The expended 90 days SEA B-1 work visa
procedure regulates the expeditious procedure for the legal employment of a
foreign expert, with a valid passport, of a country whose exempt citizens
authorize a B-2 visit invited to Israel to perform a temporary assignment in
the area of special expertise for periods not exceeding 90 days per year.
This option resolves a common issue for companies that provide technical
services such as installation of machines & repairs, and allows for
immediate installation of systems. The experts can now travel to Israel to
tackle sudden issues that arise, as opposed to the process of obtaining a visa
for longer periods, which takes about 3-4 months of processing.
For this visa type, the employer needs to provide a limited number of documents
and declarations, together with the employee’s documentation proving the
expert’s competence and suitability to perform the job. As a result, it is
possible to file the request relatively quickly, and to obtain the work permit
within 10 business days.
Main Benefits of the new
90 days SEA B-1 Work Visa
1.
Processing time: it is possible to file the request
relatively quickly: only 10 work days processing time,
2.
Immediate Travel: upon receipt of the work permit,
the foreign expert can travel to Israel and begin to work immediately,
3.
No Consular Processing: no need for consular
processing as required in most other types of work visas, hence: less time and
less documents,
4.
No high prevailing wage: Only requirement is minimum
wage (2021: only 1,640 USD gross salary per month)
5.
Applications are to be submitted electronically.
Within two days of arrival in Israel, the
foreign expert is required to process the work visa at the Ministry of
Interior. Not completing this step would render the expert’s work in Israel
illegal.
It is possible to divide the 90 days into several periods within the calendar
year, although before each new entry a new application must be submitted in
advance and approved.
The application is intended solely for nationals who are exempt from having to
obtain a tourist visa (e.g. Europe, United States, Japan, Australia, etc.) to
visit Israel. This means that experts from countries that are required to
obtain a pre-entry visa for the purpose of visiting (e.g. India, China,
Venezuela, etc.) cannot apply for a visa under this category, however, they may
be eligible for other visa categories.
This visa type cannot be extended. In
case the work permit expires on December 31 of a calendar year, the company,
who wishes to employee the foreign expert, may submit new SEA application on
January 1 whilst the foreign expert is out of Israel. There are relevant
government fees that are set according to requested duration of employment.
