Govt expands labour pathways to Israel, adding new job options for Nepalis

January 17, Kathmandu: The government has approved new labour protocols with Israel, expanding employment opportunities for Nepalis by adding jobs in agriculture and home-based caregiving to the existing care-home employment pathway.

A Cabinet meeting at Singha Durbar endorsed draft protocols proposed by Israel, clearing the way for long-term deployment of Nepali workers for up to five years. The decision allows Nepal and Israel to move towards formal signing and implementation.

Officials say the newly approved protocols introduce two additional employment sectors—agriculture and home-based caregiving—in addition to the long-standing arrangement under which Nepalis have been working in elderly care homes in Israel, commonly known as Beit Avot.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, the Cabinet approved two new protocols: one for sending Nepalis to work in Israel’s agricultural sector and another for employment as home-based caregivers for the elderly and physically disabled. At the same time, amendments have been prepared to the existing protocol governing recruitment for care homes.

The ministry said recruitment in all three sectors—agriculture, home-based caregiving and care-home employment—will be carried out exclusively through a government-to-government mechanism, aimed at ensuring transparency and preventing worker exploitation.

Nepal and Israel have a long history of labour cooperation, particularly in the caregiving sector. The Embassy of Nepal in Israel was established in 2007 largely in response to the presence of thousands of Nepali workers who had been migrating to Israel since before 2000. At its peak, around 22,000 Nepalis were employed in home-based caregiving across Israel.

Israel later suspended the business-to-business recruitment model after private manpower companies were found to be charging workers up to 10,000 US dollars each to “arrange” employment documents. To address these abuses, Nepal and Israel signed a government-to-government labour agreement in 2020, which remains in force indefinitely unless terminated by either side.

Currently, around 5,000 Nepalis are working in Israel, most of them employed in care homes. In recent years, overseas employment from Nepal to Israel had largely been confined to this sector.

Following the Cabinet decision, Israeli Ambassador to Nepal Shmulik Arie Bass paid courtesy calls on Nepal’s top leadership. The meetings focused on the newly approved labour protocols, their implementation, and broader bilateral cooperation.

Officials say the expanded labour framework is expected to provide safer, legal and more diversified employment options for Nepali workers in Israel, while strengthening people-to-people ties between the two countries.