Recruitment and Visa Application Request Template (Saudi Musaned and Qiwa)

Bringing a worker into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not just filling out a form and waiting for a visa. It is a complete file that starts with assessing your financial standing and marital status, runs through the Musaned platform or the Qiwa platform, then the worker’s home country embassy, then a medical exam, and finally the residency stamp on arrival. Every step has a fee, and any delay on a single document can push the worker’s start date back by two or three months.

The bigger problem is that employers, whether individuals recruiting a domestic worker or companies recruiting 30 workers for a construction site, walk into the file without a clear checklist. The result: rejected applications due to a missing housing document, visa fees paid to a broker instead of the official platform, or contracts that do not comply with the Saudi Labor Law. This template solves that mess.

The recruitment request template is ready in Excel and Google Sheets. It covers the data required for the employer and the worker, the document checklist, the actual fee schedule, and the follow-up steps on Musaned and Qiwa. Use it to prepare your file before logging into the platform, then to track each worker after arrival in terms of residency, medical insurance, and GOSI registration.

The Saudi Recruitment System and Its Categories

Recruitment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is regulated by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD), and is divided into four main tracks based on the type of worker and place of employment. Each track has its own electronic platform, conditions, and visa types.

Domestic Recruitment (Household Workers)

Covers workers who serve inside the home: domestic helper, private driver, cook, nanny, house guard, household gardener, household tailor. The official platform is Musaned (musaned.com.sa), and the contract between the family and the worker is a legally protected unified contract. The employer here is an individual, not a commercial entity.

Private Recruitment (Individuals as Sole Proprietors)

Used by small business owners who hold an individual commercial registration to bring in workers for their project: shop, workshop, salon, or office. The platform here is Qiwa (qiwa.sa), and the contract is a labor contract under the Saudi Labor Law.

Corporate Recruitment (Companies and Establishments)

For medium and large commercial entities, handled through Qiwa with commitment to Saudization bands (Nitaqat system). Companies in the Platinum and Green bands recruit easily, while Yellow and Red face restrictions. The number of visas is calculated based on establishment size and Saudization ratio.

Specialized Recruitment

Covers specialized professions: doctors, engineers, teachers, certified public accountants, programmers. It requires certificate attestation (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Saudi Council of Engineers depending on specialty) before the visa is issued. Fees are higher, but processing time is often faster.

Musaned and Qiwa Platforms and the Role of Each

Confusing the two platforms is the most common reason applications get delayed. Each platform has its own scope and limits, and trying to process a request on the wrong platform means immediate rejection.

Musaned Platform (musaned.com.sa)

The official gateway for domestic recruitment by individuals. It allows the head of household to request a visa, select an accredited recruitment office, view standard contracts, track the request from visa issuance through worker arrival, renew contracts, transfer domestic worker services, issue exit and re-entry permits, and report cases of absconding or abuse. Payment is made electronically through SADAD.

Qiwa Platform (qiwa.sa)

The official gateway for managing labor in the private sector. It covers: issuing recruitment visas for establishments, contract authentication, transfer of services between establishments, profession changes, work permit issuance, Saudization services, and leave and compensation. Everything related to non-domestic workers passes through it.

• Musaned: domestic workers only, individual employer, recruitment offices handled through the platform.
• Qiwa: establishment and corporate workers and private business with a commercial registration, the employer is an establishment, integrates with GOSI and Mudad.
• Absher: not a recruitment platform, but required for issuing the residency permit and activating services after arrival.

Legal Requirements for the Employer

Before you think about filling out a request, make sure you are legally eligible. The requirements for domestic recruitment differ from corporate recruitment, and we lay them out here.

Requirements for Recruiting a Domestic Worker (Individuals)

• Age: the employer must be at least 24 years old (with some flexibility in cases of an employed spouse).
• Marital status: married as a general rule, with exceptions for widows, divorced individuals, and the elderly.
• Income: a minimum monthly salary is required, proven by a salary certificate or a GOSI record.
• Housing: a rental contract or ownership deed that can accommodate the worker, uploaded to the platform.
• Number of previous workers: must not exceed the cap allowed based on family size and number of dependents.

Requirements for Recruiting Establishment Workers

• Commercial registration: active and unexpired, registered with the Chamber of Commerce.
• GOSI compliance: the establishment is current on social insurance subscriptions and not suspended.
• Nitaqat: in the Green band or higher to obtain visas smoothly.
• Zakat and tax: Zakat and VAT (15%) paid to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA).
• Job nationalization: compliance with Saudization decisions on closed professions.

Documents Required from the Employer

Preparing documents in advance saves weeks. The table below is a comprehensive checklist, some items are fixed for every track and others apply to a single track.

