The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has announced that Israel has allowed the entry and re-entry of foreign workers and the initiative of a bank in Qatar for domestic workers.

POEA announced that the State of Israel’s Ministry of Interior (MOI) has allowed the entry and re-entry of foreign workers in the caregiving sector, including Filipino caregivers, who were not able to return to Israel due to the travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The re-entry policy covers licensed foreign caregivers who left Israel to visit their home country prior to the country’s March 18, 2020 travel restriction as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19,” POEA said.

POEA explained that Ministry of Interior also expanded the entry outline of foreign workers in the caregiving section which includes the issuance of work permits for foreign caregivers entering Israel for the first time.

“The entry of both vacationing and new caregivers will be subjected to an official application from the employer and patient’s family with the Population and Immigration Bureau, as well as required to follow all the conditions on their quarantine,” POEA said.

As such, upon arrival in Israel, POEA said that the caregiver must undergo quarantine for 14 days in a facility which is not at the employer or patient’s home. “The expenses and financial needs of the caregiver during the entire quarantine period will be shouldered by the employer, while the worker will not be paid his or her salary during the quarantine,” it added.

Meanwhile, POEA also announced that Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB) has launched a card for domestic workers – including Filipino household workers – for efficient and real-time banking services and secured tracking of salaries from their employers.

The card – which is specifically designated for domestic workers whose salaries are lower than 5,000 Qatari riyals – allows a “secure and certified” record of transactions on the payment of the workers’ monthly salaries in support to the Qatar Law on Domestic Workers.

“In particular, the card will allow employers to directly transfer the workers’ salary in real time through the QIIB’s digital platforms, such as mobile banking applications and internet banking,” POEA said.

The POEA added that domestic workers can also use the card in all Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and points of sale across Qatar for the payment of utility bills, online purchase, as well as transferring money to their home country.