How to Hire a Foreign Worker From Abroad Into Saudi Arabia

10 min readLast updated 15 November 2026

The employer's sequence for recruiting from abroad: Qiwa quota, the work visa, the contract, the worker's steps at home, then permit, insurance and iqama.

Hiring someone from outside Saudi Arabia is a chain of transactions on four platforms: Qiwa for eligibility, the visa and the contract; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' visa platforms to complete the visa; the Ministry of Interior's platforms for the iqama; and GOSI for social insurance. Most of the chain belongs to the employer. The worker's part happens in the home country, between the visa and the flight.

In short: meet Qiwa's establishment conditions, Medium Green or above among them; issue a permanent work visa from your recruitment quota on Qiwa (SAR 2,000 per visa, as Qiwa publishes it) and complete it on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' side; create the contract on Qiwa; the worker's visa application goes through MOFA's KSA Visa platform, with the medical, biometric fingerprinting and any professional verification or examination; after arrival, issue the work permit within 90 days, then insurance, iqama and GOSI.

This guide covers a hire from abroad on a permanent work visa. A non-Saudi already working in the Kingdom joins through Qiwa's Employee Transfer service instead, covered in the recruitment agencies guide. Domestic workers are recruited through Musaned and are outside this page.

The sequence at a glance

#	Step	Where	Who acts
1	Establishment eligibility and Nitaqat band	Qiwa	Employer
2	Recruitment quota	Qiwa	Employer
3	Permanent work visa for the occupation, nationality and embassy	Qiwa, then MOFA's visa platform	Employer, or an authorised recruitment office
4	Employment contract	Qiwa	Employer; signed with the worker through the agency abroad
5	Medical, professional verification or examination, biometrics, visa application	Home country; MOFA's KSA Visa platform	Worker, with the recruitment office
6	Work permit, within 90 days of entry	Qiwa	Employer
7	Medical insurance	Insurer	Employer
8	Iqama	Absher (Ministry of Interior)	Employer
9	GOSI registration	GOSI	Employer

1. Check the establishment before the candidate

Qiwa's guide to hiring non-Saudis lists what the establishment needs before it can use the work visa services. The establishment must exist and hold a valid commercial registration (exempted activities aside), and it must also meet these conditions:

a Nitaqat level of Medium Green or higher;
wage protection compliance with no remarks;
valid work permits for every employee in the establishment group;
sufficient funds in the Ministry of Interior's platforms, such as Absher or Muqeem, added through the bank, not through Qiwa;
the annual self-evaluation, for establishments with ten or more employees;
employees assigned to locations on Qiwa;
a business owner at least 18 years old;
available recruitment quota.

MHRSD's own visa issuance page sets the band at Medium Green or above for an establishment in the expansion stage and, for a start-up, at least Medium Green or Green for a very small establishment (Qiwa's Nitaqat page puts entities of five employees or fewer on a two-level Green/Red scale). Qiwa's Nitaqat page explains why it matters: Medium Green and above can request new permanent work visas and renew work permits, while a Red establishment cannot request visas, use transfers or renew permits. The Nitaqat categories guide covers the bands.

2. The recruitment quota ("block visa")

What the market calls a block visa, Qiwa calls the recruitment quota: the number of permanent work visas and employee transfers the establishment can request. The two services share it, across all your establishments with the same economic activity. How it is set depends on the establishment's phase:

Establishing phase, Allowance period. The quota is based on the median of historical requests for the economic activity and on the establishment's tier. Tier 1 carries no extra fee; tiers 2 and 3 are paid, and tier 3 always needs an on-site inspection of the location, operations and nationalisation plan (tier 2 may).
Expansion phase. The quota follows the Nitaqat level, which must be Medium Green or above for visas, and rises automatically as the level improves. Qiwa's glossary places the Expansion phase 12 months after the first visa or transfer in the Allowance period. An establishment can end the Allowance period early if its level will be Medium Green or above, and cannot go back.

A new company should read the first 90 days after CR guide before its first request, because that request starts the Allowance period's clock.

3. Issue the visa and complete it with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

On Qiwa, the permanent work visa is requested under Services, Visas, "Issue Visa". Each request states the occupation, gender, nationality, embassy and religion of the future employee, and the number of visas; requests with different parameters are added separately. Pick the occupation with care. Article 38 of the Labour Law bars employing a worker in a profession other than the one on the work permit.

Qiwa states that a single permanent work visa costs SAR 2,000, paid to the Ministry of Interior from the establishment's funds in its Ministry of Interior account and charged automatically. Qiwa says it can take up to three working days for the visa data to update at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after which, in Qiwa's words, the visa is completed on Enjaz. MOFA's current Permanent Work Visa page does not name Enjaz: it sends the application to MOFA's KSA Visa platform (ksavisa.sa), so check which platform applies when you reach this step. An issued visa can be cancelled on Qiwa, and the fee refunded, only if it is unused.

The visa number then goes to the recruitment office in the source country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' visa platform lists, under business services, a service for employers to authorise a recruitment office to deal with the Saudi mission and use their work visas, and a separate one to pay the authorisation fee on a work visa so the document is sent to the embassy. The platform does not show that fee on its public page.

4. The employment contract on Qiwa

Qiwa's hiring guide has the employer prepare the contract online and give it to the foreign agency, which signs it with the candidate. In Contract Management, choose "Create new contract", mark the employee as outside Saudi Arabia, and enter job title, contract period, start date, notice and trial periods, working hours, annual leave, basic salary and the housing and transport terms. Qiwa requires the contract to be in Arabic, and treats contracts created on the platform as authenticated by MHRSD; a free Qiwa account is enough.

