Cost of Hiring an Expat Employee in Saudi Arabia: 2026

15 min readLast updated 27 October 2026

The expat levy, work permit, iqama, GOSI, medical insurance, end-of-service accrual and exit re-entry: what an expatriate employee costs a Saudi employer beyond the salary.

An expatriate employee costs a Saudi employer more than the salary: a monthly levy, permit and residency fees, social insurance, health insurance, and an end-of-service liability that grows every month. Most of these are set by regulation, and the largest depends on a fact about your establishment rather than the employee: how many Saudis you employ.

In short: on top of salary, budget for the expat levy (SAR 800 a month for each expatriate beyond your number of Saudi employees, SAR 700 for each one up to it), SAR 100 a year for the work permit, 2% of basic wage and cash housing allowance to GOSI, medical insurance for the employee and their family, and end-of-service accrual of half a month's wage for each of the first five years. Exit and re-entry visas, the iqama and one-off recruitment costs come on top. Article 40 of the Labour Law puts the worker's recruitment, iqama, work permit, profession-change and exit and re-entry fees on the employer, not the worker.

Each figure is as published by the authority named, checked in October 2026. Where no official page we could open gives a figure, this page says so. When you pay, the amount the platform calculates is the one that applies.

The costs at a glance

Cost	Amount as published (checked October 2026)	When	Who pays
Expat levy (المقابل المالي)	SAR 700 a month per expatriate up to the number of Saudi employees; SAR 800 for each one beyond	With each work permit	Employer
Work permit (رخصة العمل)	SAR 100 a year	Issue and renewal	Employer (Article 40)
Iqama	Not on an official page we could open; calculated on Absher Business or Muqeem	Issue and renewal	Employer (Article 40)
GOSI	2% of basic wage plus cash housing allowance	Monthly	Employer only
Medical insurance	The premium agreed with your insurer	Policy term	Employer, for the employee and eligible dependants
End-of-service award	Half a month's wage a year for five years, then a month's wage a year	Accrues monthly	Employer
Exit and re-entry	Single trip SAR 200 for up to two months; multiple SAR 500 for three months; extra months on top	Per trip	Employer (Article 40)
Dependants' levy	Per dependant; current rate not on an official page we could open	Iqama issue and renewal	Not on Article 40's list; settle it in the contract
Recruitment from abroad	Visa, agency fee, examinations, attestation, travel	Once	Employer (Article 40)

Before the employee arrives

A visa for a hire from abroad is issued from your establishment's recruitment quota on Qiwa. MHRSD lists the instant work visa service on Qiwa with a free service fee, but its conditions decide whether you can use it: a valid commercial registration where the activity needs one, an active establishment in a permitted activity, wage protection compliance, a Nitaqat band of at least Medium Green or Very Small Green (Medium Green or above for an expansion), valid work permits across your unified number, and enough balance in the establishment's Absher account. Its steps end with a payment, but the page gives no per-visa price; check it on Qiwa before you budget.

Article 40(1) puts "the recruitment fees for the non-Saudi worker" on the employer, with the other Article 40 fees in the table above and fines for delays the employer causes. The agency's own fee is commercial; the recruitment agencies guide covers what to ask.

Two examinations can come before the visa, and neither authority publishes a fee:

Professional examination. MHRSD Decision 137860 (May 2021) made passing it a basic requirement for the entry visa for professional workers, coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on each sending country's readiness. For workers already in the Kingdom it is a condition of issuing or renewing the work permit.
Medical examination. Under the GCC Health Council's screening programme, workers are examined in their home countries, and visa authorities are not to deal with centres the Council has not approved (Saudi Press Agency, November 2021). The centre sets the price.

Attestation and travel complete the one-off costs. Hiring someone already in the Kingdom skips the visa and the flight; Article 40(3) puts the transfer-of-services fee on the new employer. Domestic workers are recruited through Musaned and are outside this page.

