Saudi expat levy (SAR 700 or 800 a month), work permit and the SAR 400 dependant fee
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Checked against sources on 17 Oct 2026.Saudi Arabia charges a levy of SAR 700 a month for each foreign worker up to the number of Saudis at the establishment and SAR 800 for each one above it, plus a SAR 100 work permit a year. Each dependant costs SAR 400 a month, so one worker with three dependants costs SAR 24,100 a year.
2026 · Rates and rules read from the sources listed on this page (the earliest on 17 Oct 2026); they may have changed since.
Enter the number of foreign workers and of Saudi workers at the establishment.
Enter the dependants and companions on the expatriate’s Iqama.
Choose how many months are being paid: 3, 6, 9 or 12.
Read the total, the employer’s part and the family’s part, month by month and for a year.
This calculator adds up the government fees tied to an expatriate worker in Saudi Arabia's private sector: the expat levy (المقابل المالي), the work permit fee and the dependants' fee.
The levy. The Ministry of Human Resources works the levy out each month for every foreign worker registered under the establishment. Foreign workers up to the number of Saudi workers pay SAR 700 a month; those above that number pay SAR 800. A firm with 5 foreign and 2 Saudi workers pays 2 × 700 + 3 × 800 = SAR 3,800 a month.
The work permit. On top of the levy, the work licence costs SAR 100 a year for each foreign worker. Both are paid when the permit is issued or renewed, for 3, 6, 9 or 12 months at a time.
The dependants' fee. Since 1 July 2020 every dependant or companion of an expatriate in the private sector costs SAR 400 a month: wives, children, parents and anyone else sponsored on the worker's Iqama. The fee is paid in advance for the Iqama's validity and is not refunded.
A worked example. One expatriate at a firm with no Saudi workers, with a wife and two children, renewing for a year: levy 800 × 12 = SAR 9,600, work permit SAR 100, dependants 3 × 400 × 12 = SAR 14,400, total SAR 24,100.
Factories. In December 2025 the Cabinet cancelled the levy for establishments with an industrial licence. Switch that on and the levy drops to zero; the work permit fee stays.
Who pays. By law the employer bears the levy and the work permit. The dependants' fee falls on the expatriate.
Not included. Small-establishment exemptions, domestic workers, GCC nationals, people exempt from the dependants' fee, arrears and the Iqama, visa and insurance fees.
Everything runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.
SAR 700 a month for each foreign worker up to the number of Saudi workers at the establishment, and SAR 800 a month for each foreign worker above that number. A firm with no Saudi staff pays SAR 800 a month, or SAR 9,600 a year, for every expatriate.
SAR 400 a month for each dependant or companion of an expatriate working in the private sector, in force since 1 July 2020. A wife and two children cost SAR 1,200 a month, or SAR 14,400 when the Iqama is renewed for a year, paid in advance.
Both rates can apply in one firm. The ministry's guidance charges SAR 700 for foreign workers not exceeding the number of Saudi workers and SAR 800 for those exceeding it, and collects the SAR 800 units first. With 5 expatriates and 2 Saudis the firm pays 2 × 700 plus 3 × 800.
The employer. Labour rules put the fees for the work permit and the residence permit on the employer, and the levy is collected with the work permit. The dependants' fee is different: the expatriate pays it when the family's Iqamas are issued or renewed.
No longer. On 17 December 2025 the Cabinet cancelled the levy on foreign workers in establishments with an industrial licence, after the state had paid it for them since October 2019. The SAR 100 work permit fee and the dependants' fee are not part of that decision.
Small-establishment exemptions, domestic workers, GCC nationals, people exempt from the dependants' fee under the Iqama system, unpaid arrears from earlier years, and the separate Iqama, visa and medical insurance fees. The result is an estimate of the standard fees only.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
Still stuck? Ask about Saudi Expat Levy and Dependant Fee Calculator and anybody who knows can answer. No account needed.
Same job, other tools: GOSI Calculator – The GOSI annuities and SANED contribution a Saudi employee pays each month · Hisab Badal al-Ijaza (Saudi Leave Pay) – حساب بدل الإجازة في السعودية: رصيد الإجازة السنوية وقيمته عند ترك العمل · Hisab Taweed al-Madda 77 (Saudi) – حساب تعويض المادة 77 من نظام العمل السعودي: 15 يوماً عن كل سنة أو باقي مدة العقد · Hasibat al-Taminat al-Ijtimaiya (GOSI) – حاسبة التأمينات الاجتماعية: GOSI deductions and the employer’s share in Saudi Arabia · Hisab al-Amal al-Idafi (Saudi Overtime) – حساب العمل الإضافي في السعودية: الأجر الفعلي للساعة مع 50% من الأجر الأساسي.
On the related tools: PF Calculator – What your PF account will hold when you retire.
More for Saudi Arabia: all 7 Saudi Arabia calculators.