Iqama Transfer 2026 — Qiwa Sponsor Transfer Checklist

⚙️ Your Transfer Preparation Checklist

This worksheet only organizes the answers you give below. It cannot check Qiwa, HRSD, Nitaqat, or any government system, and it never produces an "eligible," "approved," or "guaranteed" result — only Qiwa and HRSD can determine that.

Please fix the following before continuing:

Do you have a Qiwa job offer/request?

Is the contract status visible in Qiwa?

Has a notice period been shown?

Has the new employer confirmed eligibility in Qiwa?

Is the current work permit/Iqama status confirmed officially?

Has Qiwa displayed an official fee?

Has the employer confirmed who will pay the fee?

Are there unresolved wage or contract disputes?

Official fee (optional)

Official fee shown to you (SAR)

Leave blank if Qiwa hasn't shown you a fee yet. Enter 0 only if the official service displayed zero/no fee.

I confirm this figure is what Qiwa/MOI/SADAD displayed to me directly

Required if you entered a fee above. This worksheet does not supply or guess this number for you.

📊 Your Preparation Summary

This summary reflects only your own answers. It is not an eligibility result, and it does not represent a decision by Qiwa, HRSD, or any government authority.

🚫 What This Worksheet Cannot Do

It cannot check Qiwa, HRSD, Nitaqat, or any government system, and it cannot confirm your new employer's actual eligibility to receive a transfer.
It cannot tell you whether you are legally eligible to transfer, or produce an "approved," "eligible," or "guaranteed" result.
It cannot calculate or split the transfer fee between employer and employee — Article 40 assigns this responsibility, it is not a negotiable split this tool should offer.
It cannot confirm sponsor-consent exceptions, wage-dispute outcomes, or expired-document consequences for your specific case.
It cannot promise or estimate an official processing time.
It never asks for your Iqama number, passport number, employer registration number, login information, or a contract upload.

🔎 Four Different Things People Confuse

1️⃣ A Qiwa job offer

An initial digital offer or transfer request record created in Qiwa by a prospective new employer — the starting point, not a completed transfer.

2️⃣ Employment-contract status

The documented, Qiwa-registered terms of your current employment contract, including whether it has ended, is ongoing, or has a stated notice period.

3️⃣ Employee transfer request

The specific procedural application submitted through Qiwa to change your sponsorship/service from one employer to another — this is the actual transfer mechanism.

4️⃣ Government residence/work-permit records

Your Iqama/Muqeem/Absher records showing legal residency and work-permit validity — a separate system from your contractual employment relationship.

📐 Worked Scenarios

1. Standard transfer request shown in Qiwa

Qiwa offer: Yes. Contract status visible: Yes. New employer eligibility confirmed: Yes. Fee displayed: Yes, SAR 2,000, confirmed as an official screen. No wage dispute. Summary: all checklist items confirmed, fee recorded as entered, no further items flagged — still not an eligibility result.

2. Worker unsure of employer eligibility

Qiwa offer: Yes. New employer eligibility: Not sure. Summary: this item is listed under "still requiring official confirmation," with a prompt to check the new employer's Nitaqat status directly in Qiwa before proceeding.

3. Fee displayed in an official payment flow

Fee displayed: Yes. Official fee entered: SAR 4,000 (a commonly reported second-transfer figure), confirmed as coming from the official screen. Summary: fee recorded as entered, alongside the Article 40 explanation of who is generally responsible for it — no split is calculated.

4. Worker with an unresolved wage dispute

Wage/contract dispute: Yes. Summary: flagged in a separate warning block recommending resolution through Qiwa/HRSD complaint channels; no assumption is made about how this affects transfer eligibility.

📖 What We Could and Could Not Verify

⚖️ Article 40 — fee responsibility

Consistently described across independent legal-guidance sources: the employer (specifically the new employer, for a transfer) bears the service/sponsorship transfer fee, Iqama renewal fee, profession-change fee, and exit-re-entry fee. The worker should not be made to cover these.

Confidence: high — consistently quoted across independent legal sources

💰 Fee schedule

Multiple sources consistently describe an escalating fee by transfer count (commonly cited as SAR 2,000 / 4,000 / 6,000 for the 1st / 2nd / 3rd-and-later transfer), but we did not independently confirm a live, current official fee table. Enter the amount your own official Qiwa/MOI/SADAD screen shows.

Confidence: medium — consistent across sources, not independently verified live

🤝 Consent exceptions

Commonly cited exception conditions include: salary unpaid for 3 consecutive months, the sponsor failing to renew an expired Iqama, a false absconding (huroob) report, the employer falling into the Red Nitaqat range, and proven unsafe/abusive conditions. Whether any applies to a specific case is not something this worksheet decides.

Confidence: medium — reported consistently, not case-verifiable here

🟢🔴 Nitaqat and transfers

A Red-ranked employer is consistently reported to face restrictions on issuing/renewing work visas, and its existing foreign workers are commonly reported to gain an easier path to transfer elsewhere. Exact thresholds changed with a new "Nitaqat Developed" program phase starting April 2026 and are set by HRSD's official system, not by this worksheet.

Confidence: medium — program details are subject to change

⏳ Tenure requirement

Sources commonly cite a minimum period (around 12 months) with the current employer since first entering the Kingdom before an ordinary transfer request, unless an exception condition applies.

Confidence: medium — reported consistently, not independently confirmed against a single primary text

⏱️ Processing time

We found no official processing-time commitment we could confidently cite, and reported figures vary. This worksheet makes no timing promise.

