SAUDI ARABIA

Reentry and final exit visas

will be activated in 10 days
after request
March 14, 2021

By Abdulrahman Al-Mesbahi

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The landmark Labor Reform Initiative

(LRI) that came into force on Sunday gives a major
fillip to improving considerably the contractual
relations between employers and employees in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. According to the initiative,
reentry and exit visas and final exit visas will be
activated in 10 days after the employee submits a
request for it.

There are several features that benefit the parties

involved in the employment market in the Kingdom
as stipulated in the user guide for the Improvement
of the Contractual Relationship Initiative released by
the Ministry of Human Resources and Social
Development.

The guide stipulates that the employer will have a

period of 10 days to inquire about the exit and
reentry visa application submitted by his worker. If
the employer does not respond within the time
limit, the worker will be able to issue a single visa for
a period of 30 days within five days since the expiry
of this deadline.

However, the worker will not be able to issue either

an exit and reentry visa upon the expiry of the work
contract with the employer or issue a multiple exit
and reentry visa. It is also not allowed for the
employer to revoke the exit and reentry visa issued
by the expatriate worker.

The ministry noted that the employer would also be

entitled to issue an exit and reentry visa for
expatriate workers in the same pattern of what had
been previously in force.

Regarding the final exit visa, the ministry guide

states that this service will be available to both the
employer and the worker as well.

According to the new regulations, the employer will

have 10 day’s period to inquire about the worker’s
request to issue a final exit visa, and in the absence
of any response from the employer, the expatriate
worker can issue a final exit visa, and the visa’s
validity will be 15 days from date of issue.

The ministry stressed that if the expatriate worker

permanently leaves the Kingdom during the validity
period of the contract, he will be banned from
returning to the Kingdom permanently. This is in
the event that he obtains an exit and reentry visa
and does not return to the Kingdom before the
expiry of the visa to complete the remaining period
of the work contract.

If a foreign worker leaves the Kingdom on exit and

reentry visa and is not able to return to the Kingdom
before the expiry of the visa, in such case the right to
extend the visa rests fully with the employer.

Regarding the employment mobility service for the

expatriate worker, the ministry stipulates that the
firms that intend to obtain services of the expatriate
worker must comply with the provisions of the
Wages Protection Program at a rate of no less than
80 percent for the last three months.

Moreover, there should be 100 percent

documentation of the employees’ contracts in the
establishment, and at least 80 percent in the
commitment of the self-evaluation program along
with the mandatory application of an approved
internal work regulation.

Only those expatriate workers who are in the

categories of professions subject to the Labor Law
will be allowed to transfer their services to another
employer. Another major condition is that the
worker should have completed at least 12 months
with the current employer after his first entry into
the Kingdom.

There should not be another request pending

related to transfer of the service. The transfer of
service shall be in compliance with the notice
period upon the validity of the documented
employment contract.

The Labor Reform Initiative, which aims to improve

the contractual relationship between employers and
employees in the private sector, is expected to bring
about far-reaching positive effects in the Saudi
employment market.

The ministry launched LRI on Nov. 4, 2020,

revamping the 70-year old sponsorship system. The
new services under the initiative will be available
through the Absher and Qiwa online platforms.

It applies to all expatriate workers in the private

sector except those in the five categories — private
driver, home guard, domestic worker, shepherd, and
gardener or farmer.

March 14, 2021 42970 views

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