Saudization Glossary: Nitaqat, Qiwa, Tawteen and Key Terms

This glossary defines the terms used across the Saudization Hub, in alphabetical order. Each entry is one to three sentences, with a link to the page that covers the topic in full. For the policy itself, start with what Saudization is.

A

Accreditation (professional)

Registration with a professional body that some rules require before a Saudi employee counts. Examples are Saudi Council of Engineers accreditation for engineering and Saudi Commission for Health Specialties accreditation for dentistry.

Administrative support professions

A group of 69 occupations that are 100% Saudized for private establishments with one or more workers in them, from 5 April 2026 for some of them and from 4 October 2026 for the rest, after a six-month grace period. See the administrative support rule.

Ajeer

An MHRSD program used to outsource non-Saudi labor between establishments. Whether outsourcing changes a Saudization obligation is covered on the outsourcing page.

Announcement date

The date MHRSD publishes a decision. It is not the effective date. The project management decision was announced on 16 August 2026 and takes effect on 14 February 2027.

B

Band

A Nitaqat classification: Platinum, High Green, Medium Green, Low Green or Red. See Nitaqat bands.

C

Contract (Qiwa contract)

An electronic employment contract on Qiwa, which became the mandatory system for electronic contracts from 12 May 2022. See Qiwa contracts and Saudization.

Counting rules

The rules for deciding whether a Saudi employee counts toward Nitaqat. A Saudi earning SAR 4,000 or more counts as one, SAR 3,000 to 3,999 counts as half, and below SAR 3,000 does not count. See counting rules.

Cycle (Nitaqat cycle)

The period for which Nitaqat targets are set. The current cycle runs from April 2026 to December 2028. See Nitaqat.

D

Decision date

The date a ministerial decision is issued. Grace periods are counted from it. The project management decision is dated 13 August 2026.

Developed Nitaqat

The version of Nitaqat introduced by Ministerial Decision No. 182495, issued on 23 May 2021, also called Nitaqat Mutawar. It consolidated sectors, published a three-year Saudization plan and replaced fixed workforce bands with a smooth link between headcount and target. MHRSD issued a 2026 edition of its procedural guide.

E

Economic activity

The category of business an entity carries out. Nitaqat targets differ by economic activity, and entity-level assessment groups all branches in the same activity.

Effective date

The date a rule becomes enforceable after any grace period. See the Saudization calendar.

Entity

For Nitaqat in 2026, all branches carrying out the same economic activity, assessed together rather than branch by branch. See Nitaqat.

Entity-level assessment

Calculating Saudization across the whole entity, not per branch. MHRSD's project management guide also calculates its rate at entity level.

Establishment

A private-sector employer to which a rule applies. Profession decisions set a minimum number of covered workers per establishment, such as three for procurement. See the employer guide.

G

GOSI

The General Organization for Social Insurance. For the dental rule, the minimum salary of SAR 9,000 must be registered with GOSI, according to the Ministry of Health.

Grace period

The time between a ministerial decision and the date it becomes enforceable. Recent examples are three months for marketing and sales and six months for engineering, procurement and project management. See the calendar.

H

Hadaf

The Human Resources Development Fund, known by its Arabic name. It supports training, employment and wage programs for Saudis. See Hadaf wage support.

High Green

A compliant Nitaqat band. Platinum, High Green and Medium Green entities have full access to visas, profession changes and work permit renewals. See Nitaqat bands.

Housing supervisor

An occupation that is 100% Saudi in establishments managing collective housing for 20 or more residents, from 1 February 2026. See housing supervisor Saudization.

HRDF

The Human Resources Development Fund, known as Hadaf. It organizes its offer into counselling, training and enablement. See support programs.

I

Iqama

The residence permit issued to non-Saudis living in Saudi Arabia. See the expat guide.

ISCO-based Saudi classification

The Saudi Standard Classification of Occupations 2020, derived from the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08). Cabinet Resolution No. 660 dated 24/10/1441 AH issued it. See how to map job titles to occupation codes.

J

Jadarat

The national unified employment platform listed on the HRDF website. See support programs.

L

Localization

The English translation of Tawteen. MHRSD uses it for the policy known in English as Saudization.

Logarithmic formula

The Nitaqat target formula, Y = M ln(X) + C. Required Saudi percentages change continuously with workforce size and differ by economic activity and band. See how Nitaqat is calculated.

