Saudi Arabia has approved a major relief measure for foreign workers employed in its industrial sector by scrapping the expatriate levy, commonly referred to as the iqama or work permit fee, for licensed industrial establishments.
The decision was endorsed by the Council of Ministers in a meeting chaired by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, following a recommendation from the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, according to Saudi media reports.
The policy change comes as Saudi Arabia remains a key destination for foreign labor, particularly from Pakistan. In November alone, the Kingdom was Pakistan’s top source of remittances, with overseas Pakistanis sending $753 million, ahead of the United Arab Emirates at $675 million.
Between 2020 and 2024, an estimated 1.88 million Pakistani workers went to Saudi Arabia, up from 1.56 million in the 2015–2019 period, an increase of around 21 percent. Islamabad is now looking to double its annual manpower exports to the Kingdom to about one million workers a year, following the signing of a major defense cooperation agreement in September.
Pakistani labour in Saudi Arabia has traditionally been concentrated in construction, related trades, healthcare, and hospitality. However, the federal government is seeking to broaden this footprint into additional sectors, a push that could align with the Kingdom’s expanding and increasingly high-tech industrial base.
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