Transfer of Sponsorship in Saudi Arabia Without Employer Consent

An expatriate engineer has completed two years with a contracting company. His contract documented on Qiwa ends in a month, and another company has offered him a job. His employer refuses to “release” him and says the transfer needs his consent.

The direct answer: since 14 March 2021, an expatriate worker does not need the employer's consent to transfer his services after his contract ends. During the contract, transfer without consent is allowed under conditions, including completing the notice period and, if this is your first entry to the Kingdom, completing 12 months with your current employer. At any time, transfer without consent is allowed if your wage has not been paid for three consecutive months, your work permit or residence permit (iqama) has expired, or you have no documented contract.

Does transfer of sponsorship still need the sponsor's consent?

People still say “transfer of sponsorship” (naql al-kafala), but the legal name today is transfer of services or job mobility. The Labor Reform Initiative (Initiative for Improving the Contractual Relationship) launched by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development came into effect on 14 March 2021, and since then the transfer is linked to the documented contract between the two parties instead of being in the employer's hands alone. The procedures are done online through Qiwa (the Ministry's labour services platform).

These rules apply to expatriate workers in private-sector establishments subject to the Labor Law. Everything starts from your contract: is it documented, and when does its term end? Under Article 37 of the Labor Law, a non-Saudi's contract must be written and for a fixed term.

When can you transfer your services? Three routes

• After the contract ends: you can move to a new employer without needing your current employer's consent.
• While the contract is in force: transfer without consent is allowed under the initiative's rules, including completing the notice period and respecting any conditions in your contract on early termination.
• On your first arrival in the Kingdom: the Ministry's guide requires you to complete 12 months with your current employer before transferring during the contract; if you have not, the transfer happens only with his consent, unless one of the excepted cases below applies.

The notice period is the one set in your contract documented on Qiwa, and it changes only if the contract is amended with your consent. It starts when you accept the job offer and the current establishment is notified. During this period your contract remains in force, so you stay at work and are entitled to your full wage; it may not stop just because you asked to transfer.

When can you transfer without consent at any time?

The initiative's services guide issued by the Ministry sets out cases in which the worker can transfer without the employer's consent and without the twelve-month condition:

1. The worker's wage has not been paid for three consecutive months.
2. The work permit or residence permit has expired.
3. The worker has no documented employment contract.
4. No work permit was issued for the worker within 90 days of his entry into the Kingdom.

The Implementing Regulations of the Labor Law (Article 14, second/8) set out other cases in which the Minister or his delegate may approve the transfer without the employer's consent, including:

• A case between you and the employer that he has prolonged, for example by him or his representative missing two hearings at the same court level without an excuse the court accepts, provided you did not cause the delay.
• A recommendation by the court while the case is being heard, to avoid possible harm to you.
• Non-payment of your wages for three consecutive months, or delay beyond the due date of the third month, by a request made within one Hijri year of the third month's due date.
• The employer's absence through travel, imprisonment, death or otherwise, and the establishment's inability to meet its obligations for three months with no one managing its affairs.
• Your reporting a case of commercial concealment (tasattur) against the employer with supporting evidence, provided you were not involved in it.

The Ministry may add other cases by later decisions, so check what appears for you on Qiwa. One of these cases existing does not mean your rights against the first employer are lost. Delayed salaries and end-of-service dues remain a debt he owes, which you claim through the labor channels; but Article 234 of the Labor Law does not accept the case more than twelve months after the relationship ends, unless there is an excuse the court accepts or the employer admits the right.

How is the transfer done on Qiwa?

The request starts from the new establishment, not from you. The establishment creates a job offer in your name on the platform, you accept it from your account, and then your current employer is notified. If you are in a case that does not need consent, the request goes ahead once the conditions are met and the notice period, if required, is completed, and the new establishment completes the procedures.

The new establishment has its own conditions under Article 14 (second) of the Implementing Regulations of the Labor Law: it must not have an expatriate worker whose work permit or iqama has expired without renewal, or who has been in the Kingdom three months without a work permit and iqama, subject to exceptions set by the Regulations; it must not be found to have collective wage delays, commercial concealment, or workers left to work for others or for themselves irregularly; and it must meet the Saudization ratio required for its activity under the Nitaqat program. If your request stalls because of the new establishment, the problem is on its side, not yours.

Follow the status of the request from your account on the platform. If the request is stuck or rejected although you are in one of the cases that do not need consent, keep a screenshot of the request status and proof of the case, such as a bank statement showing the wage was not paid or proof that the permit expired, and then contact the Ministry through its official channels.

Do these rules apply to domestic workers and private drivers?

A domestic worker, including a private driver or a housemaid, is subject to separate rules for improving the contractual relationship of domestic workers. Under the Ministry's updated decision of 2022, cases that allow transfer without the employer's consent include: the employer failing to pay three wages, consecutive or not; not issuing or not renewing the residence permit after thirty days; assigning the worker to work for someone else; assigning him dangerous work; mistreating him; filing a false absence report against him; and the employer missing settlement sessions. A transfer from an establishment to an individual, such as moving from a company to work as a private driver, goes through different procedures because it is a move between two systems.

What should you do before accepting a new offer?

1. Check the end date of your current contract on Qiwa; it decides which route applies to you.
2. Read the early termination and notice clauses in your contract if you will transfer before it ends.
3. Collect proof of your dues from your current employer, such as bank statements and payslips, before you leave.
4. Hand back the property in your custody with a written record so you are not asked for it after the transfer.
5. Make sure your legal status is in order and that there is no absence-from-work report against you.

If you do not find a new employer after your contract ends, the same initiative allows you to request a final exit without the employer's consent, while your financial rights remain.

If an absence-from-work report has been filed against you, deal with it quickly and get advice, because this report limits your transfer options and its effect depends on whether it is correct and when it was filed.

This is general information based on the official Arabic texts of Saudi laws, which prevail over any translation. It is not legal advice for your specific case.

Practical solutions for both sides

If you are the expatriate worker:

• Know the case that allows you to transfer without consent: end of contract, delayed wages or others.
• Document the case before applying: salary statements or the contract end date.
• Do not leave work before you are sure of your right to transfer, so that no violation is recorded against you.
• Ask your current employer to settle your rights before or with the transfer.

If you are the employer:

• Pay wages and renew documents on time, because failing to do so may allow the worker to transfer without your consent.
• If the worker asks to transfer, reply in writing and settle his rights.
• Do not keep the worker's passport or documents, and do not file an absence-from-work report just because he asked to transfer.

Transfer cases have precise conditions. Send us on WhatsApp a picture of your contract on Qiwa and your salary statement if your wage is late, and we will tell you whether transfer is open to you now.