Why is some of the asylum seeker\u2019s salary set aside in a deposit?<\/h4>\n
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According to both Israeli Law and International Law, a person recognized as a refugee receives the right to live and work freely in the country in which they received the recognition. But the vast majority of \u2018infiltrators\u2019 that enter Israeli as tourists or that crossed the border illegally and submit a request for asylum, do not receive official refugee status. If they are not immediately deported after their interview with the RSD unit, like asylum seekers who enter the country from the former Soviet Union countries, they remain in the country with a \u201cblue paper\u201d \u2013 a 2(a)5 permit. The holder of this permit is not a Permanent or a Temporary Resident of Israel; merely “residing” in Israel while their status is being clarified.<\/p>\n
Asylum seekers from countries such as Sudan or Eritrea usually receive \u2018collective protection\u2019. Their status isn\u2019t checked on a personal level; rather, anyone that can prove they are the citizen of that country, is granted the status of \u2018release under restrictive conditions\u2019 and effectively a kind of permit under article 2(a)(5) of the Entry into Israel law. The Supreme Court decision on the matter determines that although asylum seekers are not legally permitted to work, the country will not enforce this prohibition with relation to employers, de facto enabling asylum seekers to work and make a living.<\/p>\n
Regardless, most asylum seekers in Israel aren\u2019t expected to remain in the country and definitely not to retire here. Therefore, an employer contributing to a pension fund or similar fund, won\u2019t assist an asylum seeker. Moreover, such contributions would send the opposite message to the one the State of Israel is seeking to put across.<\/p>\n
The deposit is a pension benefits replacement that encourages leaving Israel<\/h4>\n
The asylum seeker deposit serves a number of purposes<\/a>. It replaces the pension stipend, severance pay, and other payments that an employee receives upon termination of employment. It provides the asylum seeker with a significant sum of money upon leaving Israel to establish their life elsewhere.<\/p>\n Finally, the deposit serves as an incentive for asylum seekers that would otherwise seek to delay their leaving the country. The asylum seeker will receive the entire sum of the deposit, with the deduction of 15% expenses and income tax, only if they leave Israel at the determined date.<\/p>\n Funds for the deposit are set aside via the Online Deposit Payment for Infiltrator Form<\/a>. One can use this online form to pay the deposit retroactively, for past months.<\/p>\n All deposit funds are held in designated accounts at Mizrahi Tfahot Bank (Bank 20, Branch 618). The accounts are managed by the Deposits Unit in the Service Administration for Employers and Foreign Workers. This is the Unit the asylum seeker turns to to receive permission to withdraw the deposit.<\/p>\n As detailed above, the deposit can be considered as replacing employer deposits toward pension funds or severance pay. If the employer thinks the employee caused their business financial harm, personal harm or harm to their reputation, they can deduct from the employee\u2019s current salary or sue them for damages. It should be emphasized: the employer cannot withdraw any sum from the infiltrator\u2019s deposit.<\/p>\n On the other hand, we emphasize once more that the State<\/em> can deduct funds from the deposit if the asylum seeker does not leave the country on the required date. If they leave more than six months after the date, they will receive only 67% of the sum of the deposit, after a 15% deduction of management fees and income tax. If they leave within a month of the required date, they will receive the 67% before leaving, and the remaining 33% after leaving (with 15% deduction). If they leave between one month and six months of the required date, they will receive 67% upon leaving, and a portion of the remaining 33% – a smaller portion as the number of months the asylum seeker remained in Israel increased.<\/p>\n The employee can use the Online Service on the Population and Immigration Authority Website<\/a>. The service is free.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to remember there is no \u2018grey zone\u2019 in legally employing asylum seekers. An asylum seeker is an employee just like any foreign worker<\/a> (includes the right to minimum wage, paid vacation, sick leave, and all the rights of an employee in Israel). If the employer legally registered the employment, the asylum seeker has the rights of any employee in Israel; if the employer is withholding these rights, they can file a case in the Labor Court and receive the funds or compensation they are entitled to. In extreme cases of violation of worker rights, the employer may be fined or even criminally charged.<\/p>\n Of course, if the asylum seeker is employed \u2018under the table\u2019 illegally and without a permit<\/a>, then the employer may receive a heavy fine if it can be proved.<\/p>\n The request to release money can be submitted by filling in an online form<\/a> or by filling in the form by hand, in one of a number of languages<\/a>, and sending it by mail to the Deposits Unit. The request must be submitted approximately 10 days (no less than 7 but no more than a month) before leaving the country. A copy of an up-to-date passport and a copy of a flight ticket must be attached to the request.<\/p>\n After submitting the request, you will be sent a payment form that must be submitted at the bank at the airport, on the day the worker is leaving the country. The deposit may be received in cash, or to a foreign bank account that is registered under the worker\u2019s name.<\/p>\n The deposit may be sent to a foreign bank account within two years of the worker leaving Israel. The worker must send the Deposits Unit confirmation of ownership of the account to which they want the money transferred. If the request is submitted by a attorney in Israel, the worker must give them power of attorney<\/a>.<\/p>\nHow does the employer set aside the funds in the deposit?<\/h4>\n
Can the employer withdraw some of the funds in the deposit?<\/h4>\n
How can one check the funds have been fairly deposited?<\/h4>\n
What happens if the employer is not contributing money to the deposit?<\/h4>\n
What needs to be done to release an asylum seeker deposit?<\/h4>\n
What about a worker that left the country without receiving the deposit?<\/h4>\n
What about the family of asylum seekers who died in Israel or after they left Israel, without receiving the deposit?<\/h4>\n