Saudi Arabia / Workforce planning
Saudization & Nitaqat.
Plan the team. Know the rules.
How many Saudis should you hire? Start with your business activity, then check the roles. Build a workforce plan with both requirements in view.
Guidance checked 8 October 2026 · Official references & scope
01 / Read your business position
What is Nitaqat?
Use the entity shown in Qiwa: branches of the same activity under one establishment are assessed together.
Saudization means employing Saudi nationals. Nitaqat is the programme that classifies private-sector businesses into colour bands based on their assessed Saudi employment level. Different economic activities have different Saudization targets; workforce size and assessment year also matter. Your band affects access to services such as work visas and work-permit renewals.
Activity
Confirm the Nitaqat activity group.
Workforce
Use the assessed workforce and counting rules.
Year
Check the applicable 2026–2028 thresholds.
- 01Red
- 02Low Green
- 03Medium Green
- 04High Green
- 05Platinum
Band order only—not fixed percentage widths or your company’s result.
Red
New visas, incoming transfers, profession changes and work-permit issuance/renewal are restricted.
Low Green
New visas and profession changes are restricted. Existing work-permit renewal remains conditional.
Medium Green and above
Broader access to visa requests, transfers and profession changes—subject to each service’s conditions.
Renewal conditions still apply, including the remaining-residency condition in the ministry’s service table. Check the actual transaction in Qiwa. MHRSD: bands & service conditions · PDF ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Our curve-based planner starts at six workers. For a smaller team, confirm the applicable route in Qiwa; occupation rules can still matter.
02 / Check the person behind the number
A hire is not always a full count.
Standard full-time Saudi-worker weighting. Special employment categories need their own checks.
Use the monthly wage subject to GOSI contributions—not basic salary alone or every allowance automatically. These are counting thresholds, not a universal salary recommendation. MHRSD: wage basis · PDF ↗ (opens in a new tab) MHRSD: weighting range · PDF ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Part-time, flexible work or another special category? Do not apply the full-time table automatically. Confirm the current category conditions before modelling the hire.
03 / Check the work, not just the band
Green company.
Still a separate profession check.
- 01
Match the role
Check the occupation code and actual duties.
- 02
Read the scope
Confirm covered roles, the workforce trigger and effective date.
- 03
Apply its conditions
Check the quota, wage floor, accreditation and any overlapping rule.
04 / Turn the checks into a plan
Before the next hire.
Before the next renewal.
DuVolks planning approach. An estimate is not your official Qiwa classification.
- 01 / Establish
Confirm your starting point.
Gather the current Qiwa band, activity group, workforce, contract status and the roles you intend to fill.
Check your records - 02 / Compare
Test the planned change.
Use the workforce planner, then the profession lookup. Budget for salaries, employer contributions and recruitment.
Open the workforce planner - 03 / Follow through
Hire, document and recheck.
Complete genuine employment and payroll records. Check the resulting Qiwa position before relying on a service.
Plan employee costs
Adding a Saudi changes the workforce total as well as the Saudi count. A planned hire is not an instant guarantee of a new band; follow Qiwa’s actual update. MHRSD: assessment & update guidance ↗ (opens in a new tab)
From a headcount to a workable team
Plan the roles your business needs.
DuVolks can help connect the activity, occupation checks and employment costs within an agreed scope. Official classification and service decisions remain with the authority.
Official references & review scope Checked 8 October 2026
Targeted review of the 2026 band framework, service restrictions, standard wage weighting, Qiwa contract-counting condition and the distinction from occupation rules.
The ministry’s 2026 guide takes precedence here over older pages showing a Yellow band. This is not a review of every occupation, special-worker category or regional decision. The marketing example illustrates different wage tests; it is not a full eligibility assessment.
DuVolks tools support planning. Confirm the live entity, employee records and service requirements in Qiwa. Source documents open in a new tab.