Under Article 40 of the Saudi Labor Law, the employer pays the recruitment fees, the iqama and work permit fees and their renewal, exit re-entry fees, and your ticket home when the job ends.
What Article 40 says
- The employer bears the non-Saudi worker's recruitment fees, the residence (iqama) and work permit fees and their renewal, and late fines the employer causes.
- The employer also pays profession change fees, exit re-entry fees, and the worker's ticket home once the employment relationship ends.
- The worker pays their own way home if found unfit for work, or if they choose to leave without a legitimate reason.
- An employer who takes over a worker's services pays the transfer fees.
- This wording comes from Royal Decree M/44, in force since 20/8/1446 AH (February 2025).
Before you pay anyone
- Ask for the visa reference number and check it yourself with MOFA's inquiry about submitted applications.
- Work visas go through MOFA's visa platform, where an employer can also authorise a recruitment office to handle the visa, so ask which office has been authorised.
- Get the job offer and main contract terms in writing before you travel.
- If you're asked to pay for items the law assigns to the employer, raise it with the employer directly, and report agency problems to your home country's official overseas employment authority.
Government fees for reference
- Jawazat's fee table lists SAR 650 to issue or renew an iqama for company and establishment workers.
- Changing the profession on an iqama costs SAR 1,000, another employer cost under Article 40.
Official sources
On Saudi Expats: the work visa document checklist and finding a job in Riyadh.
Checked September 2026. This is general information, not advice on your contract; for your own case, ask the employer's HR or the Ministry of Human Resources.
If you moved here recently, share your experience below: what did your employer cover, and what did you pay yourself?