The expat levy, and how your Saudi headcount sets it

MHRSD's guide to the levy, issued under Council of Ministers Decision 325 of 13/6/1442H, defines it as the amount paid for each expatriate working under the establishment's unified number, calculated monthly:

Expatriate's position in the establishment	Monthly	Annual
Within the number of Saudi employees	SAR 700	SAR 8,400
Beyond the number of Saudi employees	SAR 800	SAR 9,600

It is collected with the work permit and can be paid for 3, 6, 9 or 12 months at a time (SAR 2,100 or SAR 2,400 a quarter), with the SAR 100 permit fee split the same way. Units beyond the Saudi count are collected first. MHRSD's work permit user guide of 30 August 2026 still ties the fee to the balance between Saudi and non-Saudi employees.

In practice: with 10 Saudi employees and 25 expatriates, 10 are charged SAR 8,400 and 15 SAR 9,600, a total of SAR 228,000 a year. While expatriates outnumber Saudis, each additional Saudi employee, as Qiwa counts them, moves one expatriate to the lower rate, saving SAR 1,200 a year. The same headcount sets your Nitaqat band, which also decides whether permits can be issued at all. The Nitaqat calculator shows where you sit.

Two timing rules change the bill:

Arrival. The 2026 user guide says permit issuance is free for the first three months of stay and that the permit's validity starts three months after entry, so the first paid period starts three months after arrival.
Lapsed permits. Fees for every unrenewed past period are added (2026 guide), at the current levy rate and without quarterly splitting (levy guide). On 8 July 2026 MHRSD extended to 31 December 2026 the grace period for correcting permits expired more than 12 months, or not issued more than six months after the worker joined. It did not say fees are reduced; statutory procedures apply after that date.

Exemptions from the levy

Two establishment-level exemptions have been announced. The levy guide also mentions exemption categories without listing them, so the fee details Qiwa shows for your file are the final word.

Industrial licence holders. On 17 December 2025 the Saudi Press Agency reported Council of Ministers approval to cancel the levy for establishments holding an industrial licence. The Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources said the state had borne it for them from 1 October 2019 to 31 December 2025. Neither announcement gives an effective date or mentions the SAR 100 permit fee. The test is the industrial licence, not the location: where Qiwa applies the cancellation to your file, the largest government line above stays off the bill.
Small establishments. On 20 February 2024 MHRSD announced a three-year extension of the exemption for establishments of nine workers or fewer, owner included: two expatriates are exempt where the owner works full-time in the establishment and is registered there with GOSI, four where a full-time Saudi other than the owner is also registered. The announcement gives no start or end date, so confirm on Qiwa that it still applies. The levy guide treats the SAR 100 permit fee as payable by exempt categories.

Work permit and iqama fees

The work permit costs SAR 100, paid through SADAD, on MHRSD's service page. It must be issued within 90 days of entry, can be renewed once 180 days or less remain, cannot be cancelled once issued, and cannot be issued or renewed in the red band. MHRSD's 30 August 2026 user guide words that condition as the establishment not being red for eight consecutive weeks.

The iqama is transacted on Absher Business or Muqeem, and Article 40 makes its fees and renewals the employer's, with any fines for delays the employer causes. We found no official page setting the fee, so use the amount the platform calculates. One rule is published: Council of Ministers Decision 359 of 26/5/1444H (Umm Al-Qura, 30 December 2022) doubles the renewal fee for a worker's dependants and domestic workers who are outside the Kingdom.

A permit left to lapse is how back fees build up: the 2026 user guide adds the fees for every unrenewed past period at the next issue or renewal. The portals and deadlines guide covers the renewal clocks.

Dependants: the levy, and who owes it

Since 1 July 2017 the General Directorate of Passports has collected a monthly levy for each dependant of an expatriate in the private sector, paid in advance at iqama issue or renewal and with exit and re-entry visas, and settled up to any final exit request (Saudi Press Agency, 5 July 2017). That announcement set SAR 100 a month per dependant from July 2017 and SAR 200 from July 2018 as steps in a phased schedule; they are not a statement of today's rate. No official page we could open gives the current rate, so use the amount Absher or Muqeem calculates.

