If your company is sending employees to Saudi Arabia — Fragomen is here to help. Working closely with our Local Advisors in Saudi Arabia, we provide the immigration strategies and support you need to get your employees on the ground as quickly as possible. If you have any questions, please click here to contact us.
The process of employing a foreign national in Saudi Arabia is relatively complicated and restrictive, mostly due to a highly sophisticated quota system and nationalization program (Nitaqat). Applicable procedures involve a home-country consular process, followed by a number of post-arrival steps before final residency rights are granted.
Business travelers typically apply for a commercial visit visa, which is filed at a Saudi consular post abroad, upon receiving a government-approved letter of invitation from a sponsor in Saudi Arabia. Commercial visit visas are usually valid for 90 or 180 days and the allowable duration of stay for multiple enty visas is usually 30 days.
For short-term work, a work visit visa is generally issued with validity of 90 days and allow a stay of up to 30 days. For long-term work, a Work Permit and Resident ID Card is valid up to one year, with the possibility of extensions. The Resident ID card is issued with a validity of five years, but becomes invalid if the work authorization has not been extended.
Note that there are restrictions on female employment and female business travelers.
Detailed Immigration Snapshots, Document Lists and Process Guides are available to clients on request.