International Migration—Israel 2018–2019
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The OECD Expert Group on Migration SOPEMI Annual Report International Migration—Israel 2018–2019 Dr. Gilad Nathan October 2019 עמק חפר Emek Hefer 4025000 פקס: Fax: 972-9-8983860 טל: Tel: 972-9-8983859 [email protected] Contents 1. Permanent Migrants .................................................................................................. 9 2. Temporary Migrant Workers (Foreign Workers)......................................................... 23 3. Palestinian Workers in Israel .................................................................................... 63 4. Foreign Workers Who Did Not Enter Israel Under a Foreign Work Permit (with Tourist Permit) and Have not Left ........................................................................................... 81 5. Asylum Seekers and Mixed Migration (infiltrators and people under protection) ........... 85 6. Victims of Human Trafficking, Forced Labor, and Employment under Slavery Conditions ............................................................................................................................... 109 7. International Students in Israel ............................................................................... 118 8. Emigration from Israel ........................................................................................... 122 9. Statistical Appendix ............................................................................................... 127 ii Introduction There are four main categories of migrants in Israel, of which only the first category consists of permanent migrants: Migrants who are Jewish or of Jewish extraction who immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return1 (“Olim”). This group also includes “returning residents,”2 former residents of Israel who return after at least two years' residence abroad. TMWs (Temporary Migrant Worker), foreign workers who enter Israel legally under a work permit. Illegal work migrants (foreigners who enter legally for purposes other than work and remain in the country after their period of legal residence has ended). Mixed migration: Infiltrators, asylum seekers, and groups of people under protection (including two main groups, African subjects and former USSR citizens). Aside from migrants, there is also the category of PDWs, Palestinian daily workers from the Palestinian Authority and the Kingdom of Jordan. Data In 2018, the share of non-Israelis residing in Israel as temporary migrants or under temporary protection decreased for the first time in this decade. Parallel to the trend of reduction in the share of non-Israelis in Israel (from 2.95% in 2011 to 2.43% in 2018), the share of employee jobs of non-Israelis continued its upward trend (to 5.9% in 2018 from 4.1% in 2011). In 2018, 40,000 permanent migrants entered Israel, 28,000 Olim, 3,500 citizen migrants, and 8,500 through family reunification. The number of permanent migrants increased again in comparison to 2016 and 2017. Between 1 January and 30 July 2019, 15,860 permanent immigrants entered Israel, significantly more than in 2018 (12,100) and more than in comparison to the same period in the record year 2015 (13,160). The number of immigrants (same period) stood at a monthly average of 2,643.3 higher than the average of 2,016.6 in 2018. Just over two-thirds of the immigrants (67%) were from two countries: The Russian Federation and Ukraine. The trend of growth in immigration from the former USSR states and decline from Western European states continued. In 2018, foreign nationals living in Israel numbered 215,071, another slight decrease. 1 Law of Return https://knesset.gov.il/laws/special/eng/return.htm. 2 For details regarding returning resident status, see “Who is a Returning Resident?” https://www.gov.il/en/Departments/General/returning_residents_whois As of 30 June 2019, the total population of foreign nationals living in Israel was 225,415 (June 2018: 214,823, June 2017: 217,739), reversing the trend of decline. The population of Africans under group protection is in a process of decline: Among the workers without permits there is a significant decline, and the number of TMWs continues to increase. Adding to this the group of asylum seekers entering Israel with a visa resulted in an increase in the number of foreign nationals. In 2018, there were 114,444 TMWs in Israel who entered under a work permit, continuing the growth trend. As of 30 June 2019, the population of foreign nationals who entered Israel under a work permit (TMWs) stood at 117,798 (June 2018: 112,464, June 2017: 104,199), of which 100,987 (June 2018: 93,214, June 2017: 85,932) were legal entrants who have a regulated status and 16,811 (June 2018: 19,250, June 2017: 18,267) were legal entrants whose status is currently unregulated. The number of TMWs who lost their status has remained stable since the end of 2018. The substantial growth in the number of TMWs is a continuation of the tendency since 2013 in comparison to the years