Procedure for Applying Iqama in Saudi Arabia:

 

Contents

  •   Introduction of Iqama:

An iqama is a sort of Residence permit that is issued by the Saudi Arabia Government to those foreign individuals that are hired to do work in Saudi Arabia. As Saudi Arabia attracts foreign workers due to its economy in spite of the fact about 78 percent of workers are actually foreign hires in Saudi Arabia.

  •   Why Iqama is essential for Foreign Workers:

Saudi Arabia has stern rules and regulations when it comes to the matter of Immigration and Labor policies, especially in the case of the foreign worker.  Foreign employees before pursuing employment in Saudi Arabia the individual must require a local sponsor. A local employer has to apply and do all essential work permit for the willing individual to he/she will be able to work and stay in Saudi Arabia.

  •    Application Procedure for Iqama:

The following steps are essential for applying application for Iqama in Saudi Arabia:

  1. Initially, the local sponsoring individual has to apply for a Black Visa that is issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development. Basically, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development has fixed specific quotas for local employers in order to sponsor foreign employees so they can work for a long-term time period in Saudi Arabia. They are issued to those individuals that fulfilled the following criteria:
  • Nationality of Applicant.
  • Country Origin of Applicant
  • Precise Job Role
  1. Now once the Black Visa is approved, the sponsoring employer makes a request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia in order to provide the willing employee visa authorization as well as the power of attorney so that the individual will allow applying for a work visa on the sponsor behalf.
  2. Then the employer has to be required to submit an application for a work visa. The willing Employee has to perform their medical exam and provides a medical certificate that will be attached along with the application.
  3. If the work visa is approved then the foreign will be able to come to Saudi Arabia and can start working in the country.
  4. Furthermore, the application for the work permit and iqama must be submitted to the Ministry of Labor and Social Development in a fixed time period of 90 days after the foreign worker has arrived in Saudi Arabia.
  5. In any case, if the foreign employee has to leave Saudi Arabia during their time period of iqama they have to obtain an exit or re-entry permit that is issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development.
  •          Time Duration of Iqama:

According to the Law of Saudi Arabia, the time period of foreign employee employment in Saudi Arabia is fixed depending upon their iqama the private sector employees have a time period of 1 year on their iqama or it can be renewed and extended for some time duration.

  •   Fees for Iqama:

However, the sponsoring employer is responsible for paying the fees of Iqama. Furthermore, if the sponsoring employer stops working for the company in any case then the foreign employer has to pay the repatriation ticket fees. The specific fee for per worker is SAR 800 per month and SAR 400 per month. These fee charges are being upgraded by the Saudi Visio 2030 plan.