Foreign Residents Working in Israel Can Also Claim Unemployment Benefits

The Bituach Leumi (National Insurance Institute) special grants for those who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus, or those sent out on unpaid leave, are also available for foreign residents who have a temporary residence permit in Israel and have stopped working.

The Tvuna organization, which helps families with financial guidance, held a meeting with the heads of Bituach Leumi and arranged that they update their online system to allow foreign  residents – and not only people with Israeli ID numbers – to file a claim for unemployment benefits.

It was noted that since unemployment benefits do not pay retroactive reimbursement, and thus foreign residents who could not submit claims for unemployment until now have lost out on these benefits, a legal option is being examined that will allow them to submit a retroactive unemployment claim.