before. In 2018, there were 82,200 PDWs holding work permits in Israel (excluding East Jerusalem and the West Bank), continuing the trend of growth in recent years. As of June 2019, the work permits for PDWs numbered 85,678 (June 2018: 78,242, June 2017: 77,300), and the utilization rate was a bit higher than in 2017/2018. In addition, 5,100 (June 2018: 4,654, June 2017: 4,331) Palestinian residents of the West Bank hold a permit to work in East Jerusalem. The trend of growth in the quotas and the number of PDWs continues, but after a trend of increasing the utilization of the quotas is stable. In 2018, the population of foreigners who entered the country legally on tourist visas and remained illegally after their visas expired was estimated at 67,700 at the end of 2018, another decline as in recent years. In 2018, the 33,627 African subjects who infiltrated Israel were still in Israel under protection from forced departure, continuing the trend of slight decline. At the end of June 2019, Israel had a population of 32,604 (June 2018: 35,659, June 2017: 38,540) African subjects who infiltrated Israel in previous years. Between January and July 2019, there were no new entrances through the border with Egypt (as since the beginning of 2017). From the record number of illegal migrants and asylum seekers at the end of 2012, the continuity in this trend is a significant decrease in the scope of this population. 2 Since 2015, there has been a significant growth in the number of asylum seekers who enter Israel not as infiltrators, but with a tourist visa. Most of them come from former USSR states and rapidly "integrate" into the labor market while awaiting an answer on their asylum requests. The prevailing assumption of the Population and Immigration Authority and civil rights organizations is that most of these asylum seekers are work migrants. Since mid-2018, the number of asylum seekers who entered Israel with a tourist visa has been in decline. The net migration of people who are Israelis or entitled to a permanent status in Israel is positive, as it was in recent years. The net migration of Israeli citizens remains negative. Main trends, policy developments, and tendency changes in 2018-2019 Transitional government Since the end of 2018, the government in Israel has been a transitional government, which means that the government cannot make significant policy changes or promote new legislation. Thus, there have been no major changes in the government’s immigration policy during this time. Continuance in the growth trend of permanent migrants The growth trend in the number of permanent immigrants continued in 2018 and the first half of 2019, after one year of decline in 2016. In the first half of 2019, the number of migrants was higher than in the first half of 2018 but still lower than in the years 2014–2016. Since the number of permanent migrants in the second half of the year is traditionally higher, it is too soon to make any conclusions about a change of trend. The proportion of immigrants from the Russian Federation and Ukraine increased significantly, while migration from France and other EU member states is in decline. During 2018, a resolution was passed for a quota of 1,300 people total for the years 2018–2019 of Falash Mura (Ethiopia Jews) to enter Israel for family unification purposes, but similar decisions in previous years were not fully implemented. Constant growth in the number of TMWs and new quotas Since the end of 2013, the Israeli government has made several resolutions (Gov. Decisions) regarding the expansion of foreign worker quotas in the fields of construction and agriculture, and regarding the renewal of the foreign worker quota in the tourism arena. Simultaneously, there has been a trend of increasing numbers of these workers in the nursing care field. It can be determined that since 2013 there has been a trend of growth in the quotas and numbers of TMWs. Since the decade 2003–2013, the new government's policy has been to increase the number of foreign workers, not reduce it. In 2018, two new quotas were set, one in tourism and one in industry. Parallel to the increase in the number of TMWs, the state continues to reduce the employer's levy for the employment of TMWs. In 2010, it was fixed at 20% on all 3 TMWs apart from those employed in the home care sector. As of 2019, employers in the agriculture sector are exempt from the levy, and in all other sectors the levy was reduced to 15% for the employment of legal TMWs. The average wages of non-Israeli workers (mainly TMWs and PDWs) are much lower than the wages of Israeli workers. The incentive to employ a TMW is higher than in the years 2003-2013. Traditionally, most of the TMWs have been low-skilled workers. However, there is growing pressure to allow quotas of high-skilled workers who, without specialist or expert work visas, would be exempt from the higher wages of high-skilled workers. There is also a demand to let TMWs work in sectors in which TMWs have not previously been allowed to work, such as health care institutions and retirement homes.