Geopolitical Conflict and its Impact on Talent Mobility in Israel

As the situation in Israel and the Palestinian Territories enters its third month, the impact on the economy and local and global talent is beginning to emerge. Labour shortages resulting from the departures of foreign workers amidst security concerns are affecting several industries, including agriculture, healthcare and construction. The Israeli government is turning to new immigration measures to fill some 100,000 jobs and ensure continuity of business.  

On November 1, the economy minister announced a plan to set up a database of 170,000 foreign workers, enabling employers to submit a request for labour allocations. The requests will be approved provided that local labour is not available for those roles. However, it is important to note that the government is not considering the issuance of retroactive work permits to those foreigners who have outstayed their visas or entered illegally. Israel is also brokering agreements with several countries, including Sri Lanka and Moldova, that will allow for the immediate hiring of foreign workers for the agriculture and construction sectors.

Government response

In addition to these aforementioned diplomatic efforts, the government is implementing other measures designed to allow existing foreign workers to remain, such as an automatic visa extension until March 31, 2024 for foreign workers employed in the hospitality sector. These government measures demonstrate the urgency and priority with which the government is addressing the labour shortage in certain sectors of the economy that are deemed essential.

The government’s attention regarding the labour shortages is now aimed at those workers who fall within the ‘Foreign Expert’ category. This category includes highly skilled and qualified professionals, such as academics, doctors, engineers and programmers, or those with unique skills, such as a glass processor, that are not easily found in Israel. 

This attention towards the Foreign Expert category has resulted in the government’s easing of the legal requirements for B1 ‘Foreign Expert’ work permits by enacting a measure that has recently been put into place. The new measure is that of the ‘Special Waiver’ from the requirement to obtain a consular single-entry visa.

Traditionally, B1 ‘Foreign Expert’ applicants are required to obtain a single-entry visa from an Israeli consulate following the approval of a work permit application. However, with many Israeli consulates prohibiting physical appointments, this requirement presented a challenge.

To counter this problem and expedite the entry of these much-needed workers, the Ministry of Interior is now accepting requests for the ‘Special Waiver’ from those B1 ‘Foreign Expert’ applicants who already hold a valid work permit. The applicants who apply for this waiver must demonstrate that either they were already in Israel and left due to the current situation, or that the Israeli consulate in their country of residence is not granting appointments due to security concerns. If such a request is approved, a consular entry visa will not be required and the applicant will be able to enter Israel at any time during the validity of the work permit. It is important to note that applicants who obtain the waiver are still required to apply for the mandatory work visa after arriving in Israel.

It is also important to note that even when the Israeli government ends the current state of emergency, certain concessions may remain in effect if precedent is any guide. Certain regulatory concessions that were implemented at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic remained in effect until as recently as May 2023.

B1 ‘expert’ work permit applications that were made under the COVID-19 regulatory coverage continued to benefit from those concessions even after the pandemic was declared over by the government. The government may also replicate another tactic implemented during the pandemic, which is to not reduce the staffing levels of the Immigration Authority.

During the height of the travel restrictions, there was a sharp decrease in the volume of filed B1 ‘Foreign Expert’ work permit applications. Despite this lower volume of applications, the Immigration Authority did not reduce the number of officials that were engaged with these applications, nor did the agency increase the number of officials once the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted and a large volume of applications were filed.

Unsurprisingly, those applications that were filed during the former period were processed at speed, while those applications that were filed in the latter period, experienced longer processing times and delays.

Currently, a similar scenario is unfolding with no reduction in the number of officials engaged with the B1 ‘Foreign Expert’ application, despite the substantially lower volume of applications. Additionally, applicants are experiencing significantly shorter times than usual. A similar situation will likely unfold once the current situation in Israel ends as it did post-COVID-19, with a marked increase in work permit applications filed in a short period of time. Inevitably, this expected rush of applications will likely cause longer processing times and delays.     

Applying now for faster processing later

With the COVID-19 precedent in mind, despite the uncertainty of the current situation, companies and individuals are advised to begin any work permit application processes now to position themselves for faster processing times later.

Proceeding with B1 ‘Foreign Expert’ applications now is valid both for those seeking to mobilise in the immediacy under the current conditions (via the ‘special waiver’) as well as for those seeking to mobilise in the future given the anticipated processing delays.

Given the sheer number of workers needed to fill roles across sectors, companies that require mobilising talent to Israel are also advised to proceed with B1 work permit applications to ensure they are covered by any existing and future regulatory concessions, and to be prepared to transfer their talent to Israel swiftly once the current situation settles.

Need to know more?

For questions related to the impacts of the ongoing situation in Israel and the Palestinian Territories or for support regarding mobilising talent during this uncertain period and beyond, please contact UK Managing Partner Nadine Goldfoot at [email protected], Partner Hans Benson at [email protected] and Immigration Consultant Daniel Heymann at [email protected].

This blog was published on 6 December 2023, and due to the circumstances, there are frequent changes. To keep up to date with all the latest updates on global immigration, please subscribe to our alerts and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram.