(SAUDI ARABIA) Saudi Arabia has made health insurance mandatory for the issuance of temporary work visas, a change that took legal effect on April 10, 2025 and is already being enforced in practice. Employers must secure compliant health coverage from providers registered and approved by the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance before a visa can be issued, with the policy linked directly to the worker’s passport. The requirement applies to all foreign nationals seeking temporary work visas, including roles tied to Hajj and Umrah services, and the visa process will not move forward without proof of an approved policy.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development published the regulation on November 10, 2024, setting a 180-day runway to implementation. That window closed on April 10, 2025, when the rule became binding for all new temporary work visa applications. In practical terms, companies must plan insurance purchase alongside visa quota requests and job offers, front-loading health coverage before any embassy submission or travel approval. The measure is presented as a worker-protection step as well as a market reform designed to standardize access to medical care for people coming to the Kingdom on short-term contracts.
Legal advisories say embassies and consulates are now applying the rule at the point of visa issuance. According to the Batic Law Firm,
“medical insurance has been made a mandatory requirement for obtaining visas through Saudi embassies and consulates abroad, further safeguarding the well-being of foreign workers.”
Government communications describe the policy as part of an effort to streamline hiring and support business activity. The Council of Ministers stated that the updated regulation
“will give high flexibility to the private sector to benefit from temporary work visas and temporary work for Hajj and Umrah services.”
Officials have also framed the step within a broader policy push to
“improve labor market efficiency and boost the Kingdom’s attractiveness to international and local businesses.”
The insurance obligation is tightly defined. Only policies issued by insurers registered with the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance qualify, and the coverage must be in place before a visa can be approved. The policy is linked to the foreign national’s passport, ensuring verification during processing and after arrival. Employers use the government-run Qiwa platform to purchase visa quotas and arrange the required health insurance during the application sequence. If insurance is missing or non-compliant, the application stalls and the temporary work visa is not issued.
Specific benefits are not optional. The Council of Cooperative Health Insurance requires plans to include preventive care, dental services, inpatient and maternity care, surgeries, medical evacuation, and repatriation. These elements are meant to provide a baseline of protection for foreign workers employed on short-term contracts across sectors, including seasonal roles connected to religious tourism. By embedding these requirements, authorities are seeking to avoid gaps that can arise when temporary workers rely on ad hoc medical arrangements or pay out of pocket for essential care.
Coverage is tied to the worker’s employment relationship. The insurance remains valid only while the person is employed by the sponsoring company that arranged the temporary work visa. If the job ends, the policy ceases and the worker must depart the country, mirroring the way visa status is contingent on sponsorship. Employers and recruitment agencies therefore have to time policy activation and duration to the job start date and expected project length, ensuring workers remain covered throughout their assignment and no longer.
In the months around implementation, visa issuance for temporary roles experienced a brief disruption. Authorities placed a hold on Temporary Work Visas in April 2025, shortly after the rule took effect. As of July 30, 2025, the pause was lifted for most nationalities, including India, Pakistan, and Egypt, and processing resumed under the new insurance conditions. Companies submitting new applications since then continue to face the same mandatory health insurance requirement, and regulatory advisories indicate that consulates are enforcing the rule consistently across visa posts.
The practical steps for employers are straightforward but front-loaded. Before applying for temporary work visas, companies must log into Qiwa, purchase visa quotas, and arrange the required health insurance for each foreign hire. The insurer must be registered with the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance, and the policy details must match the worker’s passport information. Immigration advisers stress that the insurance has to be finalized before the visa goes to approval, not after issuance or upon arrival. That sequencing is critical, as applications lacking proof of compliant coverage do not proceed.
The policy is designed to cut down on last-minute conflicts when medical emergencies arise during a worker’s assignment. By specifying benefits such as inpatient care, maternity coverage, and emergency evacuation and repatriation, the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance sets clear expectations for both employers and insurers. The inclusion of dental and preventive services extends protection beyond acute care, broadening access to routine treatment for short-term staff who might otherwise delay checkups or minor procedures. These requirements also make costs more predictable for firms hiring at volume, as minimum plan features are uniform across compliant policies.
