Changing Employers in Saudi Arabia Without Your Employer's Consent

After your contract ends

After your employment contract expires, a transfer without the current employer's consent may be available through Qiwa, subject to the applicable conditions. Check the current requirements before relying on a transfer route.

This is why the end date of your contract matters. A non-Saudi's contract is fixed-term (Article 37), and it stays fixed-term however many times it is renewed (Implementing Regulations, Article 12). Check the start and end dates registered on Qiwa, not only the dates in your offer letter.

Example: A piping engineer in Jubail Industrial City is approaching the end of a fixed-term contract and has an offer from another contractor. He checks the registered end date and the current Qiwa transfer requirements before agreeing his new start date.

During your contract

A transfer during the contract may be possible, subject to the current eligibility and notice requirements. Check the conditions applied through Qiwa before resigning or agreeing a start date.

Leaving in the middle of a fixed-term contract can also have financial consequences. If a contract is ended without a legitimate reason, the party harmed can claim compensation (Article 77). Get advice on your contract's terms before you commit to a new employer.

If your employer has filed an absence report

An absence report ("huroob") can affect the available transfer or exit routes. Check your recorded status promptly and confirm the current procedure with MHRSD or Qiwa.

• Check whether your status is recorded as disconnected from work or absent from work.
• Transfer eligibility and the steps required from you and the new employer depend on the current rules and your circumstances.
• Act promptly: missing an applicable deadline can change your status and options.

If you are already recorded as absent from work, ask MHRSD or Qiwa which correction, transfer or exit route is currently available. Do not assume that an older procedure still applies.

See Huroob (Absent From Work).

What a transfer does not settle

Changing employers deals with your status. It does not settle what your old employer owes you. Unpaid wages, your end-of-service award and unused leave are separate claims.

Those claims start with amicable settlement at MHRSD. A claim filed more than 12 months after the employment relationship ends is not admissible, unless the court accepts an excuse or the employer acknowledges the right (Article 234(a)). See How to File a Labor Complaint.

A non-compete clause is also a separate question. It binds you only if it meets Article 83. See Non-Compete Clauses.

If you are leaving because of the employer's breach

If you are leaving because your salary has not been paid, or another Article 81 ground applies, you may be able to leave without notice and keep your statutory rights. That depends on proving the ground. Without proof, your employer may present your departure as a resignation or as absence. See Article 81.

Practical checklist

1. Screenshot your Qiwa contract, including its start and end dates.
2. Check your current Qiwa status: active, disconnected from work, or absent from work.
3. Do not stop going to work before your transfer route is clear. Unexplained absence can lead to an absence report.
4. Keep your payslips and bank statements for any money claim.
5. Ask the new employer to submit the transfer only once the conditions are met.

For employers

Track contract end dates on Qiwa and decide on renewals in good time. Transfer eligibility after expiry depends on the current requirements.

An absence report ("huroob") can affect the available transfer or exit routes. Check your recorded status promptly and confirm the current procedure with MHRSD or Qiwa.