Saudi Arabia has cut the number of instant work visas a business can request through Qiwa, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development's official labour-services platform. Companies operating for less than two years are now capped at five instant visas per application cycle; companies operating for more than two years can request up to fifty. Businesses on the ministry's Establishment Programme start at just two visas, with more unlocked only as they move up their Saudisation band. The change is being applied immediately. It matters to any employer sponsoring a foreign hire in the Kingdom — and to the worker being hired — because instant visas are the fastest and most-used way to get a non-Saudi onto payroll.
Who it affects
In practice this touches almost every private-sector employer in Saudi Arabia that sponsors expat staff. New businesses that expected to bring in batches of foreign workers to ramp up are now held to five per cycle. Established companies keep real headroom at fifty, but the cap is measured at entity level across a calendar week — you cannot split one large intake into several smaller applications to get around it. Establishment Programme participants, the lowest compliance tier, begin at two and rise only as their Saudisation (Nitaqat) band improves. For workers, the squeeze lands hardest on those targeting start-ups: a young company that looks promising may simply have no instant visas left this cycle, so fewer of those roles will be advertised in the first place.
Before vs after
- New businesses (under 2 years): no fixed ceiling → maximum of 5 instant visas per cycle (one application, or summed across applications in the same week).
- Established businesses (2+ years): no published cap → maximum of 50 per cycle, measured per entity per week.
- Establishment Programme participants: not separately capped → starting allocation of 2, rising only with a higher Saudisation band.
- Three visa categories remain — Permanent, Temporary (contracts of 3 months or less), and Hajj/Umrah Temporary — but each now sits under the new caps.
- The 10 qualifying conditions are unchanged: active status, valid work permits, valid commercial registration, Medium Green Saudisation band or above, Wage Protection compliance, sufficient Absher/Muqeem balance, annual self-assessment for firms with 10+ staff, employee work-locations assigned on Qiwa, employer aged 18 or over, and available recruitment quota.
Background
Instant work visas are the default channel for hiring non-Saudis. The visa is issued through Qiwa, usually within a few working days, and lets the worker start on payroll while the residency permit (iqama) and work permit process in parallel. The cap is the latest in a run of MHRSD moves tightening the link between foreign hiring and Saudisation — the long-running push to raise the share of Saudi nationals in private-sector jobs, which sits at the centre of Vision 2030. Over the past year the platform has steadily raised the bar: tighter Saudisation bands, mandatory contract registration, and now a hard number on the fast-track channel itself.
What this means in practice
If you run a new business, you can no longer lean on instant visas to scale a foreign workforce quickly. Need more than five hires in a short window? You either reach the Medium Green band fast enough to unlock a higher cap, or spread applications across several weeks and accept the delay. Established companies have room at fifty, but should plan intake around the weekly per-entity limit rather than assume it can be batched. For the worker on the receiving end, the choice of employer now carries more risk: confirm the company actually has visa capacity left before you count on an offer landing.
When it takes effect
The cap is live now on the Qiwa platform (announced 17 June 2026). There is no transition window. An in-flight application that exceeds the new cap may be rejected on submission or held for clarification.
What is not yet confirmed
The caps are widely reported and being applied, but the change is being communicated through the Qiwa platform itself and through press coverage rather than a standalone ministry press release — the underlying ministerial circular has not been publicly linked. The figures are consistent across Saudi Gazette, Gulf News and others, so treat them as live, but if you are planning a critical hiring sprint, confirm the current limit directly with Qiwa or a licensed PRO before relying on it.
Key Takeaway
Saudi Arabia has capped instant work visas — 5 per cycle for businesses under two years, 50 for older ones, and 2 to start for the Establishment Programme — applied immediately through the Qiwa platform.