Iqama Renewal in Saudi Arabia: The Employer's Guide (2026)

14 min readLast updated 27 October 2026

Who pays, what must be in place first, the fees and the 3- to 12-month periods, renewing through Qiwa and Absher Business or Muqeem, and Jawazat's penalties for late iqama renewal.

An employee's iqama is renewed by the employer, not by the employee. Article 40 of the Labour Law puts the residence and work permit fees, their renewal, and the fines caused by the employer's own delay on the employer, and the Ministry of Interior's renewal service is built for the establishment: Absher Business describes it as the service that "enables the establishment owner to renew the resident identity (iqama) for his/her workers online".

In short: renew the work permit on Qiwa first, then the iqama on Absher Business or Muqeem. The work permit can be renewed once 180 days or less remain, and both can run for 3, 6, 9 or 12 months, with the work permit fee and the monthly expatriate levy charged for the period you choose. Before you start, the worker needs a valid passport, medical insurance, registered biometrics, no unpaid traffic violations and no absence report, and your establishment must not be in the red Nitaqat band. Jawazat asks for renewal at least three days before expiry; the penalty it last published, in February 2020, is SAR 500 the first time, SAR 1,000 the second, and deportation of the resident on the third.

This guide is for employers and HR and government relations teams. If you are an employee checking your own iqama, the iqama expiry guide shows how, and the renewal itself is your employer's transaction.

Who is responsible for renewing an iqama

Article 40 of the Labour Law, as published by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD), places on the employer the recruitment fees for a non-Saudi worker; the residence (iqama) and work permit fees and their renewal; the fines arising from delay in those renewals where the employer caused it; change of profession and exit and re-entry; and the return ticket when the relationship ends.

The model employment contract annexed to MHRSD's 2025 Implementing Regulations repeats the clause as a mandatory term. The qualifier matters: the law puts on the employer the fines it caused, not every fine attached to a residence permit.

In March 2017 the General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) called on citizens and residents to renew the iqamas of the expatriate workers they sponsor through Absher and Muqeem. The transaction runs on your establishment's accounts, by you or a delegate you authorise.

Two documents, two ministries

An iqama renewal is two transactions in a fixed order.

Document	Authority	Platform	What it is
Work permit	MHRSD	Qiwa	Authorisation to employ the non-Saudi worker
Iqama (resident identity)	Ministry of Interior, through Jawazat	Absher Business or Muqeem	The residence permit

MHRSD's work permit service page states that the work permit is one of the conditions for issuing or renewing regular residency. So the work permit comes first, and the iqama is renewed against it. The two expire independently, and the government relations portals guide sets out what each platform does and what each one blocks.

Jawazat names Absher and Muqeem as renewal channels; for an establishment, Absher's route is Absher Business, whose own guide lists iqama renewal. The FAQ below sets out the difference.

What must be in place before you renew

The conditions below come from MHRSD's August 2026 user guide for the Qiwa work permit service and from Absher Business's own guide to iqama renewal.

On Qiwa, for the work permit

Level	Condition
Establishment	Active status
Establishment	Nitaqat band not red for eight consecutive weeks (the service page: no issue or renewal in the red band)
Establishment	Its economic sub-activity is allowed to issue work permits
Employee	In working status
Employee	Iqama expiring within 180 days
Employee	Current work permit not active for more than 15 months
Employee	No valid final exit visa and no valid final exit work permit
Employee	No pending work permit, employee transfer or contract termination request
Employee	No unused work permit already waiting for an iqama renewal
Employee	Occupation valid for a work permit: a licence or correction where one is required, and no fully Saudized occupation

Under MHRSD Ministerial Decision No. 132249, fifty administrative support professions became 100% Saudi on 4 October 2026, on top of nineteen when the decision issued in April, and the October 2026 Saudization guide lists them. Check the profession code on each record before the renewal falls due, not on the day.

Wage protection belongs in the same check. MHRSD's published sanctions for a late wage file stop all of the establishment's services except work permit issuance and renewal at two months; at three months those stop too. The wage protection guide sets out the sequence.

On Absher Business, for the iqama

Condition	Note
Payment for the period of renewal	The period you choose; see below
A valid work permit	The Qiwa transaction above
A valid passport	Of the worker
Medical insurance	For the worker, and for each family member on the record
No unpaid traffic violations	Registered against the worker
Not registered as absent from work	An absence report blocks the renewal
Fingerprints and photo registered in Absher	For the worker, and for family members over six
Each family member on a separate passport	No family member included in the worker's passport
No male family member aged 18 or over	As the guide lists it

Medical insurance is the employer's obligation in its own right: the Council of Health Insurance's FAQ states that anyone who sponsors a resident must insure them, and that the employer alone pays the premiums for its employees and their dependants.

Two things are easy to get wrong. You need the passport details to be valid, but you may not hold the passport: retaining a worker's passport or iqama is itself a serious violation, fined per worker under MHRSD's schedule (row 31 of the labour violations schedule). And a work permit paid on Qiwa that has not yet been used for an iqama renewal blocks a new one, so a renewal left halfway blocks the next.

