Cairo: Saudi Arabia is reconsidering a monthly fee levied on expatriates’ dependents as the kingdom is seeking to attract foreign talents to boost Saudi economy, a government minister has disclosed.
“The decision to impose the fees on dependents was necessary because they benefited from the state subsidies on water, electricity, etc,” Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Al Jadaan said.
This fee was also imposed as part of efforts to increase non-oil revenue and encourage companies to hire more Saudi nationals.
He added that the measure has forced some expatriates to move their children outside Saudi Arabia, thus weakening spending and transferring their salaries to outside the economy.
Also read
But the situation has now changed with the lifting of subsidies and compensating the Saudi citizens, Al Jaadan told the ‘Scorates Podcast’ of the Thamanya channel.
The current fee on an expatriate dependent in Saudi Arabia is SR400 per month.
The decision to impose fee took effect in 2017 when initially it was set at monthly SR100 per dependent. The levy increased by SR100 every year until it hit SR400 per month.
Over 13 million foreigners
Remittances of foreigners working in Saudi Arabia showed a downward trend in 2023 for the second year in a row, standing at SR124.9 billion, their lowest in more than a decade, according to a Saudi media report.
In 2022, the remittances reached SR143.2 billion against SR153.5 billion the previous year. Their highest level was recorded in 2015 when they surged to SR156.9 billion. Last year’s figure was the lowest since 2011.
The kingdom is home to a large community of expatriate workers. Last May, the Saudi General Authority for Statistics, citing a recent census, put the kingdom’s total population at 32.2 million with foreigners making up around 13.4 million or 41.5 per cent.
Asian nationals from three countries accounted for over 42 per cent of the total foreigners in Saudi Arabia, according to the census figures. Bangladeshi nationals took the lead with 2.1 million, or around 15.08 per cent of the overall expatriates in Saudi Arabia, followed by Indians with 1.88 million and Pakistanis with 1.81 million.
