Saudi Cabinet scraps expat levy for licensed industrial facilities

The Saudi Cabinet’s decision came in the efforts to bolster the national industrial sector

The Saudi Cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, approved the abolition of fees imposed on expatriate labor in licensed industrial facilities, based on a recommendation submitted by the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA).

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the decision underscores the support and empowerment provided to the industrial sector by the Kingdom’s leadership.

It came within the framework of the Crown Prince’s commitment to enabling national factories, enhancing their sustainability and global competitiveness, and achieving the Kingdom’s ambitious vision to build a competitive and resilient industrial economy, with industry serving as a key pillar of economic diversification under Saudi Vision 2030.

According to data available on Argaam, the Saudi Cabinet decided to cover the incremental cost of expatriates working in all licensed industrial facilities for five years, effective Oct. 1, 2019. The period had been later extended in August 2024 through Dec. 31, 2025.

In early January 2018, the Kingdom had begun enforcing new levies on expat workers, in line with the Fiscal Balance Program launched end of 2017.

The fees set until January 2020 ranged between SAR 300 and SAR 700 per month per employee, if the number of expats does not exceed the number of nationals — and between SAR 400 and SAR 800 if they outweigh nationals.