VisaChanging employers in Saudi Arabia starts with a Qiwa offer and eligibility checks
Resident workers should review the contract, receiving establishment and fee responsibilities before treating an offer as a completed transfer.
Official announcement date: not established (undated guidance)
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Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Distinguish an offer from an approved transfer
For a resident employee moving between private-sector employers in Saudi Arabia, HRSD’s freedom-of-movement service describes an electronic Qiwa process, subject to rules and conditions. The new employer submits the offer, the worker accepts or rejects it in their own account, and the existing employer is notified. The system then checks requirements; following approval, records are updated and a new work permit is issued.
That sequence makes acceptance an intermediate step. It does not itself prove that the records or permit have changed. The service card describes qualifying moves without the current employer’s approval, but its general wording should not be treated as an unconditional right for every worker or contract. Although the card labels the service immediate, the reviewed public material does not establish a universal completion deadline covering every transfer or any applicable notice period.
Have the receiving employer check its establishment record
HRSD’s more detailed transfer-request page tells the receiving establishment to select the employee-transfer service, choose the destination establishment, add the workers’ details and add an employment contract for each person. It lists establishment-level conditions: a valid commercial registration, an existing operating establishment, valid work permits across the unified-number establishments, wage-protection compliance, the specified Nitaqat classification for related entities and sufficient transfer credit.
These are employer checks. A worker’s willingness to accept a new offer does not cure an ineligible receiving business. The detailed checklist also matters when comparing the ministry’s shorter service cards, some of which display no requirements. That summary-field wording does not establish that the detailed establishment conditions have been repealed. Ask the receiving employer to identify the relevant establishment and resolve any compliance restriction before relying on a proposed start date. The service page publishes 19911 for ministry assistance if the applicable requirement remains unclear.
Read the new contract before accepting it
The ministry’s Labour Relations guidance says employment contracts must be documented under the relevant rules, with each party retaining a copy. Its standard-contract provisions identify the employer and workplace, the worker’s identity and nationality, address, agreed wage including benefits and allowances, job type and location, commencement date, duration where fixed-term, and each party’s basic rights and obligations.
Use those fields to compare the Qiwa offer with the job actually negotiated. For example, an illustrative worker offered one workplace and a particular allowance should check that the written terms record those points before accepting. Keep the documented contract rather than relying only on a recruiter’s message. The guidance distinguishes the contract itself from workplace promises: additional terms can be agreed provided they do not conflict with the law, regulations or implementing decisions. A transfer application does not settle an unexplained difference in salary, location or agreed benefits.
Separate service labels from the employer’s cost responsibility
HRSD’s transfer service is labelled free. That label does not by itself establish that every linked government transaction or permit is cost-free. The ministry’s explanation of Labour Law Article 40 places the cost of transferring a worker’s services on the employer receiving that worker. It also assigns recruitment, Iqama and work-permit issue and renewal charges, and delay fines, to the employer under the stated provisions.
Ask the receiving business for an itemised explanation if a transfer-related payment is requested from the worker, specifying the transaction and responsible payer. No complete current transfer-fee tariff was verified here; this guide therefore does not reproduce commonly circulated transfer amounts as an established bill.
Confirm the linked permit and residence steps
The ministry’s work-licence service explains that a work permit is a condition for issuing or renewing regular residence. Its instructions require the establishment to select workers, submit the request and use the generated payment number through local banks, followed by the Passport Office residence-permit step. This is a linked administrative process, distinct from simply accepting a contract.
That service publishes SAR100 and identifies SADAD payment. Treat this as the listed work-licence service charge, not a verified all-inclusive transfer or annual employment cost. The page says passport systems normally update payment status within 24 hours; that is a published system-update interval rather than permission to begin work for the new employer while a transfer remains unresolved.