Electronic Application Steps

The general flow does not vary much between Musaned and Qiwa, but the details differ. The table below summarizes the steps one by one.

Government Fees and the Actual Cost of Recruitment

Employers usually count only the visa fee, then are shocked to discover that the total cost of recruiting a single worker ranges from 9,000 to 18,000 SAR depending on nationality and profession. The table below breaks the fees down transparently.

For domestic recruitment, the cost of a worker from the Philippines is higher than one from Ethiopia or Kenya. The difference comes mainly from the home country’s wages and office fees, not from government charges.

Accredited Recruitment Offices

Choosing the right office makes the difference between an organized experience and a year-long nightmare. Every office must be licensed by MHRSD and listed on the Musaned platform for domestic recruitment, or on an equivalent ministry platform for corporate recruitment.

How to Choose a Reliable Office

• Rating on Musaned: the platform shows a star rating and reviews from previous employers, read them before contracting.
• Completion rate: the percentage of applications where the worker actually arrived. Any office below 80% is a warning sign.
• Average arrival time: good offices land between 6 and 10 weeks. Any office above 14 weeks is stacking up requests.
• Transparent costs: every item is written in the service contract before payment, any amount “outside the platform” is unacceptable.
• Replacement guarantee: the right to replace the worker within 90 days of arrival if they fail to honor the contract.

Warnings You Must Not Ignore

• Any office that asks for cash payment: forbidden, all payments must go through SADAD on the platform.
• Any office that asks for extra documents not listed on the platform: an attempt to complicate the request or inflate the cost.
• A promise of arrival within a week: unrealistic for recruitment, even visit visas take time.

The Visa, Medical Exam, and Arrival

After the visa is issued from the Kingdom, the file moves to a stage the employer does not directly control, but careful follow-up cuts down the time.

Medical Exam in the Worker’s Country

The exam covers: HIV, Hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, pregnancy (for women), heart conditions, and general mental health. GAMCA centers are accredited in most source countries (Philippines, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Egypt, Jordan). Exam results are sent electronically to the Saudi embassy and to the platform.

Visa Stamping at the Saudi Embassy

After the exam is accepted, the worker submits their passport to the Saudi embassy in their country, the visa is stamped, and the office books the flight. This stage takes 5 to 10 business days under normal conditions.

Arrival in the Kingdom

On arrival, the worker goes through: passport and visa verification, fingerprint at the port of entry, customs check of luggage, a repeat medical exam at Saudi Health (to confirm a clean file), then handover to the employer or to a representative of the office. The employer is obligated to receive the worker or arrange someone to receive them at the airport.

Worker Rights upon Arrival

The Saudi Labor Law and international agreements set a minimum standard of rights that cannot be reduced by contract. Ignoring them exposes the employer to penalties.

The Unified Contract

The domestic labor contract is a unified contract published on Musaned, in both Arabic and the worker’s language. It must be signed electronically before the worker arrives, and a copy kept for both parties. Any modification outside the approved clauses is not binding on the worker.

Medical Insurance and GOSI

Every expatriate worker must be registered with a medical insurance company accredited by the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance, and with the occupational hazards branch of the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI). Domestic workers have a reduced insurance program available from some companies, but the core coverage is the same.

Suitable Housing

The domestic worker’s housing is inside the employer’s home in a separate, lockable room. Establishment worker housing must meet the labor housing requirements issued by the ministry (space per person, ventilation, bathrooms, safe cooking).

• Salary: monthly through Mudad (Wage Protection System) without delay.
• Annual leave: 30 days for the domestic worker, 21 days for the establishment worker per the labor law.
• Weekly rest: one day per week.
• Return ticket: at the end of the contract, borne by the employer.

Employer Obligations after Arrival

Recruitment is not a one-time operation. The employer is bound by annual follow-ups, and any expired document exposes them to a financial penalty.

Issuing and Renewing the Residency Permit

The first residency is issued within 90 days of arrival, then renewed annually. Delay in renewal costs late fees and may even suspend the employer’s services on Absher.

Annual Medical Insurance

Renewed before the current residency expires. Many employers forget this item, then are caught off guard unable to renew the residency because the insurance has lapsed.

Sponsorship Transfer or Transfer of Services

Transferring a worker’s services between one employer and another is done through Qiwa or Musaned depending on the track. It requires the consent of both parties and payment of fees, and cannot be denied if the legal conditions are met.

Repatriation at Contract End

At the end of the contract or when the worker wishes to return, the employer issues a final exit visa and provides the return ticket. The employer has no right to withhold the worker’s passport or prevent them from traveling.

The Most Common Mistakes in Recruitment Requests

This list is built from rejection patterns on the platforms. Avoiding them saves months.

