The following words and phrases - wherever they appear in these rules - shall have the meanings specified next to them, unless the context of the text requires otherwise:

• Ministry: Ministry of Labor and Social Development.

• Minister: Minister of Labor and Social Development.

• Law: Labor Law.

• Rules: Rules for practicing recruitment activities and providing labor services.

• Licensee: Recruitment company or recruitment office, or local contracting company; which has obtained a license from the Ministry to provide the activities stipulated in these rules.

• Foreign Employee: A non-Saudi employee working in the public or private sector.

• Domestic Labor: Domestic service workers and those in similar positions, of both genders.

• Local Contracting: Utilizing the services of foreign labor, male and female, from within the Kingdom from categories for which specific instructions have been issued to regulate their conditions for the benefit of employers.

• Mediation in Recruitment: A service for recruiting foreign labor of both genders for the benefit of employers in the Kingdom.

• Providing General Labor Services: The act of the licensee recruiting or local contracting for labor that is under their supervision to perform work in specific professions; at the premises of their clients for a specified period, in exchange for a financial fee for the benefit of the licensee, and does not include any contract between the licensee and the client for the completion of specific works.

• Competent Administration: The administration responsible for the services provided to the licensees.

• Employer: Any natural or legal person who contracts with the licensee to mediate in the recruitment of one or more workers to employ them for a specified period in exchange for wages.

• Client: Any natural or legal person who contracts with the licensee to provide them with labor services for a specified period in exchange for a financial fee received by the licensee.

• Company: The recruitment company or local contracting company licensed to practice the activities regulated by the provisions of these rules.

• Recruitment Company: The company licensed to mediate in recruitment and provide labor services, in accordance with the provisions of these rules.

• Local Contracting Company: The company licensed to provide labor services from categories for which specific instructions have been issued to regulate their conditions, in accordance with the provisions of these rules.

• Office: The licensed recruitment office to practice mediation in recruitment, and any other related activity permitted by the Ministry.

• Applicant: The person who applies to the Ministry for initial approval or a license to establish a recruitment company or recruitment office, in accordance with the provisions of these rules.

• Initial Approval: Approval granted by the Ministry to the applicant, allowing them to proceed with establishing a recruitment company or recruitment office; in accordance with the provisions of these rules and related regulations.

• License: A license granted by the Ministry to the applicant after fulfilling the conditions and requirements stipulated in these rules and related regulations, allowing them to practice the activities for which they have been licensed; in accordance with these rules. 

• Service Transfer: A service available to the licensee to take procedures for transferring the services of domestic labor to another employer, in accordance with the procedures established by the Ministry.

• Panel: General Investment Authority.

• Foreign Investor: A company sending labor from its home country or from the country from which it wishes to recruit, qualified by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development to practice domestic labor recruitment and holding a foreign investor license from the General Investment Authority.

A claim for obtaining preliminary approval to establish the company shall be submitted to the Ministry accompanied by the following:

First: The applicant or their representative shall submit a request that includes a list of names and national identity numbers of each of the applicants for establishing the company, their ownership percentages, and a commitment not to change this list without the Ministry's approval, along with the following documents:

• - Draft of the company's articles of incorporation.

• - A feasibility study for the company prepared by a licensed consulting office; which should include the number of branches the company intends to open; in accordance with the conditions and specifications set by the Ministry.

• - A business plan for the first five years of the company.

• - A plan for the recruitment company to accommodate the labor being recruited to provide its labor services in each administrative region.

• - A plan for the employment of Saudis, their qualification, and training to work in the company.

• - Submission of an initial bank guarantee in the name of the applicant as one of the partners equivalent to (2%) of the company's capital, non-cancellable from one of the local banks; according to the model approved by the Ministry, to be valid for a period determined by the Ministry, and automatically renewable.

After submitting the claim for initial approval, the Ministry shall take the following procedures:

• First: The Ministry, after studying the claim, may take one of the following actions:

  • 1. Grant initial approval: This shall be by means of a signed and stamped document authorizing the commencement of the establishment of the company. The Ministry shall retain the initial bank guarantee provided until the application for the license is submitted and a final bank guarantee from the company is provided.

