No work permits for newly hired Expat workers for Yellow status companies

The Updated Nitaqat Saudization program states that no work permits would be given to newly hired foreign employees of businesses and establishments that fall under this category, according to the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

This was the Ministry’s response to inquiries on the potential for providing a work permit for newly hired foreign employees in businesses that fell under the Updated Nitaqat system’s yellow category. The King Fahd Causeway sets the procedure for expatriate travel from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.

The Ministry additionally stated that if an expat worker in a yellow-category company stays in the Kingdom for more than six years, their work permit will not be renewed.

The Ministry withdrew the Nitaqat program’s yellow status in the year 2020, placed the yellow category companies to the red band, and declared them noncompliant with Saudization levels until their situation changed. Such degraded enterprises won’t be able to renew work permits, apply for new expat visas, or alter the professions of their foreign employees until their ratings improve.

The Updated Nitaqat program, which the Ministry began implementing for all private sector enterprises on December 1, 2021, was in keeping with the Ministry’s plan for the labor market, which aims to improve market efficiency and present new, lucrative professions for young Saudi men and women.Crown Prince announces the design of ‘The Line’ city in Neom that merges Nature with Technology

The Updated Nitaqat system’s goals are to improve and broaden job opportunities, boost Saudi nationals’ involvement in the labor force, and contribute to the GDP of the Kingdom. The program, which is consistent with other Saudization initiatives started by the government, aims to create around 340,000 jobs in three years. The Nitaqat program’s initial iteration was introduced in 2011 with the intention of promoting Saudization of employment and establishing a minimum wage for Saudi citizens working in the private sector.