Saudi Arabia overhauls domestic worker residency rules, ends rigid multi-year upfront fees

Saudi Arabia has fundamentally changed how households manage employment logistics, stripping away rigid, multi-year payment burdens overnight.

In a coordinated digital rollout, the kingdom transitioned from enforcing mandatory one- or two-year residency renewals to giving employers the power to renew permits for just three months at a time.

The shift aims to directly alleviate the immediate financial pressures facing families hiring domestic help. 

The Ministry of Interior’s General Directorate of Passports launched the initiative alongside the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development and the national recruitment platform, Musaned. 

What has changed

Under the newly active system, employers are no longer tied to long-term commitments. Instead, they can log into the Absher platform and choose customized residency windows of 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, or 24 months.

The system links residency fees explicitly to the chosen duration, giving households the option to pay their employment fees on a flexible, quarterly basis. 

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This modernisation effort is part of a broader national strategy to optimise government procedures, transition legacy bureaucracy to digital platforms, and provide adaptable financial solutions for everyday citizens. 

For employers, the biggest benefit is flexibility: instead of paying a full year at once, they can spread the cost over shorter periods. For the government, the reform reinforces the shift toward digital service delivery and more efficient residency procedures. The policy may also reduce friction in domestic labour administration by making renewals easier to plan and process online.