Saudi Arabia: Certain Foreign National Classifications Relaxed Under the Nitaqat Program

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) has announced that certain categories of individuals will now be classified differently for the purpose of calculating the applicable Saudization percentage under the Nitaqat program. Foreign investors who are owners of private companies will be counted as Saudi nationals under the program at the rate of one foreign investor to one Saudi national. Previously, they were counted as foreign nationals. Furthermore, the MHRSD announced that other foreign nationals will be factored into Saudization percentages at lower ratios. A Palestinian holding an Egyptian passport or a Baluch will now count as a quarter of a foreign national for Saudization purposes. Thus, hiring four individuals from these groups would be the equivalent of hiring one non-Saudi national. This also applies to a national of Myanmar who will also be counted at a quarter of a standard foreign national worker in all regions of Saudi Arabia, except if they reside in Makkah or Madinah, where they are counted as a standard foreign national worker. This change should benefit companies and may help them achieve a higher tier level under the Nitaqat program (which would be automatically updated in the Qiwa platform) where they can benefit from certain immigration incentives.