Saudi Arabia: Increased Labor Inspections

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has confirmed that more than 250,000 inspection visits were conducted during the first quarter of 2026, with a focus on combating fake Saudization (where companies falsely list Saudi individuals as working for them in order to satisfy Saudization ratio requirements) and unauthorized recruitment activities. Authorities said they uncovered 168,000 labor-related violations. Enforcement actions have included canceling visas issued to non-compliant entities, removing falsely declared Saudi nationals from the Saudization register (so that the employer cannot rely on those cases for Saudization ratio purposes), suspending services to non-compliant entities, and issuing warnings to entities requiring rectification of non-compliant conduct. 

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.