request for a senior manager/representative of a foreign or international company is submitted according to the circumstances – usually it is expected that the expert, as a manager or representative, will be an academic, and if they are a senior representative of an international company, it is expected that they will work for an expert’s salary, which is twice the average salary in Israel.
Each company can invite up to two representatives/managers under this provision.
When an Israeli company will be the employer of the foreign representative, the connection between the Israeli company and the foreign/international company must be detailed and explained, and supporting documents must be attached. Such requests are examined meticulously by the Permits Unit of the Population and Immigration Authority, and therefore it is important to be assisted by a professional to ensure that a refusal is not received.
The request is submitted online and will first be referred for approval by the Ministry of Economy and Industry before approval is granted, and then, if approved, a permit to employ the foreigner will be received. The initial request must be submitted when the requested expert is not in Israel, otherwise, the request will be immediately rejected; the expert will not be able to enter Israel until the request is approved, otherwise, the request will be immediately rejected, even for a short tourist visit.
Various documents must be attached to the request, including the foreign company’s certificate of incorporation, an affidavit from the foreign company, and sometimes also the Israeli one, if there is one; a CV and certificates of the expert’s education must be attached, agreements of the foreign/international company in Israel, and more.
As part of the request, the international company must detail the experience of the requested expert and why his/her employment is specifically requested. If there is a specific project in which the expert will be employed, it needs to be detailed.
The expert cannot change employer or project within the employer under the granted visa and permit.
After the permit is granted, the Population and Immigration Authority can be approached to issue the visa. It is also possible to obtain accompanying visas that do not allow employment but do allow a stay-in-Israel visa (B2) for the expert’s spouse and children.
Requests for the employment of a foreign representative or senior manager in a foreign or international company that has a business or a branch in Israel tend to be highly detailed requests that have direct relevance to corporate law and should be submitted after consultation with an attorney specializing in the field. Otherwise, there is a high potential for complications that cannot be resolved later on. For consultation, our office can be approached.