Unconfirmed — no promise made

📋 Documents & Information to Prepare

Your new employment offer/contract terms, as shown in Qiwa.
Confirmation of your current contract status (ended, ongoing, or notice period shown) in Qiwa.
Written confirmation from your new employer of who will pay the Article 40 transfer fee.
A note of the exact fee figure and screen where Qiwa/MOI/SADAD displayed it to you.
Any documentation of unpaid wages or unresolved contract disputes, if applicable.
Confirmation of your current work-permit/Iqama status via Absher or Muqeem.

🔒 Privacy

This worksheet never asks for your Iqama number, passport number, employer registration number, login information, or a contract upload. All answers are processed in your browser only; nothing is sent to any server or stored in localStorage.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Does this worksheet tell me if I'm eligible to transfer?

No. It cannot check Nitaqat status, employer eligibility, or sponsor-consent conditions against any government system. It only organizes what you already know or see in Qiwa into a checklist of what's confirmed and what still needs official confirmation. Only Qiwa and HRSD can determine actual eligibility.

What is Article 40 and who pays the transfer fee?

Article 40 of the Saudi Labour Law is consistently described across independent legal-guidance sources as requiring the employer (specifically the new employer, for a service/sponsorship transfer) to bear costs including the transfer fee, Iqama renewal fee, profession-change fee, and exit-re-entry fee — the worker should not be made to pay these. This worksheet does not offer an employee/employer percentage split for this reason; enter the fee only to record what your official Qiwa/MOI/SADAD screen actually shows.

Can I transfer without my current employer's consent?

Multiple independent legal-guidance sources describe specific exception conditions — such as unpaid salary for 3 consecutive months, the sponsor failing to renew an expired Iqama, a false absconding report, the employer falling into the Red Nitaqat range, or proven unsafe/abusive conditions — that may allow a transfer request without consent. This worksheet cannot confirm whether any of these apply to your case; it only prompts you to check the relevant condition and confirm it in Qiwa or with HRSD.

How much does an employee transfer cost?

Sources consistently describe an escalating government fee schedule based on how many prior transfers a worker has had, but we did not independently verify a live current fee table, and Article 40 places responsibility on the employer, not the worker. This worksheet does not assume any default amount — enter the exact figure your official Qiwa/MOI/SADAD screen displays to you, and confirm it came from that official screen.

What does Nitaqat have to do with my transfer?

Nitaqat classification affects whether an employer can receive or release transfers, but the exact rules were updated with a new program phase starting April 2026 and are determined by HRSD's official system using current employer data — not by this worksheet. Confirm your new employer's current Nitaqat status directly in Qiwa.

What if my employer hasn't paid my salary?

Unpaid wages for an extended period is commonly cited as a condition that can support a transfer request without current-employer consent, and is also a labour-rights issue in its own right. This worksheet flags it as something to resolve or raise through Qiwa/HRSD complaint channels — it does not determine how a wage dispute affects your specific transfer.

What happens if my Iqama or work permit has expired?

We did not find support for treating an expired Iqama as an automatic, penalty-free, or immediate transfer right. Some sources describe the sponsor's failure to renew as one possible exception condition to sponsor-consent requirements, but this depends on your specific circumstances and is confirmed only through Qiwa/HRSD or Absher/Muqeem, not by this worksheet.

Is my information stored or sent anywhere?

No. This worksheet never asks for your Iqama number, passport number, employer registration number, login information, or any contract upload. All answers are processed in your browser only and are not stored in localStorage or sent to any server.

Where do I actually submit my transfer request?

Through Qiwa (qiwa.sa), the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development's official platform for employee transfer requests. This worksheet is a private preparation aid only and is not connected to Qiwa in any way.

How much does it cost to transfer an Iqama sponsorship in Saudi Arabia?

A transfer fee applies, and it is higher for a second and subsequent transfer for the same worker, so the amount shown to you in Qiwa depends on your own transfer history. Fees are payable through the official channels, and any outstanding levies must be settled before the request can complete.

Can I transfer my sponsorship without my employer's approval?

Under the Labour Reform Initiative certain transfers are possible without the current employer's consent where the qualifying conditions are met, such as a completed contract period with a documented wage record, or specific breaches by the employer. Eligibility is decided by Qiwa, not by this worksheet.

How long does an Iqama transfer take?

Once both parties act on the request in Qiwa, processing is usually a matter of days rather than weeks, but incomplete documents, unpaid levies or a Saudization-rate problem at the receiving establishment can stall it. Use the checklist above to clear those items before the request is raised.

Does an Iqama transfer reset my end of service benefit?

A transfer to a new employer starts a new employment relationship, so service with the previous employer is normally settled at that point rather than carried over. Ask the previous employer to settle the gratuity in writing before the transfer completes.

🔗 Official Verification Links

qiwa.sa — Qiwa, the official HRSD platform for employee transfer requests, contract status, and displayed fees.
hrsd.gov.sa — Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, primary regulator for the Labour Law and Nitaqat.
absher.sa — for confirming current Iqama/work-permit status.

⚠️ For qualified review: the exact current fee table, whether a specific consent-exception condition applies to a given case, current Nitaqat thresholds under the program phase launched April 2026, and official processing-time commitments were not consistently confirmed against a single primary source. Confirm all of these directly in Qiwa or with HRSD, and consult a licensed Saudi employment-law professional for anything with legal consequences.

🔧 Related Tools

This worksheet organizes your own answers only. It is not connected to Qiwa, HRSD, Nitaqat, or any government system, and figures mentioned in the background-reading section may change — always verify current details on the official portal. Last reviewed: July 2026.

🔄 Iqama Transfer & Qiwa Sponsor Transfer Checklist