Nitaqat is the system Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) uses to score each private-sector employer on how many Saudi nationals it employs. The score puts the employer in a colour band, and the band decides which ministry services the employer can use, including new visas and work permit renewals for foreign staff. Saudization is the wider policy; Nitaqat is the scoring tool that enforces it.
If you work in Saudi Arabia or are applying for a job there, your employer’s band can affect your hiring, your permit renewal and whether you can change job title. This guide explains how the system works as of November 2026, using the ministry’s own documents and recent legal briefings.
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change often; confirm anything that affects you with MHRSD or on the Qiwa platform.
Saudization: the legal starting point
The obligation comes from the Saudi Labor Law. The ministry’s knowledge centre summarises Article 26: every establishment, whatever its size, must work to attract and employ Saudis, and Saudi workers must make up at least 75% of its total workforce. The same article lets the minister lower that share for a time when the skills or qualifications needed cannot be found among citizens.
In practice, almost no sector is held to a flat 75%. The minister sets lower, sector-specific targets, and Nitaqat is the way those targets are measured and enforced.
How Nitaqat calculates an employer’s rate
The current version is known as Nitaqat Mutawar, or the Developed (sometimes “Evolved”) Nitaqat Program. Its legal basis is Ministerial Decision No. 182495, dated 11 Shawwal 1442 AH (23 May 2021). MHRSD’s procedural guide sets out the main mechanics:
- The unit is the “entity”, not the branch. An entity means all branches of the same economic activity owned by one firm. The ministry uses the entity for Saudization calculations, recruitment and service transfers.
- The rate is a simple ratio. The average number of Saudi employees across the entity’s branches is divided by the average total of Saudi and expatriate employees, then multiplied by 100.
- “Expatriate” has a specific meaning. The guide defines an expatriate as an employee who is not a GCC citizen.
- Targets rise smoothly with size. The old fixed size brackets were removed. The minimum rate for each band is set by a formula, y = m × ln(x) + c, where x is the entity’s total workforce and m and c are constants set for each economic activity.
The formula matters because there is no longer a safe headcount bracket to sit inside. Each extra hire nudges the required percentage up a little, so a growing company has to keep adding Saudi staff to hold its band.
Not every Saudi employee counts as one
According to a September 2026 briefing by the law firm Al Tamimi & Company, a Saudi employee’s weight in the calculation depends on monthly wage:
| Saudi employee’s monthly wage | Counts in Nitaqat as |
|---|---|
| SAR 4,000 or more | One employee |
| Above SAR 3,000 but below SAR 4,000 | Half an employee |
| SAR 3,000 or less | Not counted |
Other weighting rules exist for particular groups. We have not been able to confirm the current values on an official page, so check the ministry’s procedural guide before relying on any of them.
Nitaqat categories and what each one allows
There are five bands. Red applies when an entity’s rate is below the Low Green threshold; Platinum applies at or above the Platinum threshold. The table below combines MHRSD’s procedural guide with the 2026 position reported by Al Tamimi.
| Band | New visas for expatriates | Profession (job title) changes | Work permit renewals | Receiving workers by service transfer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| High Green | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Medium Green | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Low Green | Suspended | Suspended | Yes | Not restricted in Al Tamimi’s 2026 summary; not listed in the 2023 ministry guide |
| Red | No | No | No, including for existing expatriate staff | No |
Clyde & Co, writing in June 2026, notes that the band structure itself did not change in 2026, but the entry thresholds are no longer uniform: they now vary by sector and are fixed for 2026 to 2028.
What changed in 2026
On 19 February 2026, MHRSD announced a new three-year phase of the programme starting in 2026, with the aim of localising more than 340,000 additional private-sector jobs for Saudi men and women. The ministry said it studied every sector and set targets according to the nature of the work and market conditions.
Legal briefings on the 2026 procedural guide, which Al Tamimi says MHRSD issued on 22 January 2026, highlight these points:
- The phase applies from April 2026 to December 2028.
- The exemption for entities with fewer than six employees has gone. Nitaqat now applies regardless of size, although an entity with fewer than six employees needs to employ only one Saudi national.
- Economic sectors have been consolidated, and Saudization is assessed across all branches doing the same activity, so restructuring or headcount changes at one site can affect the whole entity.
