Bad news for low-wage India, Pakistan, Bangladesh workers in Saudi Arabia as Riyadh launches new visa rules

The national plan seeks to move the country beyond its reliance on oil and into new industries: tourism, technology, and innovation.

Saudi Arabia’s new visa policy now takes into account an expat’s skills, experience, and salary, categorizing them into three tiers: high-skilled, skilled, and basic, as reported by TOI. This visa policy change coincides with the country’s Vision 2030 agenda and supports the country’s large national projects such as NEOM and Qiddiya. The new system will certainly favor professionals and high-wage earners; however, it could negatively affect low-wage employees by reducing their opportunities. Also, companies must now comply with previously unused compliance criteria such as more formal documentation and verification.

What is the new visa rule in Saudi Arabia?

For years, expats in Saudi Arabia were judged on little more than their job titles. Cleaners, technicians, and surgeons with the same iqama (residence permit) were given the same status regardless of their abilities or expertise. That is changing. As of July 2025, Saudi Arabia will have fully implemented a new work permit system that will consider an individual’s actual qualifications, work history, and salary. In short, from now on, it is worth more than just a title; jobs will be based on the skills and value an individual can truly provide.

How will the new Visa Rule in Saudi impact expats?

According to the Times of India report, the new framework classifies workers into a set of three classifications or classes. They are

• Highly-skilled workers: Experts in areas such as engineering, medicine, AI, etc.
• Skilled workers: Workers in technical trades, supervisory positions, etc.
• Basic workers: Workers in physical work, such as:- Drivers, cleaners, or loaders

All of this is done through Qiwa, a digital platform run by the Ministry of Human Resources. The new scoring system considers a variety of factors, including educational background, work experience, age, monthly salary, etc.

The national plan seeks to move the country beyond its reliance on oil and into new industries: tourism, technology, and innovation. Saudi Arabia needs talent from across the globe to accomplish that change; people who can build, code, design, and lead. The main projects that are central to this vision include: NEOM – a $500 billion smart city of the future, Qiddiya – a large-scale culture and entertainment development, The Red Sea Project – a luxury eco-tourism, and Diriyah Gate – focused on restoring Saudi Arabia’s historical and cultural identity.

What are the new changes expats have to face?

For expatriates already residing in Saudi Arabia, the changes began to take effect in mid-June 2025, and the government has provided current employers until August 3 to update their employees’ records. The report further mentions that if an individual is a professional, these changes could be in his/her favour:

If your education and experience allow you, you may notice faster permit renewals.
One may have more job options in different sectors.
One may find it easier to maintain long-term residency and sponsor family.

Unfortunately, if one falls into the basic category, one may notice:

• More documentation to provide.
• Delays in having your visa processed.
• Challenges in changing jobs and renewing permits.
  The change does not mean that people are kicked out; it means the requirements are getting tougher, especially for low-wage.

As stated by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the initiative announced by Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmed al-Rajhi will categorize foreign workers into three categories: high-skill, skilled, and basic. As per Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the three factors will be based on the extent of the qualifications, the length of service as work experience, skills learned and the salary level, and age.

As per SPA, the ministry stated it developed the new system to “enhance worker performance, attract global talent to transfer expertise and experience to the Saudi labor market, improve operational efficiency, benefit from international experience, and build an environment that supports innovation and the development of business models.”