Article 40 lists the worker's own iqama and work permit fees among the employer's costs and does not mention dependants, and no official page we found allocates the dependants' levy between employer and employee. Settle it in the employment contract or company policy, and write it down either way.

Health insurance for the same family is not optional. The Council of Health Insurance (CHI) states that the employer alone pays premiums for employees and their dependants. For parents or siblings living permanently in the Kingdom, the employee, as their sponsor, must insure them.

GOSI for non-Saudi employees

For a non-Saudi who is not a GCC national, the employer pays 2% of the contributory wage to the occupational hazards branch and nothing is deducted from the employee. The contributory wage is basic wage plus housing allowance paid in cash (housing in kind is valued at two months' basic); other allowances, such as transport, are outside it. GOSI publishes a minimum contributory wage of SAR 400 for this branch and a maximum of SAR 45,000.

Register the worker within the first fifteen days of the month after they join, and pay each month's contributions within the first fifteen days of the next month. The joining month is charged as a full month, and GOSI states that non-Saudi subscribers cannot be added retroactively. GCC nationals are treated differently; see the GOSI contributions guide.

Medical insurance

CHI requires a unified health insurance policy covering all workers and their dependants, including employees on probation. The basic policy defines dependants as a husband or wife, sons up to 25 and unmarried daughters. The premium is whatever the policyholder agrees with the insurer, so take it from your quote.

Leaving staff uninsured costs more. CHI's January 2025 penalty announcement sets out Article 14 of the Health Insurance Law: the unpaid premiums, a fine of up to the annual premium per person, and a possible temporary or permanent bar on recruiting workers.

End-of-service accrual

Article 84 of the Labour Law gives half a month's wage for each of the first five years of service and a month's wage for each year after, on the last wage and pro rata for part years. Article 2 defines "wage", for the Law's purposes, as the actual wage: the basic wage plus the other increases due, commission among them. Article 86 lets the parties agree to leave commission and sales percentages out of the award's base; without that agreement they count. The end-of-service benefits guide covers the other elements.

The award builds at 1/24 of the monthly wage per month for five years, then 1/12. Resignation reduces it under Article 85 (a third after two years up to five, two thirds once service exceeds five but is under ten, the full award from ten), but you cannot plan on a resignation, so accrue in full. Article 88 requires the employer to settle within a week of the end of the relationship, or within two weeks where the employee ended the contract. The end-of-service calculator gives the figure for one employee.

Exit and re-entry, and the end of the contract

Council of Ministers Decision 359 sets the exit and re-entry visa fees:

Visa	Fee	Each extra month, resident inside the Kingdom
Single trip	SAR 200 for up to two months	SAR 100
Multiple trips	SAR 500 for three months	SAR 200

The extra-month fee doubles if the resident is outside the Kingdom, and the fees apply within the iqama's validity. When employment ends, Article 40 makes the employer pay the ticket home unless the worker is unfit for work or leaves without a legitimate reason. The final exit visa itself is free through Absher or Muqeem, Jawazat stated in January 2025; any dependants' levy is settled up to the request, as above.

A worked example (illustration only)

Sourced figures only. Assumptions: a technician on SAR 4,000 basic, SAR 1,000 cash housing and SAR 400 transport (SAR 5,400 a month), in an establishment where expatriates outnumber Saudis; no dependants in the Kingdom; one single-trip exit and re-entry of up to two months a year; first five years of service; all three pay elements treated as the wage for the end-of-service award.

