Qiwa Contracts and Saudization: How Contract Documentation Affects Nitaqat

The Qiwa contract Nitaqat rule is the most practical change in how Saudi employees are counted in 2026. Your Saudi headcount in Nitaqat is now the number of Saudis whose contracts are documented on Qiwa and meet the counting conditions, not the number on your payroll.

Do Saudi employees need a Qiwa-documented contract to count in Nitaqat?

On 15 March 2026 (26 Ramadan 1447 AH), MHRSD announced that documenting Saudi employees' contracts electronically through Qiwa is a basic requirement for counting them in localization rates. The Saudi Press Agency reported the announcement, which also called on all establishments to complete the documentation of their employees' contracts on the platform. The stated aims were transparency and more reliable labor market data.

We found no grace period in the announcement beyond the one month between announcement and effective date. Keep the decision date, announcement date and effective date apart when you reference the rule: the announcement was 15 March, the effect is from 15 April.

How does contract documentation affect Nitaqat counting?

A Saudi employee without a documented Qiwa contract is left out of the numerator of your Saudization percentage. Your headcount does not change, so the percentage falls. An entity with 20 Saudis on payroll and 14 documented counts 14 at most, and fewer if some of the 14 earn below SAR 4,000.

The effect stacks with the wage weights. The counting rule for a Saudi is the Qiwa contract plus the wage band, explained in how Saudi employees count toward Nitaqat.

What are the Qiwa documentation targets?

KPMG reports that MHRSD set two documentation targets: 85% by 30 April 2026 and 90% by 30 June 2026. The compliance rate compares documented contracts with total employee contracts and is measured per establishment, not across the whole organization. KPMG also notes that failing to comply may restrict access to ministry services linked to compliance indicators, though it says specific penalties are not detailed.

What other conditions does Qiwa apply to counted Saudis?

Reports published in late September and early October 2026 describe Qiwa's criteria for counting a Saudi as one employee. The conditions and limits are below. They come from secondary coverage of Qiwa's rules, so check them in your own Qiwa account.

When a limit is hit, the system is reported to show the message "No new employment contract is allowed for the Saudi employee." This matters most for employers who use repeated short contracts, for example project-based Saudi staff, since a sixth contract within 52 weeks can remove the employee from your count. Our page on part-time and flexible work explains how hours-based work is treated.

Does GOSI registration replace a Qiwa contract?

We found no published MHRSD rule that lets it. GOSI registration is a separate obligation and is used by HRDF to calculate its Hadaf wage support. Keep the GOSI wage and the Qiwa contract wage aligned so that your Nitaqat count and your subsidy claims rest on the same figure.

How should employers audit their Qiwa contracts?

1. Export the list of all employees from Qiwa and match it to payroll.
2. Mark every Saudi employee whose contract is missing, expired or unaccepted.
3. Check registered wages against the SAR 4,000 line, and note anyone between SAR 3,000 and SAR 3,999.
4. Count contracts issued to each Saudi in the last 52 weeks and the last 365 days.
5. Check work type: part-time and student registrations are not counted as one Saudi.
6. Confirm the registered occupation for each role. For the rules on changing a registered profession, see Qiwa profession change rules.
7. Re-run the Nitaqat calculator after corrections.

The 90-day readiness checklist folds this audit into a wider plan, and the Nitaqat overview explains the bands your count feeds into. For the profession rules that sit alongside it, see the rates database.

What happens if the count falls?

A lower count can move an entity to a lower band. The Nitaqat bands page explains the five bands, and the Low Green and Red page sets out the restrictions that follow, such as suspended new visas and profession changes in Low Green.