The Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Interior and the General Organization of Social Insurance (GOSI) have announced that they have linked their networks and have given new rights to foreign spouses and children of Saudi citizens.
Foreign spouses can now legally work under the employment status of a Saudi and not a foreigner and are to be registered for social insurance with the GOSI.
“If a foreign wife or husband is married to a Saudi citizen and has entered the Kingdom legally, he or she will be employed with the same rights as a Saudi, not a foreigner, under a new status known as 'Special Immigrant',” Nuhad Basri, head of the Investigations and Complaint Department in the ladies branch of the Ministry of Labor in Jeddah, told Arab News, adding that employers must register the names of these individuals at GOSI.
She said that the new regulations will also benefit companies in their efforts to satisfy Saudization requirements stipulated in the Ministry of Labor’s Nitaqat program.
“When the company recognizes the change in the employees’ employment status and registers them with GOSI, this information will also become visible to the Ministry of Labor and Ministry of Interior and the company will get credit for hiring a Saudi,” Basri explained.
According to the new regulations, foreign spouses are to visit the Ministry of Labor office in their city of residence and obtain official documentation, outlining the changes in employment status, which includes instructions explaining to employers how to register the employees for social insurance with the GOSI.
Confirming these changes, Abdul Aziz Al-Habdan, deputy governor of the GOSI, said in a statement posted on the GOSI website on Saturday that there won’t be any differentiation between Saudi and foreign spouses in terms of enjoying the benefits and allowances provided by the social insurance scheme.
“A husband or wife of a Saudi citizen, whether he or she is Saudi or a foreigner and their children can take advantage of the GOSI scheme,” Al-Habdan said.
Nonetheless, an Arab News investigation has revealed that some companies have chosen not to acknowledge the change in employment status, denying foreign spouses of Saudis their rights.
“Upon receiving the stamped documentation from the Ministry of Labor, I submitted the papers to my company’s HR department in order for them to register me for social insurance. However, the company refused to do so, asserting that I do not have a Saudi national ID number,” Amena Mohammed, a foreigner residing in Jeddah and married to a Saudi told Arab News.
She emphasized that despite explaining to her HR manager that there had been a change in the regulations and providing them with an official document stamped by the Ministry of Labor, he still refused to register her with GOSI.
“I even offered to give him the direct phone number of the manager at the Ministry of Labor so he could confirm the changes, but he refused,” Mohammed said, adding that she has to date, not been registered with the GOSI or given the rights of a Saudi employee.
Arab News contacted Hattab Al-Enazi, the spokesman of the Ministry of Labor in Riyadh, who said, “If any company refuses to follow the regulations of the Ministry of Labor and continues to hire foreigners without adjusting their status, the owners of such companies could face fines of up to SR 10,000 per employee and be sentenced to up to two years in jail,” he said, adding that this includes the adjustment of the employment status of foreign spouses of Saudis.
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