Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) achieved financial revenues worth SR34.7 billion during the year 2021. The expatriate fee (financial compensation) constitutes a lion’s share of this, amounting to SR26.86 billion.

These include two types of expatriate fee. The employer needs to pay SR800 per month for each foreign worker if the number of foreigners is exceeding the number of Saudis at the establishment. The monthly expatriate fee is SR700 if the foreign workers at the establishment are less than the number of Saudi staff.

Out of the expatriate fee of SR800, SR600 goes to MHRSD while the remaining SR200 goes to the Human Resources Development Fund (HADAF) while the expatriate fee amounting to SR700 goes to MHRSD account.

According to a report of the ministry, the revenues in terms of expatriate fee amounting to SR800, MHRSD received total financial revenues worth about SR20 billion, with an amount of SR600 per each foreign worker while the revenues from the expatriate fee of SR700 received by the ministry reached SR6.86 billion.

The total proceeds from the expatriate fee received by HADAF amounted to SR6.641 billion (SR200 per month).

The Fund also received the proceeds from fines imposed on the private sector establishments for violations of the Labor Law and that amounted to about SR581 million, in addition to about SR38.2 million in terms of fines slapped for the failure of implementing the Nitaqat Saudization program.

The ministry clarified that the revenues in terms of SR600 out of SR800, and SR700 of the monthly expatriate fee, the work permit fee, and the temporary entry visa have been transferred to the current account in the Ministry of Finance at the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), which amounted to SR27.5 billion.

According to the ministry report, a portion of the proceeds from the expatriate fee (SR200 per month), as well as the fines for the violations of the provisions of the Labor Law and Nitaqat Saudization program have been transferred to the Human Resources Development Fund account, and these revenues amounted to a total of SR7.2 billion.