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Vacation - for Jobless Caregivers

According to the Interior Ministry Re-Entry visa Regulations, in case you are working and the employer agrees that you visit your homeland, he should sign a note with his consent for your trip. Then you should visit the Interior Ministry (Misrad Hapnim) with the employer's consent, and get the re-entry visa. 

The regulation also states that in case you don't have an employer, a declaration by your agency (where you are registered) is enough in order to get the re-entry visa. Despite the regulation, ministry clerks have always demanded the written consent of the employer and usually sought confirmation for it with a phone call. This practice led employers to extort workers and turned the basic right to a homeland visit into a case of grace, or a favor. As a result of objections by human rights groups, the Re-Entry regulations were amended and now state that "it is prohibited to demand a "matching" between an employer and a worker in order to grant a Re-Entry visa.
In case you don't have an employer, or your employer refuses to sign a consent paper for you, you should visit your agency and ask them to sign the form for the Interior Ministry, stating they know you are leaving the country, and they will find you a new job when you return. Your agency must sign this form, as long as you are registered with them and you are in Israel less than 51 months.

In case you don't have an employer, and you are not registered with any agency, or your agency refuses to sign, the regulation states a third option – a worker who is registered in the "Caregivers Database", is allowed to get a Re-Entry visa during the 90 days period you are registered in the Database, as long as you return before the 90 days are over, and find a new employer who will issue a visa for you before the 90 days period is over.

Caregivers Database

In order to assist migrant caregivers without employers to find a new job, the Interior Ministry has created a computerized database with the names and phone numbers of all the unemployed migrant caregivers who are in Israel less than 51 months (4 years and 3 months), and are allowed to continue working.

You are allowed to be registered in the Database for a maximum of 90 days from the day you stopped working for your last employer. If you add your name 30 days after you stopped working, you will be registered for the remaining 60 days only.

Caregivers who wish to add their name to the database, can send an email to the Interior Ministry with their name and phone number (maagar@piba.gov.il) or enter the Database website (maagarsiud.piba.gov.il)
and fill the form – After you add your name to the database, you will receive a text message (SMS) to your cell phone confirming your registration. As long as you are registered in the Database, it is considered as if you have a B2 visa.

Terms & Conditions for a Re-Entry visa
The worker shall keep the following conditions:

1. Personal presence
2. A filled form requesting a re-entry visa, signed by the worker
3. A passport valid for at least 1 year from the day you with to leave Israel
4. A valid visa (B1 or B2) for at least 90 days
5. 1 photo
6. A letter from your employer OR your agency (if you are registered in the Database – you don't need a letter)
7. Payment of a visa fee

Remember – in case you are working in Israel for more than 51 months, and can not change employers, you must have the consent of your employer in order to visit your country. Ion case you are in Israel for less than 51 month and can still change employers, you can get the Re-Entry visa with the agency's form or by registration to the Craegivers Database.
The time you spend in your country on vacation is counted in the total working period in Israel, so you must return to Israel and find a new employer before you reach 51 months from the day you first entered Israel. 

 Over the years, Kav LaOved has handled dozens of cases of workers who sought homeland visits for many reasons, in most cases, with great success. We know that sometimes the employers refuse to let you visit your country only because they can not find a reliever who will replace you. Kav LaOved is working these days to find a solution for this problem and to create a database of relievers. In case you wish to get a Re-Entry visa and for some reason the Interior Ministry refuses, please visit Kav LaOved offices during reception hours for caregivers.

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