Saudi Arabia allows some ‘absent’ workers to transfer to new employers through Qiwa platform

Expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia with an "absent" employment status may transfer to a new employer via the Qiwa platform, provided they have resided in the country for more than twelve months. This applies to situations where the absence was reported, there was a work interruption, or the contract was terminated. The new employer must cover any outstanding permit fees for the worker.

Government employees cannot create new contracts through Qiwa until they complete clearance procedures and close their registration with the government on the Masar platform. Workers can be excluded from their previous employer's records if their status is marked as "left and did not return" or "final exit" on the Absher or Muqeem platforms.

Qiwa does not mediate disputes between parties to an employment contract, suggesting those matters should be resolved through the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development's amicable settlement service or taken to the labor court. To access Qiwa, users log in through Nafath; a group manager can authorize others by granting permissions via the User Management service.

The platform operates entirely electronically, not accepting or validating paper documents. Establishments must not remain in the red category for eight consecutive weeks to issue a work permit, although new companies are exempt from this rule. Saudi Arabia also sets rules for final exit visas for domestic workers during probation, allowing three-month renewals for domestic workers, and imposes a five-visit limit for businesses under two years.