The fees: what an iqama renewal costs the employer

There is no single "iqama renewal fee". The bill has several parts, and only some of them are published.

Component	Amount	Source and basis
Work permit fee	SAR 100 a year, divided by period: SAR 25 for 3 months, 50 for 6, 75 for 9, 100 for 12	MHRSD service page and MHRSD's guidance on Resolution 325
Expatriate levy (المقابل المالي)	SAR 700 a month for each non-Saudi worker up to the number of Saudi workers; SAR 800 a month for each one beyond. For three months, SAR 2,100 or SAR 2,400. Two exemptions, below	MHRSD's guidance on Resolution 325, collected with the work permit
Levy arrears	Any unpaid levy from earlier periods is collected at the next issue or renewal, at the current rate, and cannot be paid in instalments	Same guidance
Residence (iqama) fee	Set by the Ministry of Interior and paid for the period chosen	We could not open an official page that publishes the amount, so this guide does not state one
Dependant fee	A monthly amount for each family member, collected in the same renewal transaction. Article 40 lists the worker's own residence fees, not the family's, and the announcement does not say who pays, so check the employment contract	Jawazat began collecting it on 1 July 2017, rising in stages (Saudi Press Agency, 5 July 2017); we could not open an official page with the current amount
Late renewal fine	Jawazat's fine, if the iqama was not renewed in time	See "Penalties for late renewal"
Medical insurance	The premium for the worker and family	Commercial; set by the insurer

Amounts as published by MHRSD, checked October 2026. Qiwa shows the fee breakdown before you pay.

Two establishment-level levy exemptions have been announced. Neither announcement mentions the work permit fee, and MHRSD's guidance still charges it to exempt categories:

Industrial licence holders. On 17 December 2025 the Saudi Press Agency reported that the Council of Ministers had approved cancelling the levy for establishments licensed under an industrial licence. No effective date was given, so check the fee details Qiwa shows for your file.
Small establishments. On 20 February 2024 MHRSD announced that the Council of Ministers had extended for three years 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 social insurance; up to 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.

For a full-year budget, add GOSI, medical insurance and end-of-service accrual; the GOSI contributions guide and the end-of-service calculator cover those lines.

How long you can renew for: 3, 6, 9 or 12 months

Since Council of Ministers Resolution No. 325 of 13/6/1442H (January 2021), residence permits linked to work permits can be issued and renewed quarterly, every three months at the minimum, with the work permit fee and the levy divided by the period. MHRSD's guidance on the resolution prices four periods: 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. The annual renewal was not cancelled, and the guidance says the resolution covers all expatriates, professions and activities, workers on border numbers included. Domestic workers were excluded; they have had their own quarterly route, run by Jawazat with MHRSD's Musaned platform, since July 2026.

The period is a cash and planning decision: a shorter one costs less up front and suits a contract that ends, but brings the next renewal, and the next check of every condition above, round sooner.

The leaving date matters too. With fewer than 30 days left on the iqama, Jawazat says a final exit visa cannot be issued until the iqama is renewed; with 30 to 60 days left, the visa runs for the remaining validity, and with 60 days or more it runs for 60. A worker leaving close to the expiry date therefore needs a short renewal first.

How to renew: Qiwa first, then Absher Business or Muqeem

Check the conditions in the tables above for each employee due in the next 180 days: band, wage protection, profession code, passport, insurance, traffic violations, absence reports, biometrics, dependants.
Open the work permit service on Qiwa. In MHRSD's guide: Services, then Work permits, then "Issue or renew work permit". Select the employees.
Choose the period for each work permit — 3, 6, 9 or 12 months — according to the occupation and your needs.
Review the fee details. Qiwa shows the current expiry date, extra fees and any late-year fees. Accept the terms and submit.
Pay. By the method offered, or through your bank with the SADAD number within 14 days. MHRSD says the permit's status can take about an hour to update after payment, and the payment status reaches the passport systems within 24 hours.
Renew the iqama. On Absher Business, under My Business Services, Iqama Renewal; or through Muqeem. Pay the residence fee for the period and any dependant fee; a late renewal also carries Jawazat's fine. Absher Business lists the service as completed immediately.
Confirm the new expiry date on Absher Business or Muqeem, as below.

If the renewal stalls at step 6, go back to the conditions in step 1: an expired passport, a lapsed insurance policy, an unpaid traffic violation, or an absence report filed and forgotten.

Penalties for late renewal

Jawazat's penalty. On 17 February 2020 Jawazat stated, through the Saudi Press Agency, that an iqama must be renewed at least three days before it expires, and that failing to renew is penalised with a fine of SAR 500 the first time, SAR 1,000 the second time, and deportation of the violator the third time. Its March 2017 announcement gave the same SAR 500, doubling on repetition. We found no later official statement of the amounts.

The announcement frames the penalty against the iqama holder. Article 40 puts it on the employer where the employer caused the delay.

