Saudi Arabia: "Low Green” Companies Now Subject to Sponsorship Restrictions
Type
E-journal
Date
15 Jan 2015
Jurisdiction
Saudi Arabia
Taxonomy
Companies & Corporate Bodies, Recruitment, Nationality & Citizenship
Copyright
LexisNexis
Relevant company
Fragomen Middle East
Analysis
As per recent changes to Saudi Arabia's Nitaqat policy governing the country's Saudisation figures it is expected that, effective from April 2015, companies ranking in the “low green” category can no longer transfer employee sponsorships in the country. Previously, “low green” companies were not subject to any sponsorship restrictions.
Saudi Arabia's Nitaqat system groups companies into the following categories, with red designating companies with the lowest Saudisation percentages and platinum for those with the highest:
• Red
• Yellow
• Low Green
• Medium Green
• High Green
• Platinum
Companies higher on the Nitaqat scale are granted greater sponsorship privileges and expedited processing while lower ranked companies are sometimes restricted from sponsoring foreign national employees.
What This Means for Employers and Foreign Nationals
Employers operating in Saudi Arabia should note they may not be able to apply for a sponsorship transfer if they fall in the “low green” Nitaqat category.