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Business Setup Saudi Arabia
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What is GOSI in Saudi Arabia: Everything you need to know

The Government Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI in Saudi Arabia) is a premium government institution in Saudi Arabia that deals with social insurance in the country. Headquartered in Riyadh, GOSI is a financially and administratively independent organization that is supervised by a board of thirteen directors. The board of directors consists of insured persons, employers as well as officials from government departments. Since its inception in 1973, GOSI has constantly worked towards improving social insurance benefits meted out to the contributors and their family members. 

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GOSI: INSURING THE FUTURE OF YOUR COMPANY

The General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) carries out the social insurance regulations in Saudi Arabia. GOSI collects contributions from employers, covers social insurance according to the law and pays benefits for insured persons or their families. The organization provides medical treatment, allowances and services for injured or disabled individuals or to the families of insured individuals who are deceased, in which case the death pension is received. 

GOSI calculations vary across employee nationalities with employees split into three main groups, Saudi Nationals, GCC nationals who have varying contributions and other expat workers. For Saudi nationals in the private sector GOSI contributions equal 22% of the maximum monthly applicable earnings (9% each for the employee and employer for pension contributions, 1% each for unemployment contributions and 2% for occupational hazard which is covered by the employer). The monthly earning combines basic salary, housing allowance and commissions. In-kind housing is equivalent to a two-month basic salary divided by twelve months. Meanwhile, minimum salary 1500 SAR will be counted as half Saudi and minimum salary 3000 SAR will be counted as full Saudi.

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Corporate Immigration Saudi Arabia
PROVEN

Valid Health Insurance Required to Extend Saudi Visit Visa

The Ministry of Interior (Jawazat) announced last week that valid health insurance is mandatory when applying for an extension of duration of stay for Saudi visit visas. Those visiting the Kingdom for Umrah, Haj or on diplomatic visas and visitors to diplomatic missions are exempt.

Visitors to the Kingdom must have valid health insurance documents to extend their stay and it must be renewed before its’ expiry date. The extension must be submitted to the immigration department at least 6 days before duration of stay expiry date to avoid mishaps in linking medical insurance with immigration.

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Corporate Services
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Ministry of Labour introduces Qiwa portal to consolidate services

The Ministry of Labour and Social Development (MLSD) announced last Sunday of the introduction of their new portal, Qiwa Portal. The portal will improve the current government e-services and support. There is a small number of services available now but plans to add 71 more.

Qiwa will improve the level of service provided to employees and employers and provide services to a wider range of private sector employees and business owners. The platform will also provide a unified source of information for access by employers and employees.

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News
PROVEN

GOSI launches the Employment Contracts Authentication portal

The General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) launched a new portal called the Employment Contracts Authentication. The portal allows employers to upload employment contracts and authenticate them through the GOSI portal. The portal is active but is not yet mandatory.

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News
PROVEN

What is a Block Visa in Saudi Arabia

The immigration process in Saudi Arabia can be complex for companies hiring expats. There are different considerations to keep in mind when deciding on the method most suitable, such as the company’s Saudization rating, the company’s industry and employee forecasting. However, for most companies, the block visa is a suitable option for those wanting to hire multiple expats.

Companies planning to hire expats on a long-term basis require authorisation from the Ministry of Labour and Social Development (MLSD). The MLSD issues companies block visas which allows them a quota of foreign expats they can hire. In this article we break down the process of block visas, the processing timeline and the validity.

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News
PROVEN

Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al Rajhi, the new labor minister

On June 3rd Saudi Arabia named Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al Rajhi as minister of labour and social development. The appointment supports actions for Saudi’s Vision 2030, as he is expected to diversify the economy and create more jobs with a heavy focus on culture and religion.

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