Wellness Center and Spa Saudization: 100% Administrative Roles

Wellness center and spa Saudization is a 100% localization requirement for administrative and support roles in relaxation and personal care centers. MHRSD issued Ministerial Decision No. 68098 on 11 November 2025, and the Saudi-only ratio has applied since 11 May 2026. The rule covers back-office and front-desk titles, not treatment roles.

What does the wellness center and spa Saudization rule require?

Every worker in a covered administrative or support title must be a Saudi national. This is a 100% rate, so there is no permitted non-Saudi share in those titles.

MHRSD's guide describes the activity as relaxation and personal care centers. If your business is licensed under that activity, the rule applies to the covered titles whether you call yourself a spa or a wellness center.

Which job titles are covered?

Clyde & Co reports 30 administrative and support titles, including branch managers, customer support specialists and receptionists. The official list is in MHRSD's procedural guide for the decision.

Coverage follows the occupation registered for each employee, not the title on a business card. A "guest experience coordinator" who is registered as a receptionist is treated as one. Our guide to mapping job titles to Saudi occupation codes explains how to check, and the pattern is the same as in the wider administrative support rule.

The decision does not set a rate for treatment and therapy roles such as massage therapists and beauty practitioners. Other decisions and Nitaqat may still apply to them.

When did the spa rule take effect?

The ratio has applied since 11 May 2026. MHRSD issued the decision on 11 November 2025 and gave a six-month grace period.

The grace period is over. The rule is in force today, and it is listed with other Saudi-only roles in our list of 100% Saudization professions.

Who must comply?

Establishments in the relaxation and personal care centers activity that employ people in covered administrative or support titles. StrongYes did not find a minimum headcount in the guide. Our reading is that one covered worker is enough to bring an establishment into scope, but confirm this in the guide before relying on it.

How is the spa rule different from the general administrative support rule?

They are separate decisions. The administrative support decision covers 69 professions in any private establishment with one or more workers in them. The wellness decision is limited to one activity and its own list of titles.

Some titles, such as receptionist, appear in the administrative support list as well. Where two decisions could apply, check each guide.

What happens if a spa does not comply?

MHRSD refers to its violations and penalties procedures for establishments that do not meet the decision. For the administrative support decision, a law-firm alert notes that assigning a Saudized role to a non-Saudi under a different job title can also lead to penalties. Our guide to Saudization violations and penalties explains how inspections and penalties work.

What should wellness and spa employers do now?

1. List every administrative and support employee with their registered occupation code.
2. Compare the list to the guide's titles, including front desk, customer support, management and finance roles.
3. Correct genuine registration errors through the proper process. Do not reclassify roles to avoid the rule.
4. Check your Qiwa contracts so Saudi staff are recorded correctly. See Qiwa contracts and Saudization.
5. Plan your hiring pipeline with MHRSD support. See Saudization support programs.

What does it mean for Saudi professionals?

Administrative and customer-facing roles in wellness centers and spas are now reserved for Saudis, from branch management to reception and customer support. For job seekers in hospitality and personal care, that is a defined set of openings. The rule creates demand but does not guarantee any individual a role.

What does it mean for expats?

Non-Saudis cannot fill the covered administrative and support titles in relaxation and personal care centers. Treatment and therapy roles are outside this decision. Our expat guide explains how to check whether a specific role is affected. For the wider picture, see Saudization by sector and the rates database.

A worked example: a three-site wellness group

A wellness group runs three centers. Each has a branch manager and a receptionist, and head office has a customer support specialist and a marketing manager, with all titles in the covered list. That is eight covered employees. At 100%, all eight must be Saudi, and there is no permitted share for non-Saudis in those titles. The therapists, massage practitioners and treatment staff in each center sit outside this decision.

The example is an illustration. Which titles count depends on the registered occupation codes and the guide's list, so a group should check each role against the official list rather than the example.

How does the spa rule compare with other rules?

What is still to be confirmed?

• The 30 titles. Clyde & Co reports the count, and the guide holds the list. Check it role by role.
• Any salary condition. None has been reported, but only the guide can confirm that none applies.
• The treatment of owner-operators and family businesses. The sources reviewed do not address this, so confirm with MHRSD if it applies to you.

Common questions about the spa rule

Does the 100% rate apply to the whole spa workforce? No. It applies to administrative and support titles. Therapists and treatment staff are outside this decision.

Is a Saudi manager enough if the receptionists are not Saudi? No. At 100%, every worker in every covered title must be Saudi, so the reception, customer support and management roles in the list are each in scope.

Does the decision apply to hotel spas? It applies to the relaxation and personal care centers activity. A spa inside a hotel may sit under the hotel's tourism license instead, so confirm which activity is licensed before assuming either rule applies.