Line	Monthly (SAR)	Annual (SAR)	Basis
Salary	5,400.00	64,800	Contract
Expat levy, beyond the Saudi count	800.00	9,600	MHRSD levy guide
Work permit fee	8.33	100	MHRSD
GOSI, 2% of SAR 5,000	100.00	1,200	GOSI
End-of-service accrual	225.00	2,700	Article 84
Exit and re-entry, one trip	16.67	200	Decision 359
Total of sourced lines	6,550.00	78,600
Medical insurance	Insurer's quote	Insurer's quote	CHI
Iqama fee	As calculated on the platform		Not published

On these lines the cost above salary is SAR 1,150 a month, SAR 13,800 a year, about 21% of salary before insurance and the iqama fee. It changes when:

the employee falls within your Saudi count: levy SAR 700, on-cost SAR 1,050 a month;
the industrial-licence cancellation applies to your file: the levy line drops out, on-cost SAR 350 a month;
service passes five years: end-of-service accrual doubles to SAR 450 a month;
it is a new arrival's first year: the first paid permit period starts three months after entry.

To model your own headcount, apply these lines to each expatriate at the levy rate your Saudi count sets, and take the iqama, dependants' and insurance amounts from Absher or Muqeem and your insurer's quote.

How SCPL handles these costs for clients

SCPL runs the government side of employment for companies from its head office in Dammam and its office in Riyadh. Its government relations team issues and renews work permits on Qiwa in step with iqama validity, renews iqamas ahead of expiry with fees and levies confirmed to you in advance, processes exit and re-entry against travel dates, and keeps GOSI registrations reconciled with payroll. In payroll, end-of-service accrual is tracked monthly, so the liability is known before anyone leaves. Where your Saudi headcount drives the levy and the band, the Saudization team models the ratio against your hiring plan before you commit.

For new hires, SCPL recruits locally and internationally for companies that employ the people it finds on their own contracts, and the government relations team runs the visa, iqama, Qiwa, GOSI and insurance steps as one sequence. You remain the employer throughout. SCPL quotes against your file rather than publishing fees or timelines.

Ask for a written scope: send your headcount by nationality, your Nitaqat band and the hires you are planning, and you will get back the cost lines that apply and what SCPL would run.

FAQ

What does it cost to hire an expat employee in Saudi Arabia?

The salary, plus the levy of SAR 700 or SAR 800 a month, SAR 100 a year for the work permit, 2% of basic wage and cash housing to GOSI, medical insurance, end-of-service accrual, exit and re-entry and the iqama fee, with recruitment costs once. For a technician on SAR 5,400 a month where expatriates outnumber Saudis, the sourced lines add about 21% before insurance and the iqama fee; your figure depends on salary, levy rate and dependants.

What is the expat levy in Saudi Arabia in 2026?

MHRSD's published rules set SAR 700 a month (SAR 8,400 a year) for each expatriate up to the establishment's number of Saudi employees, and SAR 800 a month (SAR 9,600 a year) for each one beyond. It is collected with the work permit, for three, six, nine or twelve months at a time.

How much is a work permit in Saudi Arabia?

SAR 100 a year, paid through SADAD, with the levy on top. MHRSD's 2026 user guide says issuance is free for the first three months of stay.

Does the employer have to pay the dependants' fee?

Article 40 does not mention it, and no official page we found allocates it, so settle it in the employment contract or company policy. Health insurance for the employee's spouse and children is different: CHI makes the employer alone responsible for those premiums.

Can the employer recover the levy or iqama fees from the employee?

Not the iqama and work permit fees. Article 40 puts those, with recruitment, profession change and exit and re-entry, on the employer, and the labour violations schedule fines an employer, per worker, for charging such fees to workers. Article 40 does not name the levy separately; MHRSD collects it with the work permit, so take advice before passing any of it on.

Are any employers exempt from the expat levy?

This page covers two establishment-level exemptions: the cancellation for industrial licence holders (December 2025), and the exemption for two or four expatriates in establishments of nine workers or fewer, extended for three years in February 2024. MHRSD's levy guide mentions exemption categories without listing them; Qiwa's fee details show what applies to your file.

Official sources

Fees change; verify current requirements with the authorities before acting.