  • 2. Request for additional documents: The Ministry may, if necessary, request the applicant to complete any documents or papers, or to request their presence or the presence of their representative at the Ministry to answer any inquiries or clarify any matters related to the approval claim; this must be done within a maximum period of thirty working days from the date of notification, otherwise the claim shall be rejected.

  • 3. Reject the claim: This shall be by means of a reasoned decision. The applicant shall recover the initial bank guarantee provided, and they may not submit a new claim before the lapse of one year from the date of notification of the rejection decision.

• Second: The Ministry must decide on the claim within thirty working days from the date of its completion and notify the applicant accordingly.

The company must appoint a manager after obtaining the Ministry's approval; provided that the following conditions are met:

• - He must be a Saudi national.

• - He must not have been previously convicted of a crime that undermines honor or trust, or any violations related to the regulations governing the protection of childhood, or combating human trafficking; unless he has been rehabilitated.

• - He must hold a university degree.

To obtain a company license, the following procedures must be taken:

• First: The company representative submits a claim to the ministry for the license, accompanied by the following documents:

  • - A copy of the company's Articles of Incorporation (with the original for verification).

  • - A copy of the company's commercial register (with the original for verification).

  • - A copy of the title deed or lease agreement for the company's headquarters (with the original for verification).

  • - A title deed or lease agreement for the workers' accommodations (with the original for verification), or a written commitment from the company representative to secure accommodations for the labor brought to the company; within thirty days from the date of obtaining the labor recruitment visas.

  • - A chronic plan for opening the company's branches and their locations as stated in the previously submitted feasibility study.

  • - A written commitment from the recruitment company to comply with the conditions and specifications set by the ministry for the company's branches and workers' accommodations, and to adhere to the necessary Sharia rules, including the conditions for security and safety.

  • - A written commitment from the local contracting company to comply with the conditions and specifications set by the ministry for the company's branches.

  • - A written commitment from the company to implement the Saudi employment plan submitted; within one hundred and twenty working days from the date of obtaining the license.

  • - A final bank guarantee from the company equivalent to (10%) of the company's capital, non-cancellable from one of the local banks; according to the model approved by the ministry.

• Second: The ministry studies the claim for the license, and may take any of the following actions:

  • - Inspect the company's headquarters and review the preparations and procedures taken to commence the activity.

  • - Request the completion of missing documents or information, or provide any additional information deemed necessary to decide on the claim within a period not exceeding thirty days from the date of notification.

  • - Conduct any inquiry related to the license claim or the company.

  • - Ensure that the company has obtained the necessary licenses and approvals from the relevant authorities.

• Third: After studying the license claim, the ministry may take one of the following actions:

  • - Grant the license, issuing a document stamped with the ministry's seal or an electronic document from the ministry's system, authorizing the company to commence the licensed activity.

  • - Reject the license claim, provided that the decision is justified, in which case the initial approval decision is considered null and void, and the applicant is refunded the submitted bank guarantee, and a new application cannot be submitted before one year from the date of notification of the rejection decision.

• Fourth: The ministry must decide on the claim within thirty working days from the date of its completion and notify the license applicant accordingly.

The company must carry out its licensed activity within a maximum period of twelve months from the date of obtaining the license, and must take the following procedures:

• - Establish an interactive website; in accordance with the rules set by the Ministry; within a maximum period of one hundred and twenty days from the date of issuance of the license.

• - Establish an automated connection with the Ministry and relevant authorities; within a maximum period of one hundred and twenty days from the date of issuance of the license, through the adoption of an electronic system and mechanism, and a database that includes the electronic records required by the Ministry.

• - Allocate or establish a call center and channels to receive complaints from employees, employers, or clients; according to the standards set by the Ministry.

• - Open branches; in accordance with the chronic plan outlined in Article Seven of these rules.

• - Secure housing for the accommodation of the recruited employees; within 30 days from the date of obtaining the labor recruitment visas, taking into account the compatibility of the housing capacity with the number of employees of each gender, provided that the capacity ratio is not less than (10%) of the number of visas granted to the company, in accordance with the rules set by the Ministry.