Low Green

The lowest compliant Nitaqat band. Low Green entities face suspension of new visas and profession changes. See Low Green and Red.

M

Medium Green

A compliant Nitaqat band between Low Green and High Green, with full access to ministry services. See Nitaqat bands.

MHRSD

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. It issues Saudization decisions, publishes procedural guides and runs Qiwa. Some decisions are issued with partner ministries. See methodology.

Ministerial decision

The legal instrument MHRSD uses to set a Saudization rule, identified by a number and date, such as Ministerial Decision No. 41454 of 13 August 2026 for project management.

Mudad

An earlier platform linked to GOSI and associated with so-called GOSI contracts. Electronic employment contracts moved to Qiwa from 12 May 2022.

Muqeem

A Ministry of Interior service that employers use to manage residency documents for non-Saudi staff. See the expat guide.

N

Nitaqat

The MHRSD program that bands each private-sector entity by its share of Saudi employees. It launched in 2011 and now operates as Developed Nitaqat. See Nitaqat and Saudization vs Nitaqat.

O

Occupation code

The number identifying a job in the Saudi classification of occupations, such as 121314 for Project Management Manager. Profession rules apply by registered code. See Saudi occupation codes.

P

Platinum

The highest Nitaqat band. Platinum entities have full service access, and a Platinum band does not exempt an employer from profession rules. See Nitaqat bands.

Procedural guide

The document MHRSD publishes with a decision, explaining coverage, calculation and implementation. See methodology.

Profession change

A change to an employee's registered occupation on Qiwa. Press reports in January 2026 said Qiwa suspended expatriate title changes into some roles subject to Saudization. See Qiwa profession change.

Profession rule

A decision that sets a Saudi percentage for named occupations at establishments with a minimum number of covered workers. See the rates database.

Q

Qiwa

The MHRSD labor platform for contracts, work permits, visas and service transfers, where the Nitaqat band is shown. See Nitaqat calculator.

R

Red

The non-compliant Nitaqat band. Red entities face full restrictions, including suspension of work permit renewals for non-Saudis. See Low Green and Red.

Rounding rule

The method for the number of Saudis required under a profession rate. For project management, covered employees multiplied by 70%, rounded to the nearest whole number: five covered employees give 3.5, so four.

S

Salary floor

The minimum salary a Saudi must earn to count under a rule. Marketing SAR 5,500, engineering SAR 8,000 and dentistry SAR 9,000. See salary thresholds.

Saudi Commission for Health Specialties

The body whose professional accreditation applies to dentists under the dental rule. See dental Saudization.

Saudi Council of Engineers

The body whose accreditation is required for a Saudi engineer to count under the engineering rule. See engineering Saudization.

Saudization

Saudi Arabia's policy of raising Saudi nationals' share of private-sector jobs. Also spelled Saudisation. See what Saudization is.

Schedules of Violations and Penalties

The penalty tables MHRSD applies to breaches, issued under Ministerial Decision No. 112377 dated 21/08/1447 AH. See Saudization penalties.

Sector rule

A localization decision for an industry or setting, such as tourism, wellness centers and spas, gyms and dentistry. See Saudization by sector.

Small establishment

An entity with fewer than six employees. The exemption it once had was removed in the 2026 program, and it needs at least one Saudi national. See Nitaqat for small businesses.

T

Tamheer

An HRDF program that supports the training and qualification of recent graduates. See support programs.

Taqat

An HRDF-linked employment support program, covered with Hadaf and Tamheer in our support programs guide. HRDF's website now presents Jadarat as the national unified employment platform.

Targeted profession

An occupation named in a localization decision. For example, 12 procurement professions and 10 marketing professions are targeted. See rates by profession.

Tawteen

The Arabic word for localization, used for the policy known in English as Saudization. HRDF also uses it as the name of an employment localization program. See Saudization vs Nitaqat vs Tawteen.

Threshold (establishment threshold)

The minimum number of covered workers that triggers a profession rule: one for administrative support, three for procurement, marketing, sales and project management, five for engineering and four for gyms. See Saudization 2026.

W

Work permit

The permit for a non-Saudi employee. Red entities are prohibited from issuing or renewing work permits for non-Saudis. See Low Green and Red.

Y

Yellow band

A band from the older Nitaqat system, abolished from January 2020. The Developed Nitaqat program has no Yellow band. See Nitaqat bands.