Question 1

What is the private agency's role?

Accepted Answer

The private agency helps find and register a worker, conducts social-worker home visits, handles permit and visa renewals and re-entry visas, and supports employer and worker on an ongoing basis. The permit itself is issued by the Population and Immigration Authority.

Registration with a licensed private agency is a permit condition, so a foreign caregiver cannot be employed without an agency. The patient is the employer, and the agency is responsible for accompanying, supervising and handling the worker under the Authority's procedures.

Question 2

When can a replacement worker be invited from abroad in place of a worker who left?

Accepted Answer

A patient may invite a replacement worker from abroad only if one of the following applies to the previous worker:
• they are lawfully registered with another patient;
• they left Israel without a re-entry visa and the exit has been recorded;
• a year has passed since they left and the end of their employment has been recorded by the Authority;
• more than 51 months have passed since their first entry and the end of employment has been recorded;
• they received another status in Israel as the partner of a resident or citizen.

While the previous worker remains registered on the permit and none of these applies, no worker can be invited from abroad. If a year has not passed, a detailed, reasoned exceptional request explaining when and why the worker left may be sent to the Authority's nursing division and is examined on its merits. A patient may invite up to two workers from abroad per year. The agency files the request, helps prepare the documents and will find the fastest route for you.

Question 3

From which countries can a caregiver currently be invited from abroad?

Accepted Answer

A private agency may invite caregivers from abroad only from countries with which Israel has a ratified bilateral agreement that is being implemented, as announced by the Population and Immigration Authority. Under the current edition of the bilateral procedure (February 2025), these are the Philippines (agreement temporarily suspended), Sri Lanka and India. The list may change, so check the current situation with the agency before any invitation.

Question 4

Which documents are needed to invite a caregiver under a bilateral agreement?

Accepted Answer

After the Authority grants approval in principle, the agency files an online request with: an employment contract signed by the employer, with the worker's details as approved; the 'description of needs and special employment terms' form, an annex to the contract describing the patient's condition and needs, signed by the employer and the agency's social worker; a pre-placement visit report signed by the social worker; proof that the employer paid the licence fee; and a guardianship order if a guardian was appointed. Workers who do not come under a bilateral agreement must also have a written employment contract.