Final Exit Letter to Your Employer in Saudi Arabia: 4 Samples, What to Include and How to Submit (2026)

Last updated: 10 November 2026

A final exit letter is a short, signed request asking your employer in Saudi Arabia to issue your final exit visa when your contract ends or your resignation takes effect. It should give your iqama number, employee ID, last working day and a request for your final settlement. Below are four samples you can copy, then how to submit the letter and keep proof.

The letter does not issue the visa: your employer does that, free, through Absher Business or Muqeem. For the visa rules and the checklist before you fly, see our final exit visa guide.

Final exit letter at a glance

When to send the letter

Send it when your fixed-term contract is ending and you will not renew, after you resign, or when the contract has ended and HR has not issued the visa.

Timing matters. Under Article 55 of the Saudi Labour Law, a fixed-term contract ends when its term runs out, but if both sides carry on working, it is treated as renewed. A letter before the end date makes your decision clear. Some contracts also set their own non-renewal notice.

If you are resigning, the resignation comes first. Submit it on Qiwa (Services, Employment Contracts, Terminate Contract) and give HR a signed copy. The Labour Law amendments in force since 19 February 2025 cut the employee’s notice on an open-ended, monthly-paid contract from 60 days to 30, while the employer still has to give 60. They also added Article 79 bis: the employer has 30 days to answer a resignation, and silence counts as acceptance. Our guide to Saudi resignation rules covers the full timeline.

Final exit letter samples you can copy

Replace the text in square brackets, remove lines that do not apply, then print and sign. Stay polite: the same HR team handles your visa and settlement.

Sample 1: Final exit at the end of your contract

Subject: Request for final exit visa at the end of my employment contract

To: HR Manager, [Company name]
Date: [Date]

Dear [HR manager's name],

My employment contract ends on [contract end date] and I do not wish to renew it. I kindly ask the company to issue my final exit visa after my last working day, [last working day].

My details:
Name: [Your full name as on iqama]
Iqama number: [Iqama number]
Employee ID: [Employee ID]
Job title and joining date: [Job title], [date of joining]
Passport number and expiry: [Passport number], [expiry date]

I also request:
1. My final settlement: salary to my last working day, pay for unused annual leave and my end-of-service award under the Saudi Labour Law.
2. My return ticket, if my contract provides one.
3. A service certificate, as provided in Article 64 of the Labour Law.
4. Closure of my contract on Qiwa.

Please confirm receipt of this letter and the date the final exit visa will be issued, so I can book my flight. I will complete my handover and return all company property before I leave.

Thank you for the opportunity to work with [Company name].

Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
[Signature]
[Mobile number], [personal email]

Sample 2: Final exit after resignation with notice

Subject: Final exit request following my resignation

To: HR Manager, [Company name]
Date: [Date]

Dear [HR manager's name],

I submitted my resignation on [date of resignation] through Qiwa (request number [Qiwa request number]) and by email to HR on the same day. It was accepted on [date of acceptance, or remove this sentence]. My last working day will be [last working day].

As I will leave Saudi Arabia permanently, I ask the company to issue my final exit visa after my last working day.

Name: [Your full name]
Iqama number: [Iqama number]
Employee ID: [Employee ID]
Iqama expiry date: [Iqama expiry date]

I also request my final settlement within the period set in Article 88 of the Labour Law, including my end-of-service award, and a service certificate under Article 64.

I will complete my handover and return all company items by [date].

Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Signature]
[Mobile number], [personal email]

Sample 3: The employer is delaying your final exit

Subject: Second request: final exit visa, contract ended on [date]

To: HR Manager, [Company name]
Copy: [Line manager's name]
Date: [Date]

Dear [HR manager's name],

I refer to my letter of [date of first letter], copy attached, requesting my final exit visa. My contract ended on [contract end date], and the visa has not been issued yet.

I kindly ask the company to issue my final exit visa by [date, for example 7 days from today] and to pay my final settlement as required by Article 88 of the Saudi Labour Law.

Please note that my iqama expires on [iqama expiry date]. A final exit visa needs a valid iqama with at least 30 days left, so a further delay may add renewal costs.

