Good News for Kenyans Working in Saudi Arabia as Saudi Govt Makes Major Announcement Over Salaries

Private companies in Saudi Arabia will soon have to count their Saudi employees differently under the Nitaqat Saudisation programme, after the government announced a two-stage rise in the salary level that qualifies a worker for full weighting.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development published the announcement on October 25, 2026. The salary floor will go up from SAR 4,000 to SAR 5,000 on April 25, 2027, and then to SAR 6,000 on April 25, 2028.

The change does not force employers to raise pay. Instead, it affects how Saudi staff are weighted when a company’s Saudisation ratio is calculated.

Nitaqat requires private firms to keep a set share of Saudi workers compared with expatriates, and a Saudi employee earning at or above the floor counts as one full worker.

Firms with Saudi staff paid below the new level may find those workers no longer counted fully, which could hurt their compliance standing.

Some professions have separate requirements that remain in place. Engineering roles carry a SAR 8,000 minimum, marketing and sales jobs SAR 5,500, and housing supervisors SAR 5,000. Engineering firms with five or more engineers must also reach a 30% Saudisation rate.

Advisory firms have urged employers to identify Saudi staff earning below the incoming thresholds, assess how they will be counted and review their recruitment and pay plans.

They should also watch for further ministry guidance on how the calculations will work.

For Kenyans working in the Kingdom, visa and residency rules are unchanged. However, the way employers structure Saudi salaries could shift wage bands and the relative cost of expatriate posts, particularly in engineering and marketing, where Kenyans form part of the skilled workforce.

Separately, the ministry suspended 66 recruitment offices and revoked the licence of another on November 4 over violations and delayed client refunds.

Source; https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19zD3UcsTZ/

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