How Do Saudi Employees Count Toward Saudization and Nitaqat?

Saudi employee counting in Nitaqat is simple in outline and strict in detail. Each Saudi on your payroll is worth one, half or nothing in your Saudization percentage, depending on pay, and only if the contract is properly documented on Qiwa.

How do Saudi employees count toward Nitaqat?

A Saudi employee counts by monthly wage. This is the rule as set out in the 2026 Developed Nitaqat program and reported by Al Tamimi.

Two details matter. First, the sources phrase the lower boundary slightly differently ("more than SAR 3,000" and "less than SAR 3,000"), so check on Qiwa how an employee on exactly SAR 3,000 is treated. Second, every non-Saudi employee still counts in your total headcount, so each one raises the number of Saudis you need. The full formula, including the logarithmic targets by economic activity, is in how Nitaqat is calculated.

What conditions must a Saudi employee meet to count?

Pay is only one condition. Reports of Qiwa's counting criteria, published in late September and early October 2026, list four conditions for an employee to keep counting as one Saudi:

1. A valid employment contract registered on Qiwa.
2. A registered salary of at least SAR 4,000.
3. Not registered as part-time or as a student.
4. No more than five contracts in the preceding 52 weeks.

The same reports describe two contract limits. A Saudi may hold at most two active contracts at once, and no eighth contract can be issued until a year has passed from the first contract in that 365-day period, though KPMG says the reported wording of this limit needs confirmation. Each employer should read these against its own Qiwa account, since the reports come from secondary coverage of Qiwa's rules, not from a published MHRSD guide.

Does the contract have to be documented on Qiwa?

Yes. On 15 March 2026 MHRSD announced that documenting Saudi employees' contracts electronically on Qiwa is a basic requirement for counting them in localization rates. It took effect on 15 April 2026. KPMG and Envoy Global report documentation targets for establishments of 85% by 30 April 2026 and 90% by 30 June 2026, measured as documented contracts against total contracts.

Our page on Qiwa contracts and Nitaqat covers the dates, the contract limits and a practical checklist.

What about GOSI registration?

GOSI is a separate record, and we found no published MHRSD rule that lets GOSI registration substitute for a Qiwa contract. GOSI still matters in two ways. It is the legal social insurance registration for the employee, and HRDF uses the wage registered with GOSI to calculate its Hadaf wage support. Keep the wage on the Qiwa contract and the wage registered with GOSI aligned, so the figure that decides your Nitaqat count matches the one that decides your subsidy.

Do profession rules count Saudis differently?

Yes. Nitaqat measures your whole entity. Profession decisions measure named job titles only, and some add a salary floor of their own.

The salary thresholds page gives the full table with sources. A Saudi engineer on SAR 7,500 can count toward your Nitaqat percentage and still not count toward the engineering rate.

Why does my count change when nobody has left?

A pay change that crosses SAR 3,000 or SAR 4,000 moves the weight of that employee. A new contract that breaches the contract limits can drop the employee from the count. Hiring non-Saudis raises your headcount and with it the Saudis you need. The Nitaqat calculator guide shows how to test these changes before you make them.

How are employees with disabilities and other special categories counted in Nitaqat?

Earlier ministry decisions gave extra weight to some categories of Saudi workers, such as workers with disabilities. We have not been able to confirm current weights under the 2026 program in an MHRSD document, so we do not state any here. If you employ people in a special category, check the weight shown in the Nitaqat calculator on Qiwa, which reflects the live rules.

Do GCC nationals count toward Saudization?

The sources we reviewed state no Nitaqat weight for GCC nationals, and we do not claim one. The Saudi percentage counts Saudi nationals, and MHRSD's Nitaqat procedural guide governs how non-Saudi categories count. Check your Qiwa account or the Nitaqat calculator for the current treatment, and see how Nitaqat is calculated.

How should employers use these rules?

1. Export every Saudi employee's registered wage and contract status from Qiwa.
2. Sort them into the three wage bands: SAR 4,000 or more, SAR 3,000 to 3,999, and below SAR 3,000.
3. Check each contract against the Qiwa conditions above.
4. Test the effect of each pay change or hire in the Nitaqat calculator before acting.
5. Check profession rules separately, because they use their own floors.

For small entities, the small establishments page explains the minimum of one Saudi. For the cost side, see the cost of Saudization. Employers also have support programs that offset part of the wage bill for new Saudi hires.