Arslan Ahmad is the founder and editor of Saudi Life Guide. He is an IT professional who has lived and worked in Saudi Arabia with his family for several years, and started Saudi Life Guide in December 2025.
Experience behind the guides
- Has renewed his own iqama and used Absher and Jawazat services for several years
- Has brought his family to Saudi Arabia on a family visa
- Works under the Saudi labour system in the private sector
What he writes about
Iqama and visas, jobs and labour law, banking and money transfers, SIM cards and digital government services. He reviews articles on the site before publication.
How he works
He checks rules, fees and steps against the official government source and takes his own screenshots of the service where possible. Read the Editorial Policy.
The topics he oversees
As editor, Arslan looks after all eight sections of Saudi Life Guide. Each one answers the questions expats and residents ask most often about everyday life in the Kingdom:
- Iqama & Visas: residency, renewals, family and visit visas, exit and re-entry.
- Jobs & Labor Law: contracts, resignation, end of service, salaries and Saudization rules.
- SIM, Internet & Tech: SIM cards, mobile balance codes, home internet and digital government apps.
- Ramadan, Hajj & Religion: Ramadan, Umrah, Hajj and other religious seasons.
- Travel & Transport: flights, airports, trains, driving and traffic rules.
- Money & Banking: bank accounts, money transfers, fees and household bills.
- Living in Saudi Arabia: housing, health, schools and daily life for families.
- News & Updates: short reports on new rules and announcements that affect residents.
He works with Um Rayan, co-founder and editor, who covers family, religion and daily life, and with the Web Desk, which publishes short news updates.
How each guide is researched
Every guide starts from the official source for the service it explains. Depending on the topic, that means platforms and authorities such as Absher, Qiwa, Muqeem, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD), GOSI, Jawazat and SAMA, along with announcements from the Saudi Press Agency. Guides link to the official pages they rely on, so readers can confirm a fee or a step for themselves.
Where a service can be shown, the guide uses screenshots of the official page. Official figures are kept separate from reader reports, and if a fee or step is not officially published, the guide says so instead of guessing. Articles are drafted with AI assistance, then checked against official sources and reviewed by Arslan before they go live.
Every guide shows its last-updated date, and that date changes only after a real change to the content. The most-read guides are reviewed at least every six months, and new official rules or fees are added as soon as they are known. Mistakes are fixed under our Corrections Policy, and the full process is set out in the Editorial Policy.
Free tools for residents
Alongside the guides, the site offers a set of free tools and calculators for everyday sums: iqama fees, zakat, overtime, end of service benefits and cost of living, plus a CV maker and live pages for gold rates, exchange rates, prayer times and the Hijri date.
Contact Arslan
If you spot a mistake, have a question about a guide or want to suggest a topic, use the contact page. Reader emails and comments are one of the ways new topics are chosen.
Find Arslan online
Saudi Life Guide on Facebook and Instagram. Email: contact@saudilifeguide.com