Everything hangs off the Iqama: your employer must issue it within 90 days of your arrival, and until it exists you cannot register on Absher, open a bank account or sponsor your family.
Overview
Relocation to Saudi Arabia runs on a strict dependency chain anchored to the Iqama (residence permit). Before departure you must clear the Wafid (formerly GAMCA) medical examination at an approved centre in your country, assemble apostilled or legalised documents, and have the work visa stamped at the Saudi mission. On arrival your entry is logged by the General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) under the Ministry of Interior, which starts a 90-day window in which your employer — at its own cost, as the Labor Law requires — must complete your post-arrival medical, activate health insurance meeting Council of Health Insurance standards, obtain your work permit on Qiwa and issue your Iqama through the Muqeem/Absher channels. Only then can you register on Absher (the MOI services portal), record a national address, open a bank account and obtain a Saudi driving licence. Remember that leaving the country afterwards requires an exit/re-entry visa. Verified against absher.sa, my.gov.sa, hrsd.gov.sa and wafid.com as of June 2026.
Before Departure
- Wafid medical examination: Book through wafid.com (the Gulf Health Council platform, formerly GAMCA) and attend an approved medical centre in your country. The fitness certificate is a visa condition and is valid for a limited window — schedule it close to your visa stamping, not months ahead.
- Skills exam if applicable: If your profession and nationality fall under the Professional/Skill Verification Program rollout, you must pass the theoretical and practical exam in your home country before the work visa can be issued — confirm with your employer which track applies.
- Authenticate documents: Degree certificates, marriage and birth certificates (for dependants) and your police clearance need an apostille from your country's competent authority (or the full legalisation chain if your country is not a Hague party), plus Arabic translation where required.
- Visa stamping and contract: The employer's visa authorisation is processed through the MOFA visa platform and stamped at the Saudi embassy or consulate; your employment contract should be documented on Qiwa — review it before you fly, because the Qiwa contract is what governs transfers and end-of-service rights.
- Prescriptions and medication: Saudi Arabia strictly controls medicines — check the Saudi Food and Drug Authority rules for any prescription drugs you carry and bring prescriptions for personal-use quantities.
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See Paid Plans →Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get my Iqama after I land in Saudi Arabia?
The legal outer limit is 90 days from entry: your employer must complete the post-arrival medical, activate compliant health insurance, obtain the work permit on Qiwa and issue the Iqama through the Ministry of Interior within that window, at the employer's cost. With a compliant employer the Iqama commonly arrives within a few weeks. If the window is missed, you fall out of status and the employer faces penalties — so chase your HR/government-relations officer well before day 60 and ask for the Muqeem status of your file.
What can't I do until my Iqama is issued?
Almost everything. Without an Iqama number you cannot register on Absher (the MOI portal that handles exit/re-entry visas, criminal record reports and driving licences), cannot record a national address, cannot open a bank account — which matters because salaries flow through the Wage Protection System into Saudi accounts — and cannot sponsor your family. A fingerprint-registered SIM and most app-based services also key off the Iqama. Treat the first weeks as a sequencing exercise: Iqama, then Absher, then address, then bank.
Do I really need a visa to LEAVE Saudi Arabia?
Yes — this surprises most newcomers. Iqama holders must obtain an exit/re-entry visa through Absher or Muqeem before each trip abroad (single-trip or multiple-trip versions exist, with fees per the published Jawazat schedule), or a final exit visa if leaving permanently. Travelling without one means you cannot board. If you are abroad when your exit/re-entry visa expires, you face a re-entry ban as a worker, so have your sponsor extend it online before it lapses. Premium Residency holders are exempt from the entire system.
Who pays for the Iqama, work permit and medical — me or my employer?
Your employer. The Saudi Labor Law places the fees for recruitment, the Iqama and work permit and their renewals, and the consequences of delay, on the employer, and the annual expatriate work-permit levy is likewise an employer cost. Health insurance meeting Council of Health Insurance standards must also be provided by the employer for you (and the cooperative insurance system covers eligible dependants). If an employer asks you to reimburse Iqama or work-permit fees, that is a red flag worth raising before you sign the Qiwa contract.
What should my family's paperwork look like before we fly?
Marriage and birth certificates must be apostilled in the issuing country (or fully legalised if it is not a Hague Convention party) and translated into Arabic by a licensed office, because they underpin the dependants' visa applications you will file once your own Iqama exists. Dependants take their own medicals where required, receive their own Iqamas under your sponsorship, and attract the monthly dependant levy. School-age children's prior school records, also authenticated, smooth admission to international schools. Sequence matters: your Iqama first, then their visas.
Why are my Iqama dates 'wrong' compared with my contract?
Iqama validity is tracked in the Hijri (Islamic lunar) calendar, which is roughly 11 days shorter than the Gregorian year, while your employment contract on Qiwa typically uses Gregorian dates. A 'one-year' Iqama therefore expires earlier than a Gregorian-year reading suggests, and renewal deadlines creep forward each year. Check the expiry in Absher (which shows both calendars), diarise renewals by the Hijri date, and make sure your employer renews insurance in time, since the systems block Iqama renewal without active coverage.