For each foreign worker, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development charges a work licence fee of SAR 100 a year and a financial equivalent, often called the expat levy, of SAR 700 a month where foreign workers do not outnumber Saudi workers, or SAR 800 a month where they do. The residence permit itself is different: the investor guide lists only the fees of the issuing agency, with no amount, and no official page we could open prints the amount.
The expat levy, from the ministry's own document
The labour ministry's rules for work licence fees define the financial equivalent as an amount paid for each foreign worker who is currently in service and registered under the establishment's unified number, calculated monthly. The rate depends on one comparison: how many foreign workers you have against how many Saudi workers. At or below the Saudi headcount the amount is SAR 700 a month; above it, SAR 800 a month.
The same document sets the work licence fee at SAR 100 a year per foreign worker. Both amounts are collected when a work licence is issued or renewed, and Council of Ministers Resolution No. 325 (13/06/1442 AH) lets establishments pay work licence fees and the financial equivalent in instalments, down to every three months, except for domestic workers.
Show the numbers
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Work licence fee, per year | SAR 100 |
| Financial equivalent, lower tier, per year | SAR 8,400 |
| Financial equivalent, higher tier, per year as printed | SAR 9,100 |
The annual table does not add up
The ministry's table prints the annual amount for the lower tier as SAR 8,400 a year, which is twelve months at the monthly rate. For the higher tier it prints SAR 9,100 a year, while twelve months at the monthly rate would be SAR 9,600. The document repeats the printed figure in its instalment table, so it is not a single typo we can quietly correct.
This site uses the amounts exactly as the ministry prints them, and says so wherever it does. For your own budget, take the figure from the invoice on your establishment's labour platform account, with its date.
Which rate applies to your company
The document's instalment rules say amounts for the workers above the Saudi headcount are collected first, then those for the workers equal to it. That wording suggests one establishment can carry both rates at once: the foreign workers matched by Saudi workers at the lower rate, and the rest at the higher one. A company with no Saudi staff at all is on the higher rate for everyone. Check the split on your first labour platform invoice.
That makes your first Saudi hires a cost decision as well as a compliance one. The Saudization guide explains the payroll rules that run alongside.
A worked example
A new trading office plans four foreign employees in year one. With no Saudi staff, the published charges are the higher tier plus the work licence for all four: SAR 36,800 a year using the ministry's printed annual figure. If the office matched all four with Saudi hires, the same four workers would cost SAR 34,000. Any mix in between lands between those two numbers. The calculator does this sum for your headcount.
Licensed industrial establishments
One sector is outside this arithmetic. On 17 December 2025 the Cabinet approved cancelling the expat levy on foreign workers in licensed industrial establishments, according to the Saudi Press Agency. If your company will hold an industrial licence, confirm how the decision applies to you before you budget the levy.
What a manager's residence permit requires
For a general manager, the investor guide is specific about the order of events: a work permit, a medical report and health insurance. The work permit comes first. Founders who try to start with the Iqama find this out at the counter, usually after the commercial registration has been issued and the clock on their investment certificate is already running.
If the general manager is named on the commercial registration, a copy of that registration showing the name is part of the file. So is the unified passport form, verified at a one-stop service centre.
Show the numbers
| Step | Duration |
|---|---|
| Electronic work permit — Comes first | Ministry of Human Resources |
| Electronic medical report — Before the permit | Sent to the Passports Directorate |
| Electronic health insurance certificate — Before the permit | Sent to the Passports Directorate |
| Residence permit issued — No amount in the guide | Fees of the issuing agency |
| Unused re-entry visa cancelled — Penalty after three months unused | SAR 1,000 |
| Permit of a departed manager cancelled — Fine for a lost permit | SAR 1,000 |
The two amounts the investor guide does print
Both are penalties rather than fees. An exit and re-entry visa that goes unused for more than three months carries SAR 1,000 on cancellation. And where an investor or manager leaves the Kingdom and does not return, cancelling their residence permit requires SAR 1,000.
The second one catches people out. A founder who splits time between Riyadh and a home market, lets a return visa lapse and mislays the Iqama card itself can trigger both amounts on the same file.
What still has no official price
- The Iqama issuance and renewal fee: the investor guide lists the fees of the issuing agency, with no amount, and the Ministry of Interior and national platform pages we tried refused automated access.
- Medical insurance premiums, which depend on the insurer and the policy.
- Social insurance contributions: GOSI's public law page explains who is covered but prints no rate. See the GOSI guide.
How to budget the staff side
Keep staff costs as per-head lines, separate from the one-off setup fees, because they scale with headcount and the company fees do not. For each foreign employee that is the work licence, the financial equivalent at the rate your Saudi headcount allows, the residence permit fee, medical insurance and social insurance. The first two have official amounts. Ask for the last three in writing, with a date, from the provider that will charge them.
What not to assume
- Do not assume the medical report and health insurance certificate are included in a consultant's Iqama line. Ask.
- Do not assume dependants are priced like employees. The guide handles them as separate services.
- Do not assume the lower levy rate applies because you plan to hire Saudis later. It follows your headcount when the licence is issued or renewed.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the expat levy per worker?
SAR 700 a month where foreign workers do not exceed the number of Saudi workers, and SAR 800 a month where they do, per the labour ministry's rules.
How much is a work permit?
The work licence fee is SAR 100 a year per foreign worker, on top of the financial equivalent.
Can the levy be paid in instalments?
Council of Ministers Resolution No. 325 (13/06/1442 AH) lets establishments pay work licence fees and the financial equivalent in instalments, down to every three months, except for domestic workers.
How much does an Iqama cost?
We could not find an official page that prints it. The investor guide lists only the fees of the issuing agency, with no amount.
Every figure on this page is taken from the issuing body’s own page, with the date that page was opened. How the figures are checked