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اApna Ghar

Visas & Documents

Saudi Iqama guide for Pakistani workers

What an Iqama is, who renews it, how to see the expiry, and which official Saudi portals to use. Fees are not guessed here.

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A Saudi Iqama is the residence permit for a Pakistani worker who is living in the Kingdom under a sponsor. It is not the visa that was stamped or issued while you were in Pakistan, and it is not optional once you are a resident. The Iqama number, the expiry date and the profession on the card are the details that decide whether you can work, leave and come back legally. Renewal is the employer's job on Absher and Muqeem. You should still be able to see the expiry yourself.

What you should know in the first month

  • Your employer usually applies for the Iqama after you arrive and after the in-Kingdom steps they are told to finish. Until that card exists, keep the entry visa details and every medical receipt.
  • The visa got you in. The Iqama is the residence record. They are not the same number. Keep both. If a recruiter in Pakistan shows you an Iqama photocopy before you have travelled, treat that as a reason to verify the visa, not as proof of a job.
  • You work for the sponsor named on the Iqama unless a legal transfer is finished. A side job for cash is how people lose the permit. Profession changes are a formal step, not a verbal agreement with a supervisor.
  • You can see a lot of your own file on Absher. Establishments use Muqeem. Labour questions sit with HRSD and Qiwa. Do not hand your Absher one-time password to a stranger, a shop, or even the company PRO. The PRO has Muqeem.
  • Dependents, if you sponsor them, have their own Iqamas and their own expiry dates. Your renewal does not silently extend theirs.
  • Exit and re-entry is a different transaction from renewal, and a final exit is different again. If HR says you are on an exit, ask which kind, and read the status on Absher before you book leave.

The fees people ask about, without a fake table

People want one number: the Iqama fee. There isn't a single figure this page can honestly print, because the bill is not one line and the amounts move. When the employer opens renewal, the payment screen on Absher or Muqeem is the bill that counts. The lines residents and employers argue about are separate: the residency renewal fee, the employer work-permit levy, and a monthly dependent levy. Late fines also show on that screen. Checked on 9 October 2026: Apna Ghar does not copy a WhatsApp fee table, and it will not say the fee is SAR anything as if someone had opened Absher for your file today.

Checked on 9 October 2026: this page does not copy a WhatsApp fee table. The residency renewal fee, the employer work-permit levy and the monthly dependent levy are separate lines. The figures on the Absher or Muqeem payment screen are the ones that count. Late fines show there too.

In a normal employment case the employer handles the residence renewal. If someone asks you for cash, read your contract and ask HRSD before you pay. Who is charged for a dependent is also a screen-and-contract question, not a camp proverb. Put only the wage written in your contract into the salary converter, and use SAR to PKR as a mid-market reference when you tell the family what you can send. Do not invent an average Saudi salary and plan a life on it.

Absher, expiry and what to do if the date is close

  1. Open Absher and sign in as yourself. The code comes to your phone. Nobody else needs it. Read the expiry in the residency section. Note both the Hijri and the Gregorian date and keep your own screenshot.
  2. If you cannot sign up, fix that through Absher's own process while the Iqama is still valid. Do not give your passport to a shop that will check Absher for you.
  3. Tell the company's government relations officer weeks before the date, not on the morning it expires. Renewal steps are in Iqama renewal. How to read the date is in check Iqama status.
  4. Medical insurance for residents is part of staying legal. Ask HR which policy covers you and when it ends. A blocked renewal is often an insurance or passport problem, not a mystery.
  5. If Absher and the plastic card disagree, believe the online file and ask the employer to explain the difference in writing.

The path into the Kingdom for a new worker is the Saudi work visa from Pakistan: a real offer, the Wafid medical when the visa requires it, the Protector stamp, then the visa. The Iqama starts after you land. A visit visa never turns into an Iqama because a supervisor says you are hired.

Fees, fines and salary thresholds change. If a number is not written on the official page linked below, treat a WhatsApp figure as unchecked.

Common questions

Who pays for the Iqama?

In a normal employment case the employer handles the residence fees through Absher or Muqeem. If a person asks you for cash, ask HRSD or read the contract before you pay. The bill can show separate lines, including the residency renewal fee, the employer work-permit levy and a monthly dependent levy. The amount on the payment screen is the one that counts.

What happens if my Iqama expires?

You can face a fine and trouble working or leaving. The late fine is shown in the official service when the renewal is opened. It has been revised before, so a figure forwarded on WhatsApp is not reliable. Tell your employer before the date, and watch Absher yourself.

Can I check the Iqama without my sponsor?

Workers use Absher for their own residency enquiry, including the expiry. You do not need to share the one-time password with the sponsor to do that. If you cannot log in, sort that out before the expiry, not after. Muqeem is the establishment portal. You can ask HR to show you that screen.

Is the Iqama number the same as the visa number?

No. Keep both. The visa got you in. The Iqama is the residence record after arrival. A photocopy of either document, sent by a recruiter before you have left Pakistan, is not a live status.

Does paying the renewal move me to a new sponsor?

No. A transfer is a different transaction. Do not let anyone tell you that paying the renewal yourself, or paying a broker, changes the company on the Iqama. Sponsorship transfer sits with the labour and residence systems, and it is finished only when those systems say so.

Where is the rule written?

Residence practice sits with Absher and Muqeem. Work rules sit with HRSD and Qiwa. Read those sites rather than a camp summary. Checked on 9 October 2026, this guide still refuses to reprint a fee table.

Sources