Saudi Arabia: Requirement to Show Tenancy Agreement for Work Permit Applications

Pursuant to a Ministerial Decision, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Labour and Social Development has announced that a tenancy agreement authenticated by the Ministry of Housing is now required for work permit renewals. Authentication will be carried out through the e-platform Ejar, by which lease agreements will be registered with the Ministry of Housing. Only contracts prepared in a template provided by Ejar will have legal and administrative effect.

Initial work permit applications (as opposed to renewals) will also be subject to this requirement, although the implementation date of this change to those applications has not yet been announced.

Comment

The change will add to the cost of obtaining right-to-work status and will likely complicate matters for those who share accommodations.

Written by Anna Marshall and Samir Kantaria of Al Tamimi & Co. and Roger James of Ogletree Deakins

© 2019 Al Tamimi & Co. and Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart, P.C.