Saudi Arabia issued 1.4 million recruitment visas for the private sector by the end of 2016, down by 29 percent year-on-year (YoY), the first decline in three years, data from the Ministry of Labor and Social Development showed.
Recruiting foreign workers has been tied to “Taqat” employment programs to ensure that Saudization requirements have been met before visas are issued to expatriates, the ministry’s annual report said.
Visas issued for domestic workers rose 14 percent YoY to 1.14 million visas, while 142,800 visas were given to public sector workers, up 81 percent YoY.
The number of expat workers who shifted jobs from one employer to another in 2016 reached 480,000, down 21 percent YoY.
|
Saudi Visas |
||||||
|
Year |
Private sector |
Public sector |
Domestic workers |
|||
|
Number |
Variation |
Number |
Variation |
Number |
Variation |
|
|
2010 |
1,061,717 |
+14% |
565,537 |
+14% |
68,297 |
+12% |
|
2011 |
1,181,911 |
+11% |
647,796 |
+15% |
110,223 |
+61% |
|
2012 |
1,586,532 |
+14% |
828,485 |
+28% |
125,909 |
+14% |
|
2013 |
950,252 |
(40%) |
714,593 |
(14%) |
57,007 |
(55%) |
|
2014 |
1,574,504 |
+66% |
847,927 |
+19% |
104,466 |
+83% |
|
2015 |
1,972,391 |
+25% |
995,930 |
+17% |
78,882 |
(24%) |
|
2016 |
1,403,731 |
(29%) |
1,137,500 |
+14% |
142,824 |
+81% |
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