In our last post, we offered a number of pointers when completing the two important Hebrew documents in the quest for recognition of one’s foreign licensing credentials by the Israeli Health Ministry (Misrad HaBriut): (1) the 4-page Questionnaire – Application to Practise Medicine in Israel (“She’eilon”); (2) the Request to Take the State Licensing Exam (“Bakasha Le’Hibachein”).
In this post, we take a look in greater detail at two of the documents required in the licensing recognition process:
1. Employment verification letter from the institutions at which you worked in your profession over (at least) the last 5 years.
2. Professional letter of good standing from the authorized bodies in the country from which you immigrated to Israel (the State Medical Board in the US, the General Medical Council in the UK etc,), which confirms that there are no, and have not been any, disciplinary, negligence or professional ethics complaints against you.
Employment Verification Letter
What should you provide if you are not a salaried employee abroad?
The answer is other documents, which will satisfy the Licensing Department that you have worked in your profession for at least the five years.
For example
If you have worked with a colleague in the same office, then consider presenting a letter signed by him/her, which attests to your work experience.
Alternatively and/or in addition: provide some other official document that states you have worked, e.g.
Confirmation from the State Medical Board, or A letter from your accountant which stipulates those years for which s/he has handled your tax affairs and during which you have practised as a doctor…
2. Letter of Good Standing
In a previous post, we explained that this letter is the exception to the rule – in that it does need require translation and notarizion, provided it is mailed directly to Misrad HaBriut.
The problem/challenge is that this important document sometimes gets lost en route to Israel (either before it arrives in Israel, or even on arrival in Israel, but before making it up from the Mailing Room at the Ministry of Health to the Licensing Department itself). Unfortunately, the State Medical Board / GMC etc. refuse to send this letter with any form of tracking, thus exacerbating this problem still further…
One tip of mine is to request the Letter of Good Standing only after filing your licensing documents with the MoH and obtaining a File Number (Reish Taf _________).
Other possibilities include submitting a notarized translation of this document too, which at least ensures that the document will arrive in one piece to the Licensing Department (assuming it is sent by next-day courier, which I am accustomed to doing for physician-clients).
In any event, it is important that the Letter should be addressed to the Ministry of Health – or, at the very least, not to the doctor him/herself at his/her overseas address!
In our next post, we will discuss how you can obtain full reimbursement, in the majority of cases, of fees you pay in respect to notarized translations in the medical licensing recognition process!
Simon M. Jackson is an Israeli notary, attorney and professional translator who specializes in assisting Olim Chadashim to acclimatize in Israel. He can be contacted by telephone, Skype or email.
