Employer Refusing Your Final Exit Visa in Saudi Arabia: What You Can Do

Final exit after your contract ends

MHRSD announced the Labor Reform Initiative in November 2020, and it took effect on 14 March 2021. Under it:

• Final exit without employer consent. Once your employment contract has ended, you can apply for final exit without your employer's consent. The employer is notified electronically.
• Exit and re-entry without employer approval. You can apply for an exit and re-entry visa yourself, and the employer is notified electronically.
• Where to apply. Both services are available through Absher and Qiwa.
• Consequences of ending the contract. You remain responsible for any financial or other consequences of ending the contract.

In practice, check the end date of your contract on Qiwa first. If the contract has ended, the employer's refusal generally does not block your final exit. Travel bans, debts or absence reports can still affect your exit.

Costs the employer bears

When the employment relationship ends, the employer generally pays your return ticket home (Article 40(1)). There are two exceptions where the cost falls on you (Article 40(2)):

• you were found unfit for work; or
• you choose to return home without a legitimate reason.

The employer also bears the fees for your iqama and work permit and their renewal. It bears any late-payment fines that it caused (Article 40(1)).

Do not let the exit cost you your dues

The pressure to sign a release in exchange for a final exit is real. Leaving the Kingdom does not cancel what your employer owes you, but a release you sign after the contract ends may be used against you. See Signing a Final Settlement.

Before you leave:

1. Download your Qiwa contract, payslips and bank statements.
2. Write down your claim: unpaid wages, end-of-service award, unused leave and ticket.
3. File for amicable settlement with MHRSD, or instruct a lawyer to do so.
4. Arrange a power of attorney so a lawyer can act for you after you leave. See Power of Attorney for a Lawyer in Saudi Arabia.

The deadline still applies after you leave. A claim filed more than 12 months after the end of the employment relationship is not admissible, unless the court accepts an excuse or the employer acknowledges the right (Article 234(a)). See Labor Claim After Leaving Saudi Arabia.

Example

An Indian piping engineer's 2-year contract expired, and the employer did not renew it. HR tells him he will get his final exit only after he signs a settlement for one-third of his end-of-service award, calculated as if he had resigned.

His contract has ended, so he applies for final exit through Absher himself. Before he flies, he signs a power of attorney and files his claim. Article 85's reductions apply to resignation. Where a fixed-term contract simply expires, the award is generally calculated under Article 84 without those reductions, so he claims the full award.

If your status changed to "disconnected from work"

If your employer has filed an absence report, you have 60 days to transfer, leave or sign a new contract before your status becomes "absent from work". Leaving the Kingdom within that window is one of the three options. See Huroob (Absent From Work).

For employers

Once a contract has ended, the worker can generally leave without your consent, so a final exit should not be used as leverage.

Settle the final account on time: within one week if you ended the contract, or two weeks if the worker resigned (Article 88). Provide the return ticket where Article 40 requires it. A settlement extracted as a condition of exit is a weak document in any later claim.