Saudi Arabia introduces new service for foreign workers

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has launched a new electronic service that allows individuals to request the transfer of foreign workers from private-sector companies to individuals, subject to certain rules and conditions.

According to the Okaz newspaper, citing ministry sources, the service aims to regulate the transfer of workers from private-sector establishments to individuals for jobs in domestic professions.

The ministry said the foreign worker’s work permit must be valid, and the worker must not be employed in a high-level profession. This includes educational, technical, health care and specialist jobs, as well as professions that have been fully Saudized. The requested position must also be classified as a domestic profession.

Applicants must submit an electronically certified waiver from the previous employer, authenticated by the chamber of commerce. They must also provide a salary certificate for the new employer or a bank statement showing the employer has the financial ability to hire the worker.

Applicants must also provide a copy of the worker’s residency permit containing the expatriate’s fingerprint and signature. The application must state the domestic profession the worker will perform and include the new employer’s details, including the employer’s name and national ID number.

The new service comes as the Wage Protection Program for domestic workers becomes mandatory. The program ensures that workers receive their wages through approved channels, protects the rights of both employers and workers and promotes greater transparency and compliance in the labor market.

The ministry also said all required documents must be uploaded electronically in PDF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, DOCX or XLSX formats. Each file must not exceed 3 MB in size.

The ministry also noted that an annual fee of SR9,600 will be charged for each additional domestic worker beyond the permitted limit. Saudi citizens can have up to four domestic workers, while residents can have up to two.

Exceptions to the additional fee are available in humanitarian cases, including for people with disabilities and those suffering from chronic or serious illnesses.