Estimate the monthly fee for a sponsored spouse or child under 18. Not for domestic workers — see why below.
SAR 400/month per dependent · in effect since July 2020[1]
The Saudi dependent levy (companion fee) is SAR 400 per month for each non-Saudi spouse or child under 18 sponsored on your iqama, and has been at that level since July 1, 2020. It does not include domestic workers, who are handled under a separate system — this estimator only covers family dependents.
Who this estimator covers: a sponsored spouse and/or children under 18 (the "companions"/"dependents" category under Ministry of Interior rules). Who it excludes: domestic workers (drivers, housemaids, etc. — recruited via Musaned/HRSD, a different system with different fees we have not verified here), children 18 and over (who cannot remain as standard dependents), and parents (sponsoring parents follows separate, restrictive rules not covered by this page).
Estimate Your Monthly Dependent Levy
Whole number, 0–20. Only children under 18 can be sponsored as dependents.
Whole number, 1–24. The levy is charged in advance in whole-month units — see "Renewal periods and partial months" below.
Spouse0 × SAR 400
Children under 180 × SAR 400
Total Sponsored Dependents0
Monthly FeeSAR 0
Payment Period0 months
Total Estimated LevySAR 0
You have no sponsored dependents entered, so no dependent levy applies.
📖 How to Use This Estimator
This estimator computes the SAR 400/month Saudi dependent levy for a sponsored spouse and/or children under 18. It does not include domestic workers, and it does not connect to Absher, the General Directorate of Passports, or any government record — it only performs the arithmetic below on the numbers you enter.
Enter your sponsored family dependents Select whether a spouse is sponsored, and enter the number of children under 18 who are sponsored on your iqama.
Enter the payment period Enter how many months you want to estimate for (1–24). The fee is charged in whole-month units in advance, so round up to the next full month for any partial month.
Review the breakdown See the fee broken down by spouse and children, the monthly subtotal, and the total for your chosen period.
Confirm the exact amount before paying Use Absher to confirm your exact amount due before making any payment.
Renewal periods and partial months
The dependent levy is collected in advance — typically when your iqama is issued or renewed, or when an exit/re-entry or final exit visa is issued[1]. It is charged per whole month, not prorated by day. If a dependent is sponsored partway through a month, we assume that month counts in full, matching how the fee is understood to be collected. This estimator does not know your specific renewal date — use it to estimate a period you specify, not as a lookup of your actual due date.
📊 Worked Examples
Example 1: Full-year renewal with spouse and two children
Scenario: Ahmed sponsors his wife and two children (ages 5 and 10) in Riyadh, and pays 12 months in advance at his iqama renewal.
Dependent Type
Count
Monthly Fee
Spouse
1
SAR 400
Children
2
SAR 800
Total Monthly
3
SAR 1,200
12-Month Total
SAR 14,400
Example 2: Spouse arriving partway through the iqama period
Scenario: Fatima's spouse joins her in Jeddah with 5 months remaining before her next iqama renewal. She estimates the levy for those 5 remaining months, rounding any partial month up to a full month.
Dependent Type
Count
Monthly Fee
Spouse
1
SAR 400
5-Month Total
SAR 2,000
How this page was built: the SAR 400/month rate and its collection timing are sourced from official Saudi government reporting (see Official Sources below), not from a fixed review schedule. Several practical points below — the exact employer/employee liability split, the current full exemption list, non-payment penalties beyond a blocked renewal, and refund treatment — are commonly reported but were not independently confirmed against a primary source for this page, so they are flagged as unresolved rather than stated as fact. Read more about how we build and check our tools.
📜 Official Sources
[1] Saudi Press Agency — report on the General Directorate of Passports' implementation of the companion/dependent fee, confirming the SAR 400/month rate (in effect since July 1, 2020, after SAR 100 in 2017, SAR 200 in 2018, and SAR 300 in 2019) and that it is collected in advance at iqama issuance/renewal or exit/re-entry/final-exit visa issuance.
[2] Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development — official e-service page for domestic worker visa issuance via Musaned, confirming this is a separate process from the Ministry of Interior's dependent levy (page last modified 2026-07-08).
Absher — the Ministry of Interior's portal for confirming your exact dependent levy amount due and making payment.
Musaned — the official domestic-worker recruitment and residency platform; consult this for any domestic-worker fee, not this page.
⚠️ Limitations
Please read before relying on this estimate:
This is an estimator, not an official checker — it does not connect to Absher, the General Directorate of Passports, or any government record.
It covers only a sponsored spouse and children under 18. It does not cover domestic workers, who follow a separate fee system we have not verified here.
The exemption list (GCC nationals, diplomatic staff, certain professions), the employer/employee liability split, non-payment consequences, and refund treatment are commonly reported but not independently verified against a primary source on this page — confirm your own situation with Absher.
Saudi Utility Hub does not provide legal, financial, immigration, or government services, and nothing on this page is legal advice.
Official verification route: confirm your exact amount due through the "Query about the Financial Consideration for Companions" service on Absher before paying.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Saudi dependent levy and how much is it?
The dependent levy (also called the companion fee) is a fee charged for each non-Saudi spouse or child under 18 sponsored on an expatriate's iqama. It has been SAR 400 per dependent per month since July 1, 2020, after being phased in at SAR 100/month (2017), SAR 200/month (2018), and SAR 300/month (2019). Source: Saudi Press Agency reporting on the General Directorate of Passports announcement.
Does the dependent levy apply to domestic workers?
No. This estimator does not include domestic workers (such as drivers or housemaids), because the SAR 400/month dependent levy applies specifically to companions of expatriate workers, not to domestic labor visas. Domestic workers are recruited and residency-processed through a separate system (the Musaned platform, run by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development), with its own visa and residency fees. We have not found a current primary government source confirming a monthly per-worker fee for domestic workers comparable to the dependent levy, so we do not estimate one — confirm any domestic-worker fees directly through Musaned or Absher.
When and how is the dependent levy collected?
It is collected in advance, typically when an iqama is issued or renewed, or when an exit/re-entry or final exit visa is issued for the sponsor. You can pay for multiple months at once. Source: Saudi Press Agency / General Directorate of Passports.
Does this tool check my exact amount due with the government?
No. This is an independent estimator, not an official checker. It does not connect to Absher, the General Directorate of Passports, or any government system. Always confirm your exact amount due through Absher before paying.
Are there exemptions from the dependent levy?
Some categories, such as dependents of GCC nationals or diplomatic staff, are commonly reported as exempt or treated differently, but we have not independently verified the current, complete exemption list against a primary government source. If you believe you may be exempt, confirm your specific case through Absher rather than relying on this page.
Is the dependent levy the same as the iqama renewal fee?
No, they are different fees charged on different schedules. The iqama renewal fee is a separate cost (see our Iqama Expiry Estimator); the dependent levy is the SAR 400/month-per-dependent fee estimated on this page. Both can be due around the same renewal event.
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⚠️ Disclaimer: All results are estimates based on publicly available Saudi government regulations and rates. Always verify important financial or legal decisions with your employer, bank, or the relevant Saudi authority (Ministry of Human Resources, GOSI, ZATCA, Jawazat, or SAMA).