Saudi Arabia raises engineering-profession Saudization quota from 25% to 30%, minimum wage to SAR 8,000 (Decision No. 93483)

Mechanism

MHRSD issued two parallel localization-rate decisions on 31 December 2025: one raising engineering-profession Saudization to 30% (this action) and a companion decision raising procurement-profession Saudization to 70% (covering 12 procurement/logistics job titles, effective 30 November 2025 — tracked separately if filed). Both instruments follow the ministry's standard six-month grace period between issuance and enforcement, giving covered establishments time to recruit and certify Saudi nationals before compliance is checked.

For engineering, the quota rises from 25% to 30% of headcount at private and non-profit establishments employing five or more workers across 46 defined engineering titles (architecture, power generation, industrial, electronics, automotive, marine, health/sanitary engineering, etc.). Saudi hires must additionally hold professional accreditation from the Saudi Council of Engineers, and the qualifying minimum wage for counted Saudi employees rises from SAR 7,000 to SAR 8,000/month — raising the compliance cost floor, not just the headcount ratio. HRSD has stated its supervisory teams will monitor compliance and apply statutory penalties after the grace period lapses.

This sits within the broader Saudization (Nitaqat) labour-localization programme that has progressively tightened quota coverage across professional-services categories since 2011, and is one lever (alongside the National Industrial Strategy and LCGPA local-content procurement mandates) in Vision 2030's push to shift job creation in the Kingdom toward Saudi nationals.

Downstream implications

• Foreign engineering/architecture/EPC firms operating in Saudi Arabia

(project offices, JV structures, subcontractors) with 5+ engineering staff must lift the Saudi-national share of that headcount to 30% by 30 June 2026 or face MHRSD penalties — raising unit labour costs via both the quota and the SAR 8,000 wage floor.

• Expatriate engineers in the 46 covered professions face a shrinking

addressable quota of private-sector roles as firms prioritise Saudi hires to meet the ratio; recruitment agencies and secondment/staffing firms serving Gulf construction and industrial projects are directly exposed. Saudi Council of Engineers accreditation becomes a binding qualifying filter on the Saudi side of the ratio.

• Adds to the compounding cost of doing business in Saudi engineering

services alongside the companion 70% procurement-profession localization decision — firms crossing multiple job-title categories face simultaneous quota resets on different clocks (Nov 2025 procurement vs. Jun 2026 engineering).

Open questions

• Penalty schedule for non-compliant establishments after the 30 June 2026

enforcement date not yet published by MHRSD at time of filing.

• Whether foreign-firm project offices operating under investment-licence

structures (rather than direct Saudi commercial registration) fall inside or outside the 5-employee threshold test.

• Compliance trajectory: MHRSD has not disclosed the current average

Saudization rate in engineering professions ahead of the June 2026 deadline, making it unclear how large a gap covered establishments must close.