What changed on 15 April 2026
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced that, from 15 April 2026, Saudisation calculations under Nitaqat would be based on employment contracts electronically documented through the Qiwa platform. The ministry's notice identifies documentation of Saudi employees' contracts as a fundamental requirement for their inclusion in the Nitaqat calculation.
This is a significant operational change. An employer may have the correct number of Saudi employees on its payroll, but if those employees' contracts are not documented on Qiwa, they may not count towards the establishment's Saudisation percentage. Headcount alone is no longer sufficient: documentation status matters equally.
How Qiwa contract documentation works
Qiwa is the Ministry's digital platform for employment services. Contract documentation on Qiwa involves uploading or recording the terms of employment for each Saudi employee in a format the platform recognises. The process requires both employer and employee to interact with the platform, and there are steps that the employee must complete to confirm the documented terms.
Employers should audit their current documentation status across all Saudi employees, not just new hires. Existing employees whose contracts have not been documented on Qiwa may need to go through the documentation process. Where employees are on secondment, part-time arrangements or fixed-term contracts, confirm how those arrangements are treated under the documentation requirements.
Nitaqat Mutawar: the new three-year phase
Separately from the documentation change, the ministry announced a new three-year phase of Nitaqat Mutawar starting in 2026. The programme targets more than 340,000 additional jobs for Saudi nationals across the economy. This is a programme target — a policy objective — not a count of jobs already created or a guarantee of specific outcomes for individual employers.
Nitaqat Mutawar introduces updated Saudisation targets for certain activities and establishment sizes. The applicable targets depend on the establishment's activity classification and its current band. Employers should check the current targets for their specific activity rather than applying a universal percentage, because Saudisation requirements vary significantly across sectors.
Reviewing your establishment's classification
An establishment's Nitaqat band — Platinum, High Green, Low Green, Yellow or Red — determines the practical consequences of its Saudisation performance. Establishments in higher bands have more flexibility in hiring decisions; those in lower bands face restrictions on work permit renewals and other services.
The classification is calculated based on the establishment's activity, size and the proportion of Saudi employees. Because the calculation now depends on documented contracts rather than payroll records alone, an establishment that was previously in a comfortable band may find its position has changed if documentation gaps exist.
Check the establishment's current classification through official channels — the Qiwa platform and the ministry's Nitaqat calculator — rather than relying on a previous assessment. Resolve documentation gaps before the next calculation cycle.
Practical steps for HR and compliance teams
The immediate priorities are: audit all Saudi employees' contract documentation status on Qiwa; identify and resolve any gaps; confirm the establishment's current Nitaqat classification; and check the applicable Saudisation targets for the establishment's activity under the updated Nitaqat Mutawar framework.
For planned hiring, model the Saudisation impact against the establishment's current profile before making offers. Where the establishment is close to a band boundary, understand what documentation or hiring changes would affect the classification. Build Qiwa documentation into the standard onboarding process for new Saudi employees so that gaps do not accumulate.