The Hon. (Prof.) Ruwan Ranasinghe - Deputy Minister of Tourism
From 2015 to 20 May 2025, 16,232 Sri Lankan workers migrated to Israel as caregivers through SLBFE channels, with 650 recorded in 2025 up to that date. Under the 2020 Sri Lanka-Israel agreement, applicants are selected through an online process, eligibility screening, a PIBA-conducted lottery, medical and police clearances, Safe Foundation interviews, and employer selection based on interview recordings. The Deputy Minister said male caregiver applications, previously suspended by Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority, were reopened on 10 March 2025, and outlined eligibility criteria including caregiver qualifications, age, education, health, English training, and a clean police record. He also stated that SLBFE provides 45-day residential training and that 16 TVEC-approved institutes are authorized to conduct caregiver courses, with transparency maintained through online applications and PIBA supervision.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Question No. 635/2025 (1) — The Hon. Hector Appuhamy: Sri Lankan Workers Migrated to Israel as Caregivers: Selection and Training
¶ 02 Answer: (a) (i) From 2015 to 20.05.2025, a total of 16,232 Sri Lankan workers have migrated for caregiver employment in Israel through the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) via licensed foreign employment agencies, self-registration, and under bilateral agreements.
¶ 03 Year-wise totals: 2015: 159; 2016: 1,766; 2017: 1,880; 2018: 1,001; 2019: 1,531; 2020: 769; 2021: 1,257; 2022: 1,601; 2023: 1,528; 2024: 1,994; 2025: 650; Total: 16,232.
¶ 04 (ii) Since 2022, under the Agreement signed between the Governments of Israel and Sri Lanka on 24th February 2020, the SLBFE has been referring Sri Lankan workers for caregiver positions. Applications from males had been temporarily suspended by the Population and Immigration Authority of Israel (PIBA), but by email dated 10.03.2025 PIBA reopened caregiver opportunities for males.
¶ 05 Eligible applicants apply online via www.slbfe.lk. Key eligibility: 1. Completion of a caregiver course at a TVEC-approved institute with NVQ Level III, or over 11 months’ experience as a nurse. 2. Age 25–45 years. 3. Completion of 10 years of schooling. 4. Minimum height 150 cm and weight over 45 kg. 5. No prior employment in Israel. 6. Completion of an English language course at a recognized institute. 7. If married, the spouse must not be currently employed in Israel. 8. Clean police record. 9. Physically and mentally fit.
¶ 06 Applicants undergo initial interviews at SLBFE head or provincial offices; details are sent to PIBA. Selection of caregivers is by lottery conducted by PIBA. Selected candidates are briefed on procedures; SLBFE issues letters to obtain medical and police clearance. After submission of complete documentation and clearances, candidate data are resent to PIBA, which forwards them to the Safe Foundation. Under SLBFE facilitation, Safe Foundation conducts interviews; pre-interview briefings are via Zoom; interview videos are uploaded to the PIBA portal. Employers choose caregivers after reviewing videos. Selected candidates receive employment contracts.
¶ 07 (iii) SLBFE provides a 45-day residential training for prospective caregivers to Israel. Additionally, 16 TVEC-approved institutes recommended by PIBA are authorized to conduct caregiver courses following the SLBFE-approved syllabus and schedule. Details are in the annex, which I table.
¶ 08 (iv) Transparency measures include: - Online application portal; - Calling all applicants for preliminary interviews; - Forwarding only those meeting eligibility to PIBA; - Processing medical and police clearances only for lottery-selected candidates; and - Conducting selection under full supervision of PIBA through Safe Foundation.
¶ 09 (b) Does not arise.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 5 June 2025 ·No. 1750828922068945 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Prof.) Ruwan Ranasinghe - Deputy Minister of Tourism. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 5 June 2025. No. 1750828922068945. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/21247