Nitaqat Program: Who Qualifies and What You Get
Learn how the Nitaqat Program classifies your company's Saudization status and how it affects your ability to manage employee visas.
The Nitaqat Program is a regulatory system used to classify companies based on how many local citizens they employ relative to their total workforce. This classification helps the government manage national employment goals through a structured rating system.
Who it's for
This program is mandatory for all companies operating within the country that have employees on their payroll. Regardless of the size of your business, if you employ staff, your company will be part of this classification system.
What you get
The primary benefit of this program is receiving an official classification of your company's Saudization status. This status acts as a formal indicator of your business's compliance with national employment requirements. Knowing your specific classification helps you understand where your business stands regarding national workforce participation targets.
What it costs you
Compliance is not a one-time task; it requires ongoing effort and management. To stay within the required categories, you must engage in constant monitoring of your staff ratios. This means you will need to regularly review your hiring data and workforce composition to ensure your local to foreign employee balance remains within the permitted limits.
The catch to know
The most critical thing to understand is that your classification directly impacts your business operations. If your company's status falls into the "Red" or "Yellow" zones, you will face severe limitations. Most notably, being in these zones can prevent you from being able to issue new visas for employees, which can significantly disrupt your ability to staff your business.
How to apply
- Review your current list of employees to determine your total workforce numbers.
- Calculate the ratio of local citizens to total employees in your business.
- Monitor these ratios continuously to avoid falling into restricted zones.
- Check your official status through the government's digital services.