Housemaid Visa In Saudi Arabia
Housemaid visa in Saudi Arabia is one of the kind of visa which covers the permission to work along with stay in the specified country. Nowadays, around six million expatriates are staying in Saudi Arabia because they are working on a temporary basis, as HR managers and professional experts. There is an increasing demand for housemaid visas among the foreign employees residing in Saudi Arabia.Immigrating to Saudi Arabia has a lot of perks. You get to live in one of the richest countries in the world in the lap of luxury. Plus you get to make a lot of money. And it is not just shopping where you are going to splurge your savings. You can obviously live in a house full of maids, drivers and helpers to do all these tasks for your family. Though there is one thing that may be on your worry list before making the move – visas.
Housemaid Visa In Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia broke away from being an agricultural country years ago. Now, it is the closest thing to an industrial country we have in the Middle East. Thanks to oil! The Gulf is famous for its hefty amount of oil reserves. With this amount of oil comes one big problem: extracting, transporting and using it all up. To make sure your low wait is worth thousands of hours, let me introduce you to two different kinds of workers that can help you with the house chores: Housemaid and Housekeeper.
SAUDI ARABIA: INDIVIDUALS CAN APPLY FOR DOMESTIC WORKER VISAS
The ministry would issue new licenses at the beginning of next week for companies wanting to recruit domestic workers, to promote competition in the market. (SPA)
The Saudi Ministry of Labor announced Monday that individual sponsors can now apply directly to their local labor offices for housemaid visas.
Previously only private recruitment offices were allowed to apply for visas through agencies in countries abroad. Agency to agency recruitment would still be allowed.
The decision was taken to make procedures easier for citizens, the statement added.
The ministry also announced that it would issue new licenses at the beginning of next week for companies wanting to recruit domestic workers, to promote competition in the market.
Last month, the government started issuing work visas for Bangladeshi domestic workers. The Bangladesh missions in the Kingdom received 10,000 requests. The Kingdom lifted its ban on Bangladeshi workers starting April 1.
The requests were for drivers, housemaids and gardeners. Source: arabnews.
To facilitate foreign domestic helpers applying for a visa to work in the country, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of Saudi Arabia has released an electronic platform named Musaned in 2015. It features immediate approval once requirements are fulfilled, greatly reduces the duration of tedious waiting employers have to go through before. The platform enables employers to gain an electronic visa for helpers very easy and quick.
An integrated electronic system put out by the country’s ministry, Musaned focuses on enabling procedures for the recruitment of domestic workers to be smoother and protecting the rights of all parties involved to a greater extent. The digital platform is the predecessor of all the programs, projects and initiatives which aim at enhancing the environment of the domestic labor industry in Saudi Arabia.
The three major processes in the domestic labor sector: first, pre-arrival of the worker, second, contractual process, and third, arrival of workers in Saudi Arabia. Musaned is meant to automise the contractual process, as it is the biggest scope, transforming it from manual to digital. The digitised process would save people’s trip to the government office. It integrated three components; e-visa, e-contracting and e-Tawtheeq (attestation). Employers now are able to get a visa for helpers at any time.
The platform also has an online recruitment service. Upon approval of the visa, employers can log in to the online portal or launch the Musaned app in order to contract with the service provider. The platform has all the accredited agencies listed with it and they can go and search for the one suitable for them. Then, complete the contractual process with that agency online without meeting the agent in person.
The platform is available in English or Arabic. There are several tools that both employers and domestic workers may find useful:
- A list of licensed recruitment agencies
- Locations of government offices and their services
- Query on the status of the visa application
- Eligibility check for a domestic work visa
- FAQs on applying for a work visa, rights and law on domestic labour
The platform provides clear and useful information with regards to domestic workers in the country. This is a positive step from the Saudi Arabia government to protect the rights of domestic workers and address other issues relevant to domestic work.
What to do before applying for a work visa?
Employers would have to register on Absher system first, and pay SAR 2000 (USD 533) for the domestic worker visa fee via Sadad or an ATM before uploading an application. Furthermore, make sure to pay off all traffic violation fines before applying.
How much is it to apply for the e-visa?
Additional to the SAR 2000 visa fee, the employer is also required to pay SAR 150 (USD 40) for the cost of the electronic service for issuing the visa via Musaned. No fees are charged to domestic helpers in the process.
Fees for Hiring Filipino Domestic Helpers Dropped by 50%
In September 2019, the ministry has launched a new service called Maaroufah through its Musaned portal to facilitate and organize the recruitment procedures as well as to provide high-level services for recruitment domestic help from the Philippines. An employer can now hire a Filipino domestic worker by spending a fixed amount of SAR 8,850 (USD 2,360). Under the new scheme, the recruitment process will take a maximum period of 45 days, provided that the name of the worker is chosen by a citizen. This service will enable the beneficiary to obtain a visa for a Filipino domestic worker.
How does it work?
Once the employer agreed to hire the domestic worker, the employer will ask the worker to provide information such as name, passport number and a passport photo, and phone number. Then both parties can sign a contract online using Musaned e-contracting service.
The Musaned system and the Maaroufah scheme has greatly benefited domestic helpers. Search for your foreign domestic worker now on HelperChoice!