Operating an Israeli account from abroad
Guide · Banking
Operating an Israeli account from abroad: mandates and powers of attorney
If you own or are buying Israeli property while living elsewhere, someone has to be able to act on the account. That authority can be drawn narrowly or dangerously widely, and the difference is entirely in the drafting.
Two different documents
People use "power of attorney" for two things that are not the same. A bank mandate is the bank's own form authorising a named person to operate the account, and most Israeli banks will accept nothing else for account operations. A general or specific power of attorney (yipui koach) is a legal instrument authorising someone to act for you more broadly — to sign a purchase contract, to register title, to deal with the tax authority.
You may well need both. Ask the bank for its mandate form early, because it usually has to be signed in the presence of a bank officer or before a notary, and the acceptable notarisation route from your country is a question with a specific answer.
Getting it accepted
- Draft it in Israel. Have your Israeli lawyer produce the wording, then execute it where you live. Documents drafted abroad in foreign form are routinely rejected.
- Notarise and apostille. Israel is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so a notarised document with an apostille from your country's competent authority is the standard route. Allow a fortnight.
- Translate it. A sworn or notarised Hebrew translation is usually required.
- Check its shelf life. Banks and the Land Registry sometimes decline instruments older than a certain period, or require confirmation the grantor is alive and has not revoked.
Draft it narrow
The mistake is generosity. A general power of attorney over an Israeli bank account lets the holder move your money. Limit it: name the specific account, name the specific transaction, cap the amounts, exclude the power to open credit or borrow, exclude the power to delegate to someone else, and put an expiry date on it. If the purpose is one purchase, say so in the document.
Give it to a professional who is regulated and insured — your lawyer — rather than to a family member doing you a favour, unless the task is genuinely trivial. Regulated professionals carry indemnity insurance and a disciplinary body. Relatives do not.
The alternatives
Often you do not need a power of attorney at all. Israeli online banking handles most day-to-day operations from anywhere, and standing orders handle the recurring bills. Where you need someone physically present — to collect keys, to meet a meter reader, to attend a handover — that is a practical instruction, not a legal authority.
Where a transaction genuinely requires a signature in Israel, two other routes exist: signing before an Israeli consular official in your country, or timing a short trip around the signing date. Both are sometimes cheaper and simpler than the apostille chain.
Signing from four thousand miles away
Powers of attorney, bank mandates and the limits worth writing in.
Nothing on this page is legal, tax or financial advice.
Questions we get asked
Can my lawyer sign the purchase contract for me?
Yes, under a properly drawn and apostilled power of attorney naming that transaction. This is normal practice for remote purchases in Israel.
How long does notarisation and apostille take?
Typically one to two weeks depending on your country's apostille service. Start it as soon as a transaction looks real, not when the contract is ready.
Can I revoke a power of attorney?
Yes, in writing, and you should notify every institution relying on it. Build an expiry date into the document as well so it lapses on its own.
Does the bank accept my lawyer's power of attorney for the account?
Often not for account operations — most banks insist on their own mandate form. Ask the bank specifically, in writing, before assuming.
Is a Hebrew translation always required?
Assume yes for anything going to a bank, the Land Registry or the tax authority, and have it done by a notary or sworn translator.
Buying without being there
The whole remote-purchase sequence — lawyer, bank, power of attorney, survey, handover — in the order it has to happen.
This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Israeli tax rules changed materially for people becoming resident from 1 January 2026, and figures are revised annually. Take advice from an Israeli accountant on your own position before you act, and confirm current thresholds with the Israel Tax Authority.
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