MHRSD's consequences are larger than the fine. Article 14 of the Implementing Regulations of the Labour Law, as published in 2025, attaches three consequences to residence permits and work permits left unrenewed:

Consequence	Article 14
The Ministry may reject your recruitment requests if the establishment has not renewed its workers' work permits or residence permits	Section I, paragraph 12(e)
A transfer of a worker into your establishment is not accepted while you have a non-Saudi worker whose work permit or residence has expired and not been renewed (with exceptions for workers reported absent for more than 15 days, under a pending transfer, or holding a final exit visa)	Section II, paragraph 2
A worker whose work permit or residence has expired may be transferred to another employer without your consent, under the Nitaqat controls	Section II, paragraph 6

Together, a lapsed iqama can become a lost employee whose replacement is harder to recruit. And unpaid levy does not go away: it is collected at the next renewal, at the current rate.

For work permits that expired more than 12 months ago, or were never issued more than six months after the worker joined, MHRSD announced on 8 July 2026 that it had extended a correction grace period to 31 December 2026. It says the prescribed statutory procedures apply to anything not corrected by then; it does not say fees are reduced.

How to check the result

In 2017 Jawazat described the resident identity card as valid for five years and renewed electronically, without a visit to the Passports directorate and without a new print at each renewal, so the new expiry date lives on the record, not on the plastic. Check it in three places:

Absher Business or Muqeem: the worker's record shows the new expiry date once the renewal completes. Jawazat said in 2017 that it offers an expiry inquiry service and sends text-message reminders before expiry to the registered mobile number.
Qiwa: the work permit's new expiry date, allowing for the update times in step 5.
Your own register: the new expiry date for both documents, entered the same day. The two run on their own clocks, and a valid iqama behind a lapsed work permit, or the reverse, is what the register exists to catch.

How SCPL handles iqama renewals for clients

SCPL runs iqama renewals as part of its government relations work, from Dammam and Riyadh, on the client's own establishment accounts and under delegated user access, so the establishment keeps ownership of its portals and can see who did what. Clients do not hand over their login credentials.

A central expiry register of every employee's iqama and work permit, reviewed with the client's HR contact.
Renewals processed ahead of expiry, with the conditions above checked first and the government fees and levies confirmed to the client before anything is paid.
The surrounding transactions: issuance for new arrivals, sponsorship transfers, replacement of lost or damaged iqama cards, exit and re-entry, and final exit on separation. Steps that need the employee in person, such as biometrics, are scheduled around the client's operations.

The service pages set out the scope: iqama services, government relations services, and Muqeem and Absher Business management. To discuss your workforce, send SCPL your headcount and where your employees are based.

FAQ

Who pays for iqama renewal in Saudi Arabia, the employer or the employee?

The employer. Article 40 of the Labour Law puts the residence and work permit fees and their renewal on the employer, together with the fines arising from delays the employer caused. The model employment contract in MHRSD's Implementing Regulations repeats it as a mandatory clause.

How much does it cost to renew an iqama in 2026?

The published parts are the work permit fee, SAR 100 a year or SAR 25 a quarter, and the expatriate levy of SAR 700 or SAR 800 a month per worker, depending on whether the worker is within or beyond your number of Saudi employees (MHRSD, checked October 2026). Two establishment-level levy exemptions have been announced: for establishments holding an industrial licence (December 2025), and for two or four expatriates in establishments of nine workers or fewer (extended for three years in February 2024). The Ministry of Interior's residence fee and the dependant fee are paid on Absher Business or Muqeem; we could not open an official page that publishes their current amounts. Qiwa shows the work permit and levy breakdown before payment, which is where to confirm what applies to your file.

How early can we renew an iqama?

The published window is the work permit's: MHRSD allows renewal once 180 days or less remain, and its August 2026 guide requires the employee's iqama to expire within 180 days. We found no separate Ministry of Interior opening date for the iqama itself.

What is the penalty for late iqama renewal?

Jawazat's penalty, as last published through the Saudi Press Agency in February 2020, is SAR 500 the first time, SAR 1,000 the second, and deportation of the resident the third, with renewal expected at least three days before expiry. Under the Implementing Regulations, unrenewed iqamas can also lead MHRSD to reject your recruitment requests, block transfers into your establishment, and let the worker move to another employer without your consent.

Can an iqama be renewed for three months?

Yes. Since Council of Ministers Resolution No. 325 of 1442H, residence permits linked to work permits can be issued and renewed for 3, 6, 9 or 12 months, with the work permit fee and levy charged for the period chosen.

Should we renew on Absher Business or Muqeem?

Either. Jawazat names Absher and Muqeem as renewal channels, and Absher Business's own guide lists iqama renewal for establishments. Absher Business is the Ministry of Interior's own business platform with delegation per service; Muqeem is a portal through which establishments review their resident employees' data and complete their passport transactions online. The choice is about which platform your establishment uses, not about what can be renewed.

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.