Profession-specific Saudization rules
Alongside Nitaqat’s overall percentage, the ministry issues decisions that reserve a share of particular jobs for Saudis. These apply to the profession, not just the company total. Al Tamimi’s September 2026 overview lists the following:
| Area | Required Saudi share | Conditions reported |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative support | 100% | 69 professions; some from 5 April 2026, the rest after a grace period to 4 October 2026 |
| Procurement | 70% | Entities with 3 or more employees in these roles |
| Engineering | 30% | 5 or more employees; minimum wage SAR 8,000; Saudi Council of Engineers accreditation; 46 professions |
| Marketing | 60% | 3 or more employees; minimum wage SAR 5,500 |
| Sales | 60% | 3 or more employees; minimum wage SAR 5,500 |
| Tourism | 50% to 100% | Phased by profession, continuing through 2027 |
| Project management | 70% | 3 or more employees; from 14 February 2027 |
MHRSD announced the project management decision itself on 16 August 2026: a 70% Saudization rate from 14 February 2027 for private-sector establishments with three or more workers in project management manager, engineer and specialist roles. Effective dates and the exact job codes covered are set in each decision, so treat the table as a starting point, not a complete list.
What Nitaqat means for you as an employee or job seeker
Nitaqat is aimed at employers, but foreign staff feel its effects directly. The practical points:
- Your employer’s band affects your work permit. A Red-band entity cannot issue or renew work permits for existing expatriate staff. A work permit that cannot be renewed creates problems for the residence permit and everything linked to it.
- Job title changes can be blocked. Low Green and Red employers cannot change an expatriate’s profession. Al Tamimi also reports that employees in fully Saudised professions are generally restricted from changing profession on Qiwa, and that the firm saw restrictions on some sales and marketing roles after the 2026 rate changes.
- Moving to a new employer depends on the new employer’s band. A Red-band entity cannot receive workers by service transfer. Before you accept an offer that involves a transfer, ask the hiring company whether it can complete one.
- Your job title on paper matters. If your iqama profession falls in a localised category, your employer may face limits even if your day-to-day work is different. Make sure your contract and your registered profession describe the role you actually do.
- Some roles now have a pay floor for Saudi hires. For example, the engineering decision reported by Al Tamimi requires a minimum wage of SAR 8,000 for Saudis to count. That changes what companies budget for those roles and which positions they open to expatriates.
Questions worth asking an employer in Saudi Arabia
- Which Nitaqat band is the entity in at the moment?
- Is the profession on my offer covered by a localisation decision?
- If I am transferring from another employer, can you receive a service transfer now?
Employers can estimate their current or expected band with MHRSD’s free Nitaqat calculator, which is reached through a Qiwa sign-in. Because it sits behind an employer sign-in, employees will usually need to ask HR for the result.
For Saudi job seekers
The policy is designed to open private-sector roles to citizens, and the profession-specific decisions show where demand is being directed: administrative support, procurement, sales, marketing, engineering, tourism and project management. Because a Saudi employee paid SAR 4,000 or more counts fully, employers have a clear incentive to offer at least that wage. If you are applying in these fields, name the exact job title the employer uses in its advert and show the qualification or accreditation the decision requires, such as Saudi Council of Engineers accreditation for engineering roles.
Before you apply, run your CV through an ATS resume score checker to see how closely its job titles and skills match the advert’s wording.
For employers
If you hire in Saudi Arabia, your recruitment plan has to start from your band and the localisation decisions that apply to each role. Advertising Saudization-target roles clearly and reaching qualified national candidates early is easier than correcting a band after the fact. Employers can find recruitment information on the resumebuilder.ae/ employer portal.
Expatriate candidates preparing for the Saudi market can format their application for Gulf recruiters with the international resume builder.
Frequently asked questions
What does Nitaqat mean?
Nitaqat is the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development’s system for scoring private-sector employers on their share of Saudi employees. The ministry’s English-language guide calls the five bands “Nitaqat ranges”.
What are the Nitaqat categories?
Platinum, High Green, Medium Green, Low Green and Red. Platinum and the two higher green bands get full ministry services; Low Green loses new visas and profession changes; Red also loses work permit issuance and renewal for expatriates and cannot receive service transfers.
Do GCC nationals count as expatriates under Nitaqat?
No. The ministry’s procedural guide defines an expatriate as an employee who is not a GCC citizen.
Can I see my employer’s Nitaqat band myself?
The ministry’s Nitaqat calculator is an employer service accessed through Qiwa. As an employee, ask your HR department which band the entity is in.
Does Nitaqat apply to small companies?
According to legal briefings on the 2026 procedural guide, the exemption for entities with fewer than six employees has been removed. Such entities need to employ one Saudi national.
Sources
- Developed Nitaqat Program (procedural guide), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, Saudi Arabia
- Launch of a new phase of the Nitaqat Mutawar Program, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, Saudi Arabia
- Support National Competencies / Nationalization (Labor Law Article 26), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, Saudi Arabia
- Nitaqat Calculator, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Arabia’s 2026/2027 Saudisation Overview, Al Tamimi & Company
- Saudi Arabia’s Developed Nitaqat Programme: Key updates from May 2026, Clyde & Co
- Decision to raise the Saudization rate for project management professions to 70% (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, Saudi Arabia)