If I do not receive a reply by that date, I will use the options available to me, including requesting the final exit through Absher or Qiwa as allowed after the end of a contract, and contacting the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
Iqama number: [Iqama number]
Employee ID: [Employee ID]
[Signature]

Sample 4: Short request from a domestic worker to the sponsor

Domestic workers follow the 2024 Regulation for Domestic Workers, not the Labour Law, and the sponsor issues the final exit on Absher Individuals. The Regulation gives an end-of-service award of one month’s wage for every four consecutive years (Article 22) and, after two years of service, a one-way ticket home for a worker leaving for good (Article 12).

Date: [Date]

Dear [Sponsor's name],

My contract as [housemaid / house driver] ends on [contract end date]. I do not wish to renew it, and I would like to return to my home country.

Please issue my final exit visa on Absher before [date], and pay my salary to my last day, plus any end-of-service award and ticket due under my contract and the Domestic Workers Regulation.

Name: [Your full name]
Iqama number: [Iqama number]
Passport number: [Passport number]

Thank you for your kindness.

[Your name]
[Signature]

What to include, and what never to include

Include:

• Your name exactly as on your iqama, the iqama number and your employee ID.
• The contract end date, or your resignation date and Qiwa request number.
• Your last working day and a clear request for the final exit visa.
• A request for the final settlement and a service certificate.
• A personal email and phone number that will work after you leave.

Never include:

• A line saying you have received all your dues. Sign a clearance or settlement form only after the money is in your account.
• A plan to stop work early. Ending a fixed-term contract without a legitimate reason can cost you the wage for the remaining period, at least two months’ wage, unless the contract sets another amount (Article 77).
• Threats or complaints about colleagues. Raise a real dispute separately.
• Your Absher password, Nafath codes or bank card details.

How to submit the letter and keep proof

1. Email it to HR from your personal email, line manager in copy, with the signed letter attached as a PDF.
2. Print two copies. Hand one to HR and ask them to write “received”, the date and a signature or company stamp on your copy.
3. If nobody will sign, keep the sent email and any reply: the email date is your proof. Photograph the stamped copy.
4. Check Absher after the expected date. The visa appears on your record once it is issued.

If your employer refuses or delays the final exit

Many expats in Saudi Arabia fear the company can hold them for months. Once the contract has ended, it cannot. Under the Labour Reform Initiative of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD), in force since 14 March 2021, a private-sector worker can then leave on final exit without the employer’s consent, through Absher or Qiwa; the employer is notified electronically. Domestic workers, private drivers, home guards, shepherds and farmers are not covered by this route.

Watch the clock. Since July 2025, when a Qiwa contract ends without renewal, the worker is shown as “disconnected from work” for 60 days, according to Saudi media reports. In that window you can transfer, leave on final exit or sign a new contract; after it, the status can change to absent from work. Our huroob guide explains that status and how to check it.

For unpaid salary, end-of-service or other dues, file a claim with the free HRSD Friendly Settlement for Labour Disputes service. Claims must be filed within 12 months, at the settlement office of the city where you last worked. If there is no settlement, the case goes to the labour court within 21 working days. The steps are in our guide to an employer not paying salary. If the employer broke the contract, read about resigning under Article 81 first. The HRSD helpline is 19911.

Domestic workers are not covered by Friendly Settlement. HRSD receives their complaints (Article 32 of their Regulation), court claims must be filed within 12 months of the contract ending (Article 5), and the sponsor must not keep the worker’s passport (Article 15). To stay in Saudi Arabia instead, see domestic worker transfer on Musaned.

Final exit letter, resignation letter or release letter?

A resignation letter ends your job. A final exit letter asks for the visa to leave the Kingdom for good. A release letter, the old “NOC”, was for moving to another employer; since 2021 a worker whose contract has ended can transfer without consent, so most private-sector workers no longer need one (see our iqama transfer status guide). If you only want to travel and come back, you need an exit re-entry visa, not a final exit.

Tips from real expat experience in KSA

• Check your iqama date before you write. A final exