Guides for jobseekers heading to the Gulf

The route into a Saudi job, from a genuine offer to the iqama: who raises the visa, who pays, and what the Labour Law says about the contract and the work permit. A practical guide that reads the articles, not the brokers.

Nitaqat is Saudi localisation: it classifies the establishment and can block your visa or the renewal of your work permit. What Article 35 after M/44 actually says, and why a visa cannot be bought from another firm.

The establishment’s Nitaqat colour decides whether it can recruit or renew. Ask before you resign from the job you have. Do not pay anyone to improve the colour of a company that is not yours.

The contract authenticated on Qiwa is the one that counts. A practical list: wage split, profession, term, housing, probation and workplace — before acceptance, not after.

Housing became a mandatory employer obligation after the labour law was amended. A practical guide for workers in Saudi Arabia: when the allowance is owed, the usual rate, how it changes your end-of-service award, and the mistakes that forfeit the claim.

What is registered on Qiwa is what counts in a dispute, not the paper in your pocket if the two differ. How to reach Qiwa through Absher, what to check on the contract and the iqama, and why you never hand anyone the one-time code.

Iqama and work-permit fees, and their renewal, sit with the employer. Renewal runs through Absher and Qiwa. A transfer does not start with your resignation before the new contract exists.

Exit and re-entry is a trip and a return, not the end of the contract. The employer issues it, the fee sits with them, and the two dates — when you may travel, and how long you may stay outside — are what keep the iqama alive.

Half a month for each of the first five years and a full month after that, on the last actual wage, not on the basic alone. When resignation cuts it, and when it does not.

The wage on the Qiwa contract, the file the establishment uploads in Mudad, and the transfer that landed in your account. If one of them differs, the delay is documented. Cash in hand is not a substitute for the file.

What labour law guarantees every worker, what depends on your contract alone, and where to complain if a right is denied.

What the law provides on hours, rest and overtime, and how to record your time in case of a dispute.

Being marked absent from work in Saudi Arabia is no longer only a sponsor filing that closes every door. How to check your status on Qiwa, what the post-contract window is for, and why disappearing is worse than the problem you are fleeing.

Final exit ends the iqama. Before the visa: the award, unused leave, the ticket, and not signing a release before the transfer arrives.

The old labour card is now a work permit and a contract registered with the Ministry. What should be in your hands, and what to check in the contract before you sign, under Decree-Law 33 of 2021.

The WhatsApp offer is not the contract. The contract the ministry sees is the one that fixes the basic wage — which is the gratuity figure — the job title, the notice period and the work pattern.

Emiratisation is a hiring target for citizens in private-sector firms, not a ban on every expatriate. A company that cannot issue a permit for your profession will not be fixed by a broker who wants a fee.

Hours, the weekly rest day, Ramadan, annual and sick leave under UAE labour law, and your right to carry leave over or take payment in lieu.

Article 51 of Decree-Law 33 of 2021 for a foreign full-time worker: basic wage not the package, a one-year minimum, a cap of two years of wage, and resignation does not reduce it.

Notice periods under UAE labour law, what actually counts as unlawful termination, and what is paid if the contract ends with notice, without it, or after a complaint that is proven valid.

The UAE’s mandatory job-loss insurance: who is covered and who is excluded, the premium and the payout, and the AED 400 fine for not enrolling, under Decree-Law 13 of 2022 and Cabinet Resolution 97 of 2022.

Gratuity under Article 51 of UAE Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021, and the one difference from Saudi law that turns a good contract in Riyadh into a poor one in Dubai.

The tactics used in fake Gulf job adverts, and how to tell a genuine listing from a fraudulent one before you lose money.

A visa is not a residence permit, and a visit visa is not permission to work. What Saudi Article 33 and UAE Article 6 actually require, and why "we will convert it later" leaves you unprotected.

Labour law in Saudi Arabia and the UAE puts recruitment, residence-permit and work-permit fees on the employer. A practical guide to what you may legitimately pay at home, and what nobody may charge you for a job.

What to look for in a Gulf employment contract — pay, housing, hours, flights and end-of-service.

Putting your paperwork in order before travelling to work in the Gulf, and why this is the stage where most people get stuck.

The medical required for Gulf work visas, why only approved centres count, and what leads to an unfit result.

The differences that actually matter to a worker: where the openings are, living costs, and what to ask before choosing.

The trades that appear again and again in Gulf job adverts, and what makes an applicant stand out in each.

Figures counted from listings actually published on this site, with the sample size stated — not estimates.

One page is enough for a trade role. Here is what it should contain and what to leave out.

Most trade hiring starts with a short call. Here are the questions to expect and how to answer them.

A practical method for searching job sites, choosing the right words, and skipping listings that were never going to work.

The items that consume a Gulf salary, and how to work out your real savings before signing.

What should happen in your first weeks in Saudi Arabia or the UAE, and the signs that something is wrong.

Health cover is the employer’s duty: Article 3 of the Cooperative Health Insurance Law in Saudi Arabia, and Article 13 in the UAE. What the policy covers, and what to do if you fall ill or are injured at work.

Both countries require the employer to pay wages through monitored channels, not cash in hand. How the system works, what you can see for yourself, and what a verbal promise does not prove.

Probation in Saudi Arabia can run to 180 days after the amendment of Article 53; in the UAE it is six months, with different written-notice rules depending on whether you stay in the country or leave. Pay, housing and wage protection still apply — probation is not a month without rights.

What your employer must provide, how to protect yourself from heat stress, and what to do if you are injured.

What worker housing in the Gulf actually looks like, what to ask before signing, and what is not permitted.

What paid leave you are entitled to, who pays for flights, and how to request leave without a dispute.

In Saudi Arabia, 21 days, then 30 after five years, and it cannot be swapped for cash while you are still employed. In the UAE, 30 days, two days a month after six months, and carry-over capped at half.

The cap on hours is in the statute, not in a line that says the salary includes everything. In Saudi Arabia an overtime hour is the hourly wage plus 50% of the basic. In the UAE the premium is at least 25%, and higher at night.

A deduction needs a reason in the statute, and a cap. In Saudi Arabia an employer loan cannot take more than 10% of the wage, damage cannot take more than five days of wage in a month, and the total cannot pass half the wage except by a court.

Fees versus exchange rate, why a "no fee" transfer can cost more, and how to compare properly.

Why many return with nothing after years of work, and how to build a simple plan that holds.

The conditions for family residence, the costs people overlook, and how to decide whether it suits you.

What each trade really requires, and why fifty right words beat a full course.

Practical steps when pay is withheld, what strengthens your position and what weakens it, and where to file a complaint.

The official complaint does not need a broker’s fee. In Saudi Arabia it starts with amicable settlement on Qiwa, then the labour court. In the UAE it starts with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. The file is papers, not memory.

Scams do not end when you land. Here are the common ones in the Gulf and how to protect your money and papers.

How a lawful move between employers works, and why informal arrangements end badly for the worker.

What you are owed when work ends, the order to do things in before travelling, and the last-minute mistakes that cost people their rights.

The document that proves you did the work, when it is asked for, and how to obtain one even from a job you left badly.