Riyadh: Overseas job seekers in Saudi Arabia often ask whether the company employee’s residency can be changed to individual residency.
On Twitter, a person asked if the company’s employee sponsorship could be changed to individual. The Saudi Passport Department said the sponsorship of individuals under the company’s sponsorship could not be transferred to the individual sector.
According to the immigration laws in Saudi Arabia, the stay of professional foreigners in companies and institutions is issued after a ‘work permit’ issued by the Ministry of Manpower for which a fixed fee is fixed.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Manpower does not require NOCs and work permits for the issuance of residences to foreign workers who are sponsored by individual sponsors. There is no fee.
Individual employees are usually domestic workers who are called ‘Amala Manzaliya’. All matters of domestic employees are overseen by the Passport Department i.e. ‘Permits’.
It should be noted that under the Saudi Passport and Immigration ‘Licenses’ Act, the rules for individuals who are employees of companies are different from those for employees who are directly sponsored by Saudi nationals.
