Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Legislation automatically recognizing medical licenses that meet EU standards clears 1st vote

By Carrie Keller-Lynn 31 May 2023, 2:52 pm 2 Edit

Carrie Keller-Lynn is a political and legal correspondent for The Times of Israel

The Knesset advances a bill to automatically recognize foreign medical, dental and pharmacy professional licenses, if they were issued in line with European Union standards.

Clearing its preliminary reading 31-0, the bill would be a particular boon to immigrants to Israel or returning citizens who work in those fields.

“One of the main barriers to immigration and absorption is the process of recognizing the professional licenses of immigrants and returning residents,” says Likud MK Dan Illouz, who sponsored the bill.

Ilouz also points out that Europe has operated a similar automatic recognition system for the past decade.