Sponsorship Transfer in Saudi Arabia: Transfer of Services on Qiwa

What sponsorship transfer means today

Sponsorship transfer (naql kafala) is the move of an expat worker from one establishment to another, and it now runs online through the Qiwa transfer of services rather than at Jawazat as in the past. Since the Labour Reform Initiative, announced by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in November 2020 and in force from 14 March 2021, a transfer is based on an authenticated employment contract and a job offer the worker accepts, with a notice period that protects the current employer.

This page covers professional workers in establishments under the Labour Law. Domestic workers follow a different route on the Musaned platform with different conditions and fees, and the steps below do not apply to them.

Conditions for the new employer

The new employer's eligibility is checked first, and any issue in its file stops the request before it reaches the worker. The main points usually checked are below, and Qiwa shows the conditions that apply to your establishment when you create the request:

• A Nitaqat band that allows receiving transferred workers, not the red band, calculated as an average over a past period rather than on the day you apply.
• Valid work permits across the establishment and others under the same unified number.
• Compliance with the Wage Protection System in recent months and authenticated employee contracts on Qiwa.
• Any additional compliance requirements Qiwa applies to the establishment's case.
• An active commercial registration and establishment files on Qiwa and Muqeem with no suspension.

Required compliance rates change from time to time, so we check the establishment's eligibility on Qiwa before creating any transfer request.

Conditions for the worker

The worker must also be eligible, and the most common reasons for rejection are an incomplete service period or an absence report. The core conditions are:

• The worker is a professional worker under the Labour Law, not a domestic worker.
• The worker has completed 12 months with the current employer since first entering the Kingdom; before that, a transfer needs the current employer's consent.
• The worker is actively on the job; an absence-from-work report blocks the usual route, although Qiwa has a separate route for some cases (see the FAQ).
• There is no other pending transfer request.
• The notice period in the authenticated contract is observed.

When a worker can transfer without employer consent

The system allows a worker to move without the current employer's consent in specific cases, mostly where the employer has failed in its obligations, and Article 35 of the Labour Law also allows a worker's services to be transferred without the consent of an employer that breaches Saudization rules. The main cases where the service-period and consent conditions do not apply are:

• The worker has no authenticated employment contract on Qiwa.
• Wages have not been paid for 3 consecutive months.
• No work permit was issued within 90 days of the worker entering the Kingdom.
• The work permit or iqama has expired.

Outside these cases, a worker who has completed 12 months can move during the contract by observing the notice period, without the current employer's consent.

Steps to transfer a worker's services on Qiwa

The transfer moves through four main stages on Qiwa, followed by the new employer's own steps once it completes:

1. Check eligibility

   Review the new employer's band and compliance, and the worker's status, service period and any reports.

2. Create the job offer

   The new employer creates the transfer of services request on Qiwa with the occupation, salary and contract terms.

3. Worker accepts

   The worker accepts the offer from their personal Qiwa account, with no fee.

4. Current employer notified

   The current employer is notified and the notice period starts; it can shorten it by editing the contract end date.

5. Transfer completes

   After the notice period or the current employer's approval, the worker moves to the new employer, usually within a few working days (indicative).

6. After the transfer

   Authenticate the new contract, pay the work permit and expat levy, and update medical insurance, GOSI and iqama data on Muqeem.

The notice period starts when the worker accepts the offer and the current employer is notified, not from a resignation date. If the remaining contract term is shorter than the notice period, the shorter period applies.

Documents and cost factors

Few documents are needed because most data is already in the government systems, but a missing item still delays the request:

• The worker's iqama number and a copy of the passport.
• An active Qiwa account for the worker.
• The new employer's access to Qiwa and Muqeem, or a delegation for whoever completes the transaction.
• The proposed occupation, salary and contract terms.
• Valid medical insurance for the worker under the new employer after the transfer.

How Grow More handles a sponsorship transfer

We start by checking the eligibility of both the establishment and the worker before any request is created, so it is not rejected or delayed by a condition that could have been fixed first. Grow More is an independent private office, not a government body, and we complete the steps on Qiwa and Muqeem under a delegation or power of attorney that you control.

We never ask for Absher passwords or verification codes. We agree a fixed price on WhatsApp before starting, government fees are paid at cost with receipts, and you pay our fee when the work is done, with a status update at every step in Arabic or English, in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.