Search Results for: Saudi Arabia

October 4, 2016

In the interests of improving the Saudi economy and restructuring the country"s immigration system in accordance with Vision 2030, the Saudi government has made some considerable changes to the available validity period of work visit and commercial visit visas. The…

September 29, 2016

As part of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has announced the implementation of "Weighted Nitaqat" (or Nitaqat Al- Mozoon) as an enhanced version of their Nitaqat program. Initially, the Nitiqat program was intended to increase the number of Saudi Arabian nationals…

September 15, 2016

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Labour (MOL) has introduced a local labour market test, and has dramatically increased the fees for several visa types, in an effort to improve the country"s "Saudization" policy. Taqat introduced to aid Saudization Over 90%…

August 19, 2016

The Ministry of Labour in Saudi Arabia has announced the introduction of a Labour Market Test for the application of new Block visas and a subsequent increase in visa application fees. Labour Market Test On 1st August 2016, the Ministry…

August 3, 2016

As part of Saudi Arabia"s National Transformation Plan, it has been proposed that the country begin to charge income tax on the wages of foreign nationals. The tax-free status of Saudi Arabia and its neighbouring Gulf states has attracted millions…

March 31, 2016

Overstaying Penalties The General Directorate of the passport office (Al Jawazat) in Saudi Arabia, has announced that it will be enforcing strict penalties on any expat that overstays their visa terms. Al Jawazat has advised that all visa holders should…

September 17, 2015

The government in Riyadh has announced that, from 14th October 2015, a brand new resident permit identification card called the "Muqeem" will be issued which will replace the existing card, the Iqama. The deputy premier and Ministry of Interior, Crown Prince…

September 9, 2015

In a move to reserve capacity for their internal workforce, the Saudi Arabian government has announced measures to strike off 19 job titles from migrant availability. The Labor Ministry has informed businesses that they will only be permitted to hire…

April 21, 2015

The Saudi Ministry of Labor recently introduced two amendments to their method for calculating "Saudization" rates. These changes aim to provide increased flexibility to employers for sponsoring foreign nationals whilst also protecting the Saudi Arabian workforce. What is Saudization?…

September 25, 2014

Investment from foreign companies into Saudi Arabia has vastly grown in the past decade, which is unsurprising, as Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil exporter and owner of the world's single-largest oil field. Saudi is also the largest economy...