Article 37 of the Labour Law requires a non-Saudi's contract to be written and fixed-term. Where no term is stated, it runs one year from the actual start date and renews for the same period if work continues.

5. The worker's steps in the home country

Three things happen before the visa is issued. The recruitment office abroad usually coordinates them.

Medical. In a 2021 report carried by the Saudi Press Agency, the GCC Health Council said workers under its screening programme are examined in their own countries, and cited a GCC decision that the authorities issuing visas should not deal with centres the Council has not approved. MOFA lists an approved medical report among the documents for the work visa. Use a centre the Council approves.
Professional Verification or examination. MHRSD runs two services. Professional Verification checks the certificates, skills and experience of workers in high-skilled occupations before they enter the Kingdom; MHRSD says it is automated and takes at most 15 working days. The professional examination tests medium- and low-skilled workers in occupations that need no degree, before or after entry. Ministerial Decision 137860 (2021) made passing the examination a basic requirement for the entry visa for professional workers. Which applies depends on the occupation and the source country.
Attestation and the visa application. Where the occupation or the mission requires attested qualifications, attest them before the application. MOFA's Permanent Work Visa page has the application made on its KSA Visa platform, with the professional accreditation stage, the medical examination and biometric fingerprinting among the steps before MOFA approves it, and lists a service cost of SAR 79 and a duration of one business day. It does not say where the fingerprints are taken; follow the platform's and the Saudi mission's instructions.

The visa stamping mistakes guide lists the document errors that send files back.

6. After arrival: work permit, insurance, iqama, GOSI

Qiwa sets the order of the first three.

Work permit, within 90 days of entry. Issued on Qiwa against the border number for 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. MHRSD's service page lists SAR 100 and no issuance in the red band, and the expat levy is collected with it; the cost of hiring guide has the levy rates and the first three months' rule.
Medical insurance, bought after the work permit and needed before the iqama. The Council of Health Insurance says the employer alone pays premiums for employees and their dependants, and that a non-Saudi's cover begins from entry into the Kingdom, provided this is done within ten working days of entering.
Iqama, issued online by the employer through Absher. Qiwa warns that if the work permit or the iqama is not issued, the worker can move to a new employer immediately, without obligations on the worker.
GOSI. Qiwa's contract page says an employee who approves an authenticated contract is registered as a contributor automatically; check that the registration appears. GOSI's employer FAQ requires notification within the first fifteen days of the month after the worker joins. The joining month is charged as a full month, and GOSI says non-Saudis cannot be added retroactively.

Article 40 puts the recruitment, iqama and work permit fees and their renewals on the employer. Renewals are covered in the iqama renewal guide.

What each hire does to your Saudization

Qiwa calculates the Nitaqat level from the Saudi rate and the entity's total headcount, so an expatriate arrival normally enlarges the base the Saudi rate is measured against. Since 15 April 2026 only Saudi contracts authenticated on Qiwa count, and under the standard salary weights a Saudi on less than SAR 3,000 a month is not counted and one on SAR 3,000 to 3,999 counts as half (Qiwa lists exceptions, such as students and strategic partnership trainees). Several expatriate hires without Saudi ones can take an establishment below Medium Green, and with it the right to request visas. The levy follows the same headcount: run the plan through the cost of employment calculator before requesting visas.

How SCPL helps

SCPL sources and coordinates candidates, locally and internationally, through its MHRSD-licensed recruitment partners, and you employ them directly. You hold the contract and the sponsorship; SCPL runs the government side itself, so the quota, visa, attestation, stamping coordination, iqama and Qiwa steps run as one sequence:

Recruitment services and international recruitment: sourcing, trade testing where the role needs it and qualification checks before mobilisation, through our licensed partner network;
Visa services: quota requests with profession codes matched to the roles, visa issuance, stamping coordination;
Qiwa services: contracts and work permits;
Iqama services: medical insurance arranged before the iqama, issuance on arrival, then renewals.

SCPL quotes against your file and does not publish fees or timelines. Ask for a written scope with the roles, nationalities and your Nitaqat band.

FAQ

How do I hire a foreign worker from abroad in Saudi Arabia?

Meet Qiwa's establishment conditions, issue a permanent work visa from your quota, complete it with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and create the contract on Qiwa. The worker completes the medical, any professional checks, biometrics and the visa application from the home country. After arrival: work permit within 90 days, insurance, iqama, GOSI.

What is a block visa?

The market's name for the recruitment quota on Qiwa: the number of permanent work visas and transfers your establishment can request. It comes from your tier in the Establishing phase, or from your Nitaqat level in the Expansion phase.

How much does a Saudi work visa cost the employer?

Qiwa publishes SAR 2,000 per permanent work visa, charged to the establishment's Ministry of Interior funds. The work permit, the levy and the other costs after arrival are in the cost of hiring guide.

Can a Low Green establishment recruit from abroad?

Generally not. Qiwa lists Medium Green or higher among the conditions for work visas. MHRSD's visa page also accepts Green for a very small establishment in the start-up stage.

What happens if the work permit or iqama is not issued after arrival?

Qiwa states that the worker can then move to a new employer immediately, without obligations. The work permit is due within 90 days of entry.

Official sources

Verify current requirements directly with the authorities — rules and fees in this area change, and the official portal is always ahead of any guide, including this one.