Saudi Arabia launches Temporary Work Visit Visa

The Saudi Arabian government has announced a new short-term work visa system for expatriates. The Temporary Work Visit Visa (TWVV) allows qualified foreign nationals to work for the sponsor-company for 90-days with one-year validity.

The new visa quota also enables multiple entries during the valid time, given that ex-pat workers meet specific eligibility criteria. The sponsoring entity must ensure that their foreign workers have valid work authorisation. The guarantor must be in the 'medium-green' level in the Nitaqat program and must fulfil the obligations in the Wages Protection System (WPS).

Introduced in 2011, the Nitaqat program classifies companies in the Kingdom based on the enterprise's activities, size of the institutions and the number of Saudi nationals employed in the firm. The institutions are categorised in coloured-levels such as Platinum, Green (subcategorised into High Green, Medium Green, Low Green), Yellow and Red. The WPS is a payroll system to ensure that all ex-pat workers get paid punctually in private organisations. The employer can assign 50 visas and obtain a visa quota through the Qiwa portal. Foreign nationals applying for work-related positions can get their visa via a Saudi consular post or visa agent abroad.

The Saudi authorities had previously abolished the Work Visit Visa in October 2019, which is now replaced with TWVV, where employers are free to hire expert foreigners for short-term contract works.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been working to build a benefitted economy for nationals and foreigners with a series of economic reforms to achieve The Kingdom's Vision 2030.