Subcontractor Sponsorship Restricted

The situation

The Israeli Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA) has clarified the sponsorship eligibility regulations for work visa applications filed for subcontracted workers.

A closer look

The clarifications include the following key points:

• Applications filed by legal employer. Effective immediately, the subcontractor's employer must sponsor work visa applications for its own employees, where previously it was understood that the subcontractor’s host company could sponsor such applications.
• Staffed workers ineligible for sponsorship. Additionally, it was clarified that human resource companies cannot sponsor applications for employees.

 

Impact

Since human resource companies employing staffed workers cannot sponsor work authorization applications, their employees currently are not eligible for work authorization unless they are employed by a non-human resource company, which would sponsor the application.

Affected employers are advised to contact immigration counsel to review alternative employment arrangements enabling sponsorship.

Background

This clarification was made to ensure that each employee's sponsoring employer is the same entity that is responsible for payment of salary and other sponsorship obligations.