Saudization Changes Tracker: Rules and Date Updates
This tracker logs every Saudization rule change and every correction to this hub, newest first, with the date and source. It starts with the hub's launch on 6 October 2026 and the verified 2026 changes: grace period end for administrative support on 4 October, the project management decision announced 16 August, and the rules that took effect from January to June 2026.
This tracker has two logs. The first records changes to Saudization rules, rates and dates. The second records corrections to this hub. Both run newest first. Use it with the Saudization calendar, which lists upcoming dates, and with Saudization in 2026, which explains each rule.
How do I keep track of Saudization changes?
Check this page and the calendar. Entries show three kinds of date: the decision date, the announcement date and the effective date, so you can tell a rule that was issued from one that is enforceable. Our methodology page explains how we verify each fact and what the confidence ratings mean.
Rule changes log
| Date | Change | Type | Pages affected | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Oct 2026 | Independent fact audit of every page against MHRSD, SPA, HRDF, MoH and law-firm sources. Corrected: Qiwa contract limit wording (sixth contract, not fifth); pharmacy and dental thresholds count workers in those professions; accounting shown as 40% now, 50% from 27 Oct 2026, 60% from 27 Oct 2027; grace periods run from the decision or the announcement depending on the rule; Low Green restrictions and entity assessment date from the 2021 guide; 2022 customer service and postal outlet decisions added; sales salary floor conflict disclosed; UAE contribution and fine rules clarified; official Arabic occupation and program names | Correction | Rates, calendar, Qiwa contracts, salary thresholds, Nitaqat | MHRSD, SPA, MoH, HRDF, Al Tamimi, KPMG |
| 9 Oct 2026 | New guides: Saudization certificate, official sources directory, HR and recruitment roles, and Saudization vs Emiratisation, with Arabic versions plus Arabic pages for small establishments, the Nitaqat calculator and Qiwa contracts. Qiwa contract rule now also cited to MHRSD's own announcement | New pages | Certificate, Official sources, HR and recruitment, Saudization vs Emiratisation, Qiwa contracts | MHRSD, SPA, UAE Government Portal |
| 6 Oct 2026 | StrongYes Saudization Hub launches, with the rates database at version 2026.10.06 | Hub launch | Rates, calendar | StrongYes editorial desk |
| 4 Oct 2026 | Grace period ends for the select group of administrative support professions; all 69 are now enforceable | Grace period end | Administrative support | MHRSD, BAL, Al Tamimi |
| 16 Aug 2026 | MHRSD announces the 70% project management rule, Ministerial Decision No. 41454 of 13 August 2026, effective 14 February 2027 | New decision | Project management | MHRSD |
| 30 Jun 2026 | Engineering rule takes effect: 30%, 46 professions, SAR 8,000, Saudi Council of Engineers accreditation | Effective date | Engineering | MHRSD, Clyde & Co |
| 18 Jun 2026 | MHRSD publishes news on implementation of the 70% procurement rate | Announcement | Procurement | MHRSD |
| 31 May 2026 | Procurement rule takes effect: 70%, 12 professions | Effective date | Procurement | MHRSD |
| 11 May 2026 | Wellness centers and spas: administrative roles at 100%, 30 job titles | Effective date | Wellness centers and spas | Clyde & Co |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Tourism phase 1 begins | Effective date | Tourism | MHRSD |
| 19 Apr 2026 | Marketing and sales rules take effect at 60%, after a three-month grace period | Effective date | Marketing, sales | MHRSD |
| 5 Apr 2026 | Administrative support: 100% takes effect for the first group of professions | Effective date | Administrative support | BAL, Al Tamimi |
| April 2026 | The Developed Nitaqat cycle begins and runs to December 2028; entity-level assessment; small-entity exemption removed | Program change | Nitaqat, small establishments | Al Tamimi |
| 1 Feb 2026 | Housing supervisors: 100% in collective housing for 20+ residents | Effective date | Housing supervisors | Clyde & Co |
| 27 Jan 2026 | Dentistry phase 2: 55%, up from 45% | Rate change | Dentistry | Ministry of Health, Clyde & Co |
| 19 Jan 2026 | MHRSD publishes the 60% marketing and sales decisions (English version 26 January) | Announcement | Marketing, sales | MHRSD |
| 4 Jan 2026 | MHRSD publishes the engineering and procurement localization decisions (English version 21 January) | Announcement | Engineering, procurement | MHRSD |
| January 2026 | MHRSD publishes the 2026 edition of the Developed Nitaqat procedural guide | Guide update | Nitaqat | MHRSD |
Earlier background: on 21 April 2025, MHRSD and the Ministry of Tourism announced the localization of 41 tourism professions in three phases, starting 22 April 2026, 3 January 2027 and 2 January 2028.
Upcoming changes already confirmed
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 27 Oct 2026 | Accounting: 50% for establishments with 5+ accountants |
| 18 Nov 2026 | Gyms and sports centers: 15% for 12 sports trainer professions |
| 3 Jan 2027 | Tourism phase 2 begins |
| 14 Feb 2027 | Project management: 70% takes effect |
| 27 Oct 2027 | Accounting: 60% |
| 2 Jan 2028 | Tourism phase 3 begins |
| 27 Oct 2028 | Accounting: 70% |
These dates also appear in the calendar and on the Saudization 2027 page.
