Dubai: The Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has again suspended the transfer of sponsorship of domestic workers to firms, four months after its launch, Okaz Daily Newspaper reported yesterday.
The ministry had earlier stipulated that the residence permits of domestic workers wishing to benefit from the service will not be renewed for “more than a year”.
If the domestic worker’s residence permit has been renewed more than a year in the past, his/her request for transferring sponsorship to a facility will be rejected (as domestic workers are exempted from workers’ fees). Meanwhile the ministry will not provide the service for transferring the worker from a firm to an individual.
The ministry has also annulled its previous decision to exempt establishments set up before April 30, 2019, which were eligible for exemption from fees of four workers for a period of five years from the date of their establishment, provided their owners work in the establishments and that the entities have less than nine employees.
This means such facilities will not be able to benefit from fees exemption in the next four years. However, they will benefit from a new scheme, which will exempt the establishments from fees of only two workers for a period of three years, or 4 workers if the owner of the facility works full-time in his establishment along with another Saudi employee.
