JEDDAH, 25 September 2006 — Labor Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi yesterday issued a decision liberalizing transfer of sponsorship by expatriate workers. According to the decision, which comes into effect on Oct. 28, a worker should complete at least one year with his present employer to avail of the new facility.
Some workers are exempted from the one-year condition. They include those who were working for a company that was sold and workers of contracting companies that lose their government contracts.
Workers whose sponsors have died and whose heirs do not want to continue the business of their fathers as well as workers of companies that have been closed or declared bankrupt are also exempted.
The one-year condition will not be applied to employees of a subcontractor who wanted to work for the main contractor; the Saudi Press Agency said quoting the ministerial decision.
The ministry will allow such transfers from one sponsor to another only after making sure the latter needed their services. In certain educational, medical and agricultural jobs, the workers should get permission from relevant government authorities.
Expatriates are not allowed to apply for jobs restricted to Saudis and the firms recruiting them should have fulfilled the necessary Saudization conditions.
“The new decision was taken to tackle some negative aspects regarding employment of expatriates as some of them work for employers other than their sponsors within days after their arrival,” said Ahmed Al-Zamil, deputy labor minister for labor affairs.
The new decision will help companies make use of skilled foreign manpower available in the Kingdom. Many foreign investors have complained about lack of manpower to launch their projects. There are about seven million expatriate workers in the Kingdom.
