Saudi Arabia issues 953,000 work visas in 6 months

Abu Dhabi: Work visas issued to foreigners in Saudi Arabia during the second half of 2021 jumped on an annual basis by 50.5 per cent, an increase of 319,954 visas, with the total number of visas by the end of the first half of this year reaching more than 953,000, with a daily average of about 7,944 visas, local media reported.

According to the data of the General Authority for Statistics, the number of visas decreased to 440,000 in the second quarter, compared to 512,000 visas at the end of the first quarter.

Work visas issued to men in the first quarter of 2021 amounted to about 400,000, compared to 111,000 visas for women.

The visas issued in the first quarter of this year were 298,000 visas for the private sector, 212,000 visas for domestic workers, and only 1,000 visas for the government sector.

During the second quarter of this year, work visas issued to men increased by 763.1% year on year, to reach 340,000 visas, compared to 39,000 visas in the second quarter of 2020.

Work visas issued to women also increased to 100,000 visas, compared to 10,000 visas in the second quarter of 2020.