Work and licensing

Watch the clock here

• Stop driving on your foreign licence

  You may drive on a foreign licence for 1 year from your last entry. After that your insurance is void, even though you still have time to convert.

• Convert your driver licence

  No test required if you held a valid Category B licence continuously for 5 years before aliyah. Described by one specialist guide as the most frustrating step of the whole process.

Your plan turns these into real dates counted from your aliyah day.

The steps in this domain (8)

• Misrad HaRishuiIn person

  Stop driving on your foreign licence

  You may drive on a foreign licence for 1 year from your last entry. After that your insurance is void, even though you still have time to convert.

• Misrad HaRishuiIn person

  Convert your driver licence

  No test required if you held a valid Category B licence continuously for 5 years before aliyah. Described by one specialist guide as the most frustrating step of the whole process.

• In person

  Start your professional licence conversion

  Regulated professions each have their own ministry, exam and Hebrew requirement. The runway is measured in months to years, so start early.

• VAT office, Israel Tax Authority, Bituach LeumiIn person

  Register as an osek (self-employed)

  Register in the right order: VAT office, then Income Tax, then Bituach Leumi, then invoicing. Doing it out of order creates rework.

• Registrar of Companies

  Register a chevra be-am (private limited company)

  Incorporation itself is quick and cheap. The real bottleneck is the corporate bank account, which Israeli banks scrutinise hard for a company without a local director.

• Ministry of Health, nursing divisionIn person

  Prove Hebrew proficiency to finalise your nursing licence

  You may sit the nursing licensing exam in English, Arabic, Russian or Spanish, but the licence is not final until you separately prove Hebrew proficiency within 3 years.

• Ministry of Aliyah and Integration (routing since Jan 2025)

  Decide whether you need formal degree recognition (Gimul Hashkala)

  Public-sector salary scales require formal degree recognition. Most private-sector employers do not, so confirm which one applies before you queue for it.

• Rework your CV and salary expectations for the Israeli market

  A Western "Vice President" title can backfire here, and the gap between your old salary and a realistic Israeli offer is the income shock most olim report first.

Resources (14)

• Official formExternal

  Convert a foreign driving licence

  The official service page for licence conversion, including the medical declaration form.

  By Ministry of Transport · checked 2026-07-21

• Official formExternal

  Foreign degree evaluation

  Recognition of a foreign degree, which affects public-sector rank and salary. The route changed in 2025, so older guidance you find elsewhere may be wrong.

  By Ministry of Aliyah and Integration · checked 2026-07-21

• GuideExternal

  Hebrew proficiency for foreign-educated nurses

  You may sit the licensing exam in several languages, but a Hebrew proficiency requirement follows within three years. Nurses routinely underestimate this.

  By Ministry of Health · checked 2026-07-21

• GuideExternal

  Admission routes for foreign lawyers

  Two paths depending on years of practice abroad, plus a lighter registration as a foreign licensed lawyer that avoids full requalification.

  By Israel Bar Association · checked 2026-07-21

• GuideExternal

  Osek patur and osek murshe explained

  Which self-employed status you qualify for, the turnover ceiling, and the order to register in. Doing it out of order creates rework.

  By CPA Dray · checked 2026-07-21

• GuideExternal

  Converting your licence: the practical walkthrough

  The steps in order, the medical form, the test-exemption rules, and the difference between how long you may drive on a foreign licence and how long you have to convert it.

  By Nefesh B'Nefesh, Do-Israel · checked 2026-07-21

• OrganisationExternal

  Employment and recruitment services for olim

  Placement support, employer connections and sector guidance, at no cost. One of the most concrete free services in the whole pipeline.

  By Nefesh B'Nefesh · checked 2026-07-21

• GuideExternal

  Adjusting your CV for the Israeli market

  What Israeli employers expect on a resume and what to cut. The norms differ enough from the US and UK to cost interviews.

  By Nefesh B'Nefesh · checked 2026-07-21

• GuideExternal

  Starting a business or company in Israel

  What an Israeli limited company (chevra ba’m) involves versus self-employed status, and the registration sequence for each.

  By Menora Law, Law Offices · checked 2026-07-21

• ToolExternal

  The olim job board

  Roles from employers who already hire English-speaking olim, which removes the biggest unknown in an Israeli job search.

  By Nefesh B'Nefesh · checked 2026-07-27

• DirectoryExternal

  Janglo job center

  English-language classifieds and jobs concentrated in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, running since 2001, with a weekly newsletter reaching more than 50,000 addresses.

  By Janglo · checked 2026-07-27

• GuideExternal

  Degree recognition and the 2025 rule change

  Olim arriving from January 2025 apply through the Ministry of Aliyah portal and receive an ishur within 45 working days. Earlier arrivals go via the Ministry of Education. Online health and psychology degrees are usually rejected.

  By Nefesh B'Nefesh · checked 2026-07-27

• GuideExternal

  Medical licensing for physicians

  The programme run with the Ministries of Aliyah and Health for doctors making aliyah. Available in six languages including Ukrainian.

  By International Medical Aliyah Program · checked 2026-07-27

• OrganisationExternal

  Employment services and career retraining

  The employment hub: CV adaptation, recruitment submission and short-term training programmes aimed at getting olim into Israeli roles faster.

  By Nefesh B'Nefesh · checked 2026-07-27