By Amit Acco, Partenr
As part of the work permit process, the employer needs to sign an affidavit of support. Until recently this could only be done through an in-person meeting of the company signatory and a lawyer.
What is new?
According to the new Israeli Bar Ethics Committee decision AT/20/39 published by the Israeli Bar, an affidavit can now be signed in front of a lawyer over a video conference, rather than in-person meeting with the lawyer.
What is an Affidavit?
The affidavit serves as a document that is being used to prove facts in legal proceedings, including a substitute for primary evidence in court, and even to prove facts beyond the court proceedings. Thus, the warning if the criminal aspects of not declaring the truth, is a significant requirement within the affidavit.
Another main purpose for an affidavit is to identify the person who makes the affidavit. This is an important element for the credibility of the affidavit. In addition, when the person who made the affidavit is a lawyer, there is a need to make sure that the signatory fully understands the content of the affidavit on which he signs. The additional purpose of the affidavit is to document the actual warning process within the body of the affidavit, as the wording of the section – “the warning process will be documented within the affidavit”.
A pre-requisite requirement to allow this process is that both the Israeli lawyer and the signatory are:
- Israeli nationals, and
- Both are physically in Israel at the time of making the affidavit.
The regulation allowing this process are as follows:
The Conference call process and the online authorization of identity verification
- Each time during the conference call, the signatory needs to authorize verification of his/her identity on the government website. The legal requirement to repeat the verification process is the requirement of verification that the signatory is physically in Israel at the time of the signature.
- The signatory will need to click here to verify his/her own identity. During the verification process, the following details will need to be entered (identity of the lawyer attesting the affidavit): Name of the lawyer, The lawyer license number, and email address.
A copy of the Israeli ID (front side) should be attached to the submission(only in the first time per signatory)
- During the filling up of the online form, the signatory needs to declare that “I have read and understood what is stated on this service page and I confirm to forward the certificate of verification of my identity to the lawyer in accordance with the e-mail address I have provided”
- The conference call should be recorded. At the beginning of the conference call, the signatory will have to positively agree to have the session recorded.
- The lawyer will have to warn the signatory that: “he/she must declare the truth, and that he is liable to the penalties provided by the Law”.
After the conference call
- A copy of the video conference + the identity verification email received from the Israeli government will be kept by the lawyer as required by law.
- The signatory will have to send a soft copy affidavit to the lawyer.