Procedure to change Iqama profession in KSA

Saudi Iqama is given to all the expatriates that are living in KSA. The Iqama has specific information written on the ID card that tells your name, DOB, expiry and profession that you are working in Saudi Arabia and much more. You should have precise knowledge of what exactly is the Iqama.

The information should be the same in all your documents and passport as well. If your profession is written something different and you are working a completely different job then it is counted as working illegal in KSA. To change the profession is very essential, else you won’t be allowed to work or have any benefits at all. You may change the profession online on your Iqama that has certain requirements and for the applicant.

Requirements for profession change:

• No traffic violation against the employee
• No traffic violation against the sponsor
• Iqama should not be expired
• Approval request should be received from the Ministry of Labor
• There should be no case of huroob against the employee
• The required fee should be deposited against the employee’s Iqama

What you should know is that passport companies and Jawazat have raids in companies and offices that might catch a few cases like these. Such cases are then sent to the detention centers and then are later deported from KSA. It is now a well-known rule and law in GCC states that if one GCC country bans/deports a person, the other GCC states will do so too.

Procedure for changing your Iqama profession

• You need to have an attested degree that should have approval stamps from MOFA and Saudi Embassy from your country. The process for getting your degree attested is explain in the post here. Your degree should be of the relevant field that you want your profession to change into.
• If you want your profession to change to Engineering, then register yourself with the Saudi Council of Engineers.
  If you want your profession to change to accounting or relevant then get a SOCPA membership
• The online procedure for changing your Iqama profession doesn’t require submitting your attested degrees but MOI has to right to demand them. Thus it is wise to have the attested degrees with you when you opt for this procedure.
• You need to deposit SAR 1000/- for changing the profession. The fee should be provided by the employer according to the Saudi Labor Law
• You cannot take your case to Jawazat for a change in profession, so you will need your GRO to go there instead of you and finish the process.

If you are caught without the same Iqama profession and the one that you are working as then you will be sent to the detention center and deported thereafter. Because of the profession being low profile, your Visa application for other countries might get rejected. You cannot opt for a permanent family visa or family status in KSA and even for visit visa in any of the case.

Related Articles:

Change Iqama Profession and Sponsorship online with MOI

List of professions reserved only for Saudis in KSA

List of professions eligible for applying for Permanent Family Visa