• Non-conforming housing document: the rental contract is not authenticated on Ejar or has expired.
• Salary below the minimum: the employer’s income is below the required level, and the spouse’s income is not recognized.
• Choosing an office not accredited in the worker’s country: the office does not cover the Philippines, for example, so the case stalls.
• Trying to bypass the platform: direct payment to the office without SADAD, then no documentation for any amount.
• Delaying the expat medical exam after arrival: exceeding 90 days for residency issuance triggers a fine.
• A labor contract that violates the official template: clauses such as withholding the passport or denying leave are legally void.
• Late GOSI subscription: the worker started before registration, exposing the employer to a violation.
• Failing to renew the visa before the worker arrives: the visa has limited validity, and if it expires before embassy stamping, all fees are forfeited.

Qoyod and the Payroll of Recruited Workers

The phase that begins after the worker arrives is payroll management and accounting, and this is where Qoyod’s payroll system comes in to automate the chain of monthly obligations.

Salary Disbursement through Mudad

Qoyod is compliant with the Wage Protection System (Mudad), generating the monthly WPS file in the format required by the bank, including each worker’s data (number, name, nationality, basic salary, allowances, deductions, net salary). No manual re-entry required.

Monthly GOSI Statement

Qoyod automatically generates the social insurance statement at the required rates: 2% occupational hazards for expats, 21.5% for Saudis (split between employee and employer). The statement is ready to upload to the GOSI portal monthly.

Leave, Exit and Re-entry, End-of-Service

Qoyod calculates leave balance automatically (30 days for the domestic worker, 21 days for the employee per the labor law), and computes the end-of-service benefit using the legal formula (half a month per year for the first five years, one month per year after that).

Related Invoices and Expenses

All recruitment expenses (visa fees, ticket, medical exam, insurance, residency) are recorded in Qoyod under a single accounting entry per worker, so you know exactly the cost of each worker on your establishment and when that cost is recovered through their output. For more details, see the pricing page to choose the plan that suits your number of workers.

• ZATCA integration: office and insurance invoices are recorded in line with Phase Two of e-invoicing at the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA).
• Cost report per worker: aggregates all expenses tied to a single worker from recruitment through end of service.
• 24/7 support: payroll and residency follow-up never stops, and the team is available to answer any accounting question.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to recruit a domestic worker from start to arrival?

Under normal conditions, 6 to 10 weeks from the date visa fees are paid. Filipino nationality and some others may take 10 to 14 weeks due to procedures at the source country’s embassy. A delay in the medical exam or an embassy rejection pushes the request back several more weeks.

Do I need a recruitment office, or can I apply directly?

For domestic recruitment, it must go through an accredited office on the Musaned platform. There is no direct individual recruitment without an office. For corporate recruitment, the company may use its internal office if it has a branch in the worker’s country, but most rely on specialized offices.

What is the difference between a fixed-term and an open-ended contract for expat workers?

An expatriate worker’s contract is always fixed-term, usually two years renewable. There is no open-ended contract for expats, unlike Saudis who may have an open-ended contract. At the end of the contract, it is renewed by mutual consent or terminated with the return ticket.

Am I allowed to hold the worker’s passport?

No. Withholding a worker’s passport is forbidden under the Saudi Labor Law and is considered a violation. The passport is the worker’s personal property and must remain in their possession at all times. You may request a copy to record residency data, but the original stays with the worker.

How much does residency cost annually?

Basic residency renewal fees range from 650 to 1,000 SAR annually. If the employer is an establishment in the Yellow band, monthly expat labor fees are added based on the Saudization ratio. Add to that annual medical insurance fees (1,200 to 2,500 SAR depending on the worker’s age category).

What do I do if the worker absconds right after arrival?

Report the case through Musaned or Qiwa within days of the incident. The platform suspends the worker’s services and registers them as absconded, so they cannot legally transfer services to another employer. Within 90 days of arrival, most offices provide a free replacement.

Can I transfer the worker’s services to another employer?

Yes, through Qiwa for establishment workers or Musaned for domestic workers, with the consent of both parties and payment of transfer fees. There are cases of transfer without the current employer’s consent (delay of more than three months, no GOSI registration, expired residency not renewed), which are legal rights of the worker.

How does Qoyod help me manage recruited workers from an accounting perspective?

Qoyod manages the worker’s full cycle: recording recruitment costs (visa, ticket, exam, office) as an asset or deferred expense, disbursing monthly salaries with a ready Mudad file, generating the monthly GOSI statement, computing end-of-service benefits, and recording annual residency and insurance entries. All of this from a single interface instead of Excel and separate documents per worker.