Israel’s circular work-migration programmes in the care, agriculture and construction sectors first emerged in the 1990s. A decade later, the Israeli Supreme Court gave substantial decisions regarding their two most problematic aspects.
First, workers were paying illegal broker fees under dubious recruitment processes, which was leading to debt bondage. Second, the binding nature of the visa regime, which tied workers to their employers, was enabling those employers to infringe upon workers’ basic freedoms.
Following these rulings Israel took steps to prevent illegal broker fees in the agricultural and construction sectors. It required migrants in these sectors to come through official, fee-free routes. Israel also made it possible for migrants in all sectors to change employers while in the country for the basic time period of 5 years.
