Sponsor’s OK Needed for Visa Transfer

RIYADH, 28 June 2007 — Expatriate workers in the Kingdom still require the approval of their sponsors for the transfer of visas except in special cases approved by the labor minister, the Ministry of Labor said in a statement.

“The condition of sponsor approval for the transfer of visas to another sponsor after the end of contract has been specified in the executive bylaw of the new Labor Law, which was enforced on April 20, 2007,” the ministry said.

The ministry made this statement after rumors circulated among expatriates that permission of the sponsor (known as a “No Objection Certificate,” or NOC) would no longer be required for the transfer of visas based on Article 120 of the executive bylaw of the Labor Law.

The ministry explained the situations when such transfers could be allowed without the approval of the sponsor: first, if the sponsor delays legal action against him; second, humanitarian reasons; and third, other conditions determined by the minister.

The employee would still need an NOC unless his or her contract specifically stipulates that the sponsor will provide an NOC at the end of the contract period.

However, the new executive register of the labor system set special cases in which an approval letter would not be required for a transferee to work in another company, said Mohammed Al-Dwaish, a legal consultant in the Labor Ministry.

He added that the minister of labor would be deciding in some cases whether the transfer request of moving to another company without approval from his sponsor is granted or not.

He clarified some of these cases saying, “if the employee is mistreated in any way by his sponsor or not be paid he will be transferred to the other company which seeks him without approval from his sponsor.”

Moreover, the minister will be taking special exceptions for transfer cases that have humanitarian reasons that require a worker to move to another company like if his family lives in another city.