No Iqama Renewal for Expats on 19 Professions in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia confirmed the new rule, which will affect 19 jobs Professions with no Iqama renewal. Any expatriate whose job profession in this specified list can no longer have their Iqama renewal or residence permit.
According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of Saudi Arabia, for the reservation of Saudi Arabian nationals, starting from January 2018; no company will hire the professional from 19 different fields. They will not renew 19 Iqama Professionals.
As soon as this policy comes into effect, these 19 Iqama Professionals will have to leave Saudi Arabia after their current residence permit expiration.
It is reported that this rule will affect both the private and public sectors with no exception. It is imperative to know that each category will have many subcategories. For example, in the Salesman category, it will include all Van Salesman, Showroom Salesman, and Key Accountant Salesman and so on.
List of Affected Iqama Renewal Profession:
Below are the lists of professions whose Iqama will not be renewal since January 2018 in Saudi Arabia.
- Accountant
- Secretary
- Salesman
- Administrator
- Sales Manager
- Sales Supervisor
- Finance Manager
- Chief Accountant
- Senior Accountant
- Office Manager
- Sales Assistant
- Administration Manager
- Office Boy
- Driver
- Receptionist
- Warehouse Manager
- Forklift Operator
- Logistics Supervisor
- Human Resource Manager
The verification of some professions is still awaited from the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of Saudi Arabia. But it is confirmed that above listed professional Iqama will not be renewed starting from January of 2018.
Saudi Arabia Ban on Expat Engineers with Less Than 5 Years Experience
In addition to this, Engineers with less than five years of experience are also banned from entry in Saudi Arabia as on Engineer Visa. Those engineers, who have more than five years of experience in their professional field, will have to take an exam and face an interview conducted by the Saudi Council of Engineers (SEC).
This news has been updated and will continue to update with developments.