Corrections log
This log records every correction to the hub's published facts. It lists what was wrong, what is right and the source of the fix.
| Date | Page | Correction | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Oct 2026 | Calendar, Saudization 2027, homepage | Summaries, FAQs and deadline lists synced with the tables: accounting 50% on 27 Oct 2026 is the next date, 2027 has three confirmed changes, 2028 includes accounting 70% | MHRSD accounting guide |
| 8 Oct 2026 | What is Saudization, improve Nitaqat | Remaining "rises gradually" wording replaced | MHRSD Nitaqat guide |
| 8 Oct 2026 | Administrative support update | Effective date for the remaining 50 professions standardized to 4 October 2026, as MHRSD announced | MHRSD |
| 8 Oct 2026 | Nitaqat pages | Wording changed from "targets rise gradually" to "change continuously with workforce size", since constants differ by activity and band | MHRSD Nitaqat guide |
| 8 Oct 2026 | 100% professions | Older 100% decisions separated from current 2026 rules, MHRSD sources added, real estate roles added | MHRSD |
| 8 Oct 2026 | Methodology | Verification claim clarified: official sources where available, labelled secondary sources otherwise | Editorial |
| 8 Oct 2026 | Salary thresholds, housing supervisors | Housing supervisor pay floor shown as SAR 5,000 (reported), not "not applicable" | Okaz, Fragomen |
| 8 Oct 2026 | Salary thresholds | Dental floor shown as SAR 9,000 with SCFHS accreditation, matching the dental guide | Ministry of Health |
| 8 Oct 2026 | Sales | Clarified that the sales rule has no profession floor, but general Nitaqat pay weights still apply | MHRSD counting rules |
| 8 Oct 2026 | Calendar, Saudization 2027 | Added accounting phase dates and the 27 July 2025 pharmacy date, already confirmed on the guide pages | MHRSD procedural guides |
| 8 Oct 2026 | Tourism pages | Announcement date corrected to 21 April 2025; phase dates unchanged | Argaam, SPA |
| 8 Oct 2026 | Nitaqat pages | Formula written as Y = M ln(X) + C to show the natural logarithm | MHRSD Nitaqat guide |
| 8 Oct 2026 | What is Saudization | Labor statistics updated to GASTAT Q2 2026 | GASTAT via Argaam |
Launch-day verification notes, 6 October 2026
These notes record where sources disagreed before publication and how we settled it. They are not corrections, because the disputed claims were not published as fact.
| Item | What sources said | How we settled it |
|---|---|---|
| Tourism phase 1 start | Law-firm reports gave 22 April 2026 and 22 June 2026 | MHRSD's announcement gives 22 April 2026 for phase 1, 3 January 2027 for phase 2 and 2 January 2028 for phase 3 |
| Dentistry phase 2 start and salary | Reports from early 2025 implied phase 2 in mid-2026 | The Ministry of Health announcement confirms phase 2 on 27 January 2026, with a SAR 9,000 minimum salary and Saudi Commission for Health Specialties accreditation |
| Sales rule roles and salary | Law-firm summaries count nine sales roles, and some report a SAR 5,500 minimum | MHRSD's announcement lists eight professions, while its procedural guide lists nine occupation codes and sets no minimum salary; we follow the guide |
| Gym rule scope | Early law-firm reports listed 12 trainer professions and no size threshold | MHRSD's announcement adds that the rule applies to facilities with four or more workers |
How can you report an error?
If a rate, date or threshold looks wrong, email partner@strongyes.co with the page URL and the official source (see the about page). We check against the MHRSD decision text and log any correction here.
Frequently asked questions
01What does the changes tracker include?
It includes new MHRSD decisions, changes to a rate, threshold or date, grace period ends, and corrections to this hub. Each entry shows the date, what changed, the source and the pages affected.
02How does the hub handle conflicting sources?
Official MHRSD pages come first. Where sources conflict and we cannot resolve it, we do not state the fact, and we log the resolution here once an official source confirms it. The tourism phase 1 start date is an example, now confirmed as 22 April 2026.
03What happens when the hub makes a mistake?
We correct the page, update its modified date and log the correction in this tracker, with what was wrong and what is right. Corrections are listed in their own table so they are easy to find.
04Are planned changes shown in the tracker?
Yes. The tracker lists confirmed upcoming changes in their own table: accounting at 50% on 27 October 2026, gyms and sports centers on 18 November 2026, tourism phase 2 on 3 January 2027, project management on 14 February 2027, accounting at 60% on 27 October 2027, tourism phase 3 on 2 January 2028 and accounting at 70% on 27 October 2028.
05Has the hub needed to correct anything yet?
Yes. On 8 October 2026 we made thirteen corrections after three reviews, including the housing supervisor pay floor, the dental floor on the thresholds page and the tourism announcement date. Each is listed in the corrections log with its source.
06How do I keep track of new Saudization decisions?
Our changes tracker logs every new decision and every changed rate or date, with the source and the pages it affects. The Saudization calendar lists every upcoming effective date in one place.
Sources
- MHRSD: 70% Saudization rate for project management professions. Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, 16 August 2026.
- MHRSD: Implementation of 70% Saudization in procurement professions. Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, 18 June 2026.
- MHRSD: Saudization in marketing and sales professions takes effect. Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, 19 April 2026.
- BAL: Grace period for full Saudization of administrative support professions ends October 4. BAL, 2026.
- Al Tamimi & Company: Saudi Arabia's 2026/2027 Saudisation Overview. Al Tamimi & Company, 22 September 2026.
- Clyde & Co: The first Saudisation updates of 2026. Clyde & Co, 2026-02.
- MHRSD: Localization decision for 41 tourism professions (Arabic). Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.
- Ministry of Health: Phase two of dental job localization. Ministry of Health.