No More Iqama Fee of SR 2,400

No More Iqama Fee of SR 2,400

On December 2012, decision of imposing SR 2,400/- on Iqama Fee was hammered upon expatriates living in Saudi Arabia. This Iqama fee was payable by the Kafeel of every employee to the Ministry of Labor. Government expected to raise at least SR 10 billion each year from this amount. This fee was a major problem for the expatriates who are working in Saudi Arabia on free visa. It should be kept in mind that all the expatriates who are doing business in Saudi Arabia are actually working on free visa. However, a fresh breeze touched the ears of expatriates in the morning of June 24, 2014 when it was aired that King has lifted the charge of SR 2,400/- iqama fee of expatriates based upon following criteria.

Conditions to Exempt Iqama Fee

There will be no more Iqama Fee of SR 2,400/- for the Small and Medium Sized Businesses of Saudi Arabia. In this way, businesses employing less than 10 employees will be exempt from paying SR 2,400/- Iqama fee on the renewal of Iqama of their 4 employees. However, it is only applicable if Saudi owner is working for his SME Company for the full time.

Moreover, all the companies who have signed the contracts with the government before Nov 15, 2012 will be reimbursed for the Iqama Fee for the two preceding years as well. This decision will be positively impact the large sized companies of Saudi Arabia.