Officials have linked the change to larger labor market reforms aimed at making temporary hiring more responsive to demand. The Council of Ministers underscored flexibility for the private sector, highlighting the importance of seasonal and event-based work tied to Hajj and Umrah. In sectors that rely on rapid deployment of staff for short windows, such as hospitality, facility management, transport, and security, the ability to bring in foreign workers on temporary work visas remains important. The mandated health insurance adds steps to the process but is meant to reduce risk for workers and limit unpaid medical bills for hospitals.
Advisory notes indicate that enforcement is consistent with the Kingdom’s approach to sponsorship, where both visa status and benefits are directly connected to the employer. Tying health insurance to the passport and to the sponsor makes oversight easier and clarifies accountability if a worker changes roles or departs early. For applicants, the clearest impact is timing: no temporary work visa moves forward without a compliant health policy, and there is no grace period to secure coverage after arrival. For companies, budgeting for premiums is now built into the upfront cost of recruitment alongside visa fees and travel.
The rollout schedule—publication on November 10, 2024 and legal effect on April 10, 2025—gave employers six months to adjust procurement, contracting, and HR workflows. During that period, many firms updated their Qiwa processes and established relationships with registered insurers to ensure compliance. With the pause on temporary work visas lifted for most nationalities by July 30, 2025, the system has operated under the new rules for several months. Legal updates and agency guidance continue to stress that the requirement remains in force as of October 30, 2025, and that applications lacking compliant health insurance are not approved.
While there are no publicly available fee schedules tied to the insurance mandate in the material provided, advisers note that costs will vary by insurer and plan design as long as the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance minimums are met. Because policies are linked to specific workers and their passports, employers need accurate biographical data early in the hiring process to avoid delays. Any discrepancy—such as a misspelled name or incorrect passport number—can cause setbacks, as the insurance certificate must match immigration records exactly for visa issuance.
The absence of exemptions for Hajj and Umrah work underscores the breadth of the policy. Roles supporting religious pilgrimages often involve intense workloads and crowded conditions, making reliable access to medical care particularly important. By requiring health insurance across the board for temporary work visas, the regulation reduces case-by-case discretion and sets a clear standard for agencies that recruit large cohorts for short assignments during peak seasons. That clarity helps consulates apply the rule uniformly and reduces uncertainty for applicants, sponsors, and service providers.
The government’s message has remained consistent since implementation: the insurance obligation is not optional, and it sits at the heart of the temporary work visa process. As Batic Law Firm put it,
“medical insurance has been made a mandatory requirement for obtaining visas through Saudi embassies and consulates abroad, further safeguarding the well-being of foreign workers.”
The Council of Ministers’ emphasis on flexibility—saying the regulation
“will give high flexibility to the private sector to benefit from temporary work visas and temporary work for Hajj and Umrah services”—
captures the policy balance authorities are aiming for: tighter worker protections paired with mechanisms that let businesses fill short-term needs.
For applicants and employers alike, the practical takeaway is clear. Every temporary work visa application must now include a health insurance policy issued by a provider registered with the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance, linked to the worker’s passport, and covering preventive care, dental, inpatient and maternity services, surgeries, evacuation, and repatriation. Employers must complete this step on the Qiwa platform before the visa is approved, and coverage ends when the job ends. With the temporary hold on issuance lifted for most nationalities as of July 30, 2025, applications are moving again—but only with compliant health insurance in place.
This Article in a Nutshell
Saudi Arabia made health insurance mandatory for all new temporary work visas as of April 10, 2025. Employers must secure policies from insurers registered with the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance and link them to workers’ passports via the Qiwa platform before visa approval. The mandate covers roles including Hajj and Umrah services and requires benefits such as preventive care, dental, inpatient and maternity services, surgeries, evacuation, and repatriation. The rule aims to protect workers, standardize care access, and requires employers to budget and time insurance purchases alongside visa applications.
