SAUDIZATION: A Glimpse on Nitaqat Program

Nitaqat is a government program of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, purposely implemented by the Ministry of Labor in order to enhance the labor force of the Saudi Nationals.  At the advent of its announcement, foreign workers were not bothered too much. 
 
Why? It is simply because they heard about this a long time ago even during the 80’s, 90’s, and the year 2000.  And it was not materialized.  Indeed, The Nitaqat Program or better known as Saudization was not implemented within the said years.  Thus, when they heard about it, they didn’t pay much attention.  It was just ordinary news for the expats. 
 
However, it becomes headlines for the entire Kingdom nowadays, because this time, the Saudi Government is serious about the Saudization.  The Ministry of Labor laid out their entire plan concerning this.  Some foreign workers deferred their vacation, because they are very afraid that they will not be able to go back in Saudi and continue their work. Instead they decided to stay, in order to save their job. But the problem is, even they chose to stay and do not go for vacation, they cannot but be affected by the Saudization.

In the Nitaqat program, basically, all companies are categorized into four colors, namely, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Red.  If one’s company is categorized as Blue, this is the excellent company.  Meaning, it won’t be affected by Saudization because this kind of company reaches the required number of Saudi employees. 
 
The company that belongs to Green Zone is in the safe category, for in this zone, the company has reached the required number of Saudi employees. If the numbers of employees are 10-49, then the company must achieve minimum 5 – 24% of Saudization in order to be qualified for the Green category.
 
If the company has employees more than 50 and less than 499, then the Saudization percentage will be 6-27%. If number of employees in between 500 – 2999, then the Saudization percentage will be 7-30%. If the company has more than 3000 employees, then it will be 8-30%. 
 
The companies that do not reach the required percentage of Saudi employees will fall to Yellow Zone.  Here, the Ministry of Labor has given them a chance to hire Saudis and they can renew their visas which are issued to their employees for up to six years for each foreign employee. 
 
Take note.  This is retroactive. Meaning, those who are already staying for six or more years will not be given a chance to renew their Iqama or the Resident Visa. 

The RED companies, however, will not be allowed to renew their working visas for their foreign employees until November 26, 2011.

The complete information regarding this program can be found at the Official Website of the Ministry of Labor. This article simply aims to take a glimpse on the Nitaqat Program, popularly known for the expats as SAUDIZATION.