Saudi Arabia offers six-month amnesty for runaway domestic workers to legalise status
Grace period applies to workers who were reported absent before announcement date
Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has announced a six-month grace period for domestic workers who were previously reported as absent from work — commonly referred to as huroob (absconding) cases — allowing them to correct their legal status and transfer to new employers.
The grace period, effective from Sunday, May 11, 2025, applies exclusively to workers who were reported absent before the announcement date. It is part of the Kingdom’s broader efforts to regulate the labour market, enhance oversight, and protect the rights of both workers and employers.
According to the ministry, the initiative targets domestic workers who are still in the Kingdom despite having been flagged as runaways. It provides them with a legal opportunity to re-enter the labour system.
Eligible workers can now transfer their sponsorship to a new employer via the Ministry’s official domestic labour platform, Musaned, after completing the required procedures. The ministry emphasized that the process is fully digital, allowing new employers to log into Musaned and complete the transfer without any manual intervention.
Launched in 2016, Musaned is a key part of Saudi Arabia’s domestic labor reform agenda. It offers tools for contract verification, recruitment tracking, and dispute resolution — promoting greater transparency and accountability in the household labour sector.
The grace period is designed not only to help workers return to legal employment but also to ease the burden on employers and improve the efficiency of the labour system.
Only workers reported absent before May 11, 2025, and who have not left the country, are eligible.
The Ministry urged both domestic workers and potential employers to take advantage of the grace period before it ends in November 2025. It added that legal consequences will continue to apply to those who fail to comply after the deadline.
-- Huda Ata is an independent writer based in the UAE
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