Work Permits & Labour Cards in the GCC, done for you

The sponsor pays. UAE Federal Decree-Law on Labour Relations, Saudi Labour Law, Qatar Law No. 21 of 2015, Bahrain LMRA Act, Oman Labour Law, and Kuwait Private Sector Labour Law all place the work-permit fee and the annual levy or monthly fee squarely on the employer. Saudi Arabia's SAR 9,600 expat levy and Bahrain's BHD 5 monthly LMRA fee in particular cannot be recovered from the worker through deductions, and a deduction shown on the payslip is grounds for a complaint at MOHRE, Qiwa, MADLSA, LMRA, MOL Oman, or PAM with restitution and a fine on the employer.

The work permit is the labour ministry's authorisation to work for a named sponsor in a named role; the residence visa is the interior ministry's authorisation to live in the country. The two are linked and usually move together, but they are issued by different authorities, refused for different reasons, and renewed under different rules. A work permit can be valid while the residence is in renewal limbo for an insurance gap, and a residence can be valid while the work permit is suspended for a Nitaqat or LMRA quota breach. End-of-service rights, gratuity, and absconding all attach to the work permit, not the residence.

Yes in the UAE under the part-time work permit and the freelance permit introduced under the Federal Decree-Law on Labour Relations, and yes in Saudi Arabia with employer consent under the multi-employer arrangement on Qiwa. Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait require single-sponsor work, although Qatar allows a secondary permit for specific seasonal categories and Bahrain previously allowed multi-employer flexi work before the 2023 closure. Working outside your registered sponsor without a second permit is a deportable offence in every country, even if the second job is unpaid or short-term.

Cancellation triggers a grace period to find a new sponsor, transfer status, or leave. The UAE allows 60 days from cancellation. Saudi Arabia allows 60 to 90 days depending on the cancellation category and the worker can apply for a final exit or transfer through Qiwa. Qatar grants 30 days but the worker can extend through MOI on payment. Bahrain gives 30 days from cancellation. Oman gives 30 days. Kuwait expects almost immediate exit unless a transfer is filed before cancellation. During the grace period the worker cannot legally work, and any income must be deferred to the new sponsorship.

From 2024 most private-sector work permits in Qatar moved from a one-year cycle to a two-year cycle, cutting renewal fees and reducing the frequency of medical and biometric checks. The post-2020 NOC-free transfer remains, with one month's notice in the first two years of employment and two months thereafter, and the new role's salary must fit the MADLSA profession scale. The reform did not extend to family RP, which remains annual under MOI, and it did not abolish gratuity, which still accrues on basic salary in the authenticated contract from day one and is paid at termination.

Gratuity is calculated on the basic salary in the contract authenticated on Qiwa (Saudi Arabia), MOHRE (UAE), MADLSA (Qatar), LMRA (Bahrain), MOL Oman, or PAM (Kuwait). UAE pays 21 days' basic per year for the first five years and 30 days thereafter, capped at two years' pay. Saudi Arabia pays half a month per year for the first five years and a full month thereafter. Qatar pays three weeks per year. Bahrain pays 15 days for the first three years and one month thereafter. Oman pays one month per year. Kuwait pays 15 days for the first five years and one month thereafter, capped at one and a half years' pay. Payment is due on final settlement, usually within 14 days of cancellation.

An absconding report cancels the work permit, the residence, and every family dependant linked to it, and accrues fines until lifted. In the UAE the worker has 14 days to challenge the report at MOHRE with attendance records, WPS proof, and witness statements. In Saudi Arabia the huroob report is challenged at Qiwa with documented wage transfers on Mudad and attendance logs; a successful challenge restores Iqama but the worker still typically needs a new sponsor. In Kuwait the PAM tagheeb report is challenged through a complaint at the labour office. Successful lifting restores the labour history but past arrears must still be cleared.

The authenticated contract on file with the labour authority rules. Qiwa contract authentication, mandatory in Saudi Arabia since 2021 and extended to all private-sector contracts in 2024, is now the legal source of truth: any divergence between the offer letter and the Qiwa contract resolves in favour of the Qiwa text, including salary, job title, gratuity base, and termination clause. The UAE MOHRE contract, the Qatar MADLSA contract, the Bahrain LMRA contract, and the Oman MOL contract play the same role. Review the authenticated contract before signing and refuse to start work until the figures match the offer letter.

No. Domestic workers (housemaids, drivers, cooks, nannies, gardeners) are governed by separate laws: Tadbeer in the UAE under MOHRE, Musaned in Saudi Arabia under HRSD, the MADLSA domestic-worker portal in Qatar, LMRA Expat Management System for household workers in Bahrain, the ROP household route in Oman, and PAM domestic-labour in Kuwait. The contract is unified and bilingual, the salary must run on the country's wage-protection channel (Musaned in Saudi, WPS in the UAE), and the worker's rights to weekly rest, paid leave, and end-of-service gratuity are codified. Hiring outside the platform is now a fineable offence with deportation consequences in every GCC state.

The Saudi expat levy is a fee paid by the employer for each non-Saudi worker, SAR 9,600 per worker per year for typical establishments where expats outnumber Saudis. It is paid in advance on the SADAD system through Qiwa before the work permit and Iqama can be renewed. Establishments with Saudis equal to or exceeding expats pay a lower SAR 7,200 rate. Late payment accrues penalties and blocks all renewals across the company until cleared. The levy is on top of the visa-issuance fee, the Iqama issuance fee, and the work-permit issuance fee, and it is legally non-deductible from the worker's salary.

Nitaqat ranks each Saudi private-sector establishment into Platinum, Green Mid, Green Low, or Red bands based on the ratio of Saudis to expats within the activity. A Platinum or Green Mid company can renew permits and hire freely. A Green Low company faces caps. A Red company cannot renew work permits at all and cannot issue new ones; workers in a Red company are free to transfer through Qiwa without consent. The 2024 recalibration raised Saudisation thresholds for retail, accounting, healthcare administration, and engineering, recategorising many compliant firms downward overnight. Check the employer's current band on Qiwa before signing an offer or moving family.