Saudi Arabia issues urgent directives for expatriate workers

The platform ‘Qiwa’, operated by the country’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, has given employers just one day to renew the work permits of expatriate workers working in Saudi Arabia or transfer their employment services.

An automated system is going to be implemented from July 1, as a result of which companies have been given an urgent warning to complete the necessary process by June 30. Failure to complete this process within the specified time will automatically remove the names of eligible workers from the records of employers and may result in major financial liabilities.

The Qiwa platform has informed that the names of expatriate workers whose work permits have expired for more than three months will be automatically removed from the employer’s records from July 1. However, the platform has also clarified that even if the name is removed, the concerned company will be responsible for paying all outstanding fees and accumulated financial obligations for the period during which the worker was on the company’s records.

In a detailed explanation of the rule, QIA said that even if the work permit of workers whose residence permit or AQAMA validity period is 180 days or more, their names will not be removed from the company's records immediately. However, if the validity of a worker's AQAMA is less than 180 days, the employer must renew both the work permit and AQAMA within the prescribed period to maintain the legal status of the worker.

To avoid this emerging situation, QIA Platform has urged employers to pay all outstanding fees before the June 30 deadline and complete the process of renewing the license or transferring the services of the affected workers without any delay.

At the same time, companies have been advised to regularize the legal status of all affected employees in a timely manner, so that they can be free from any legal complications, administrative problems and large financial penalties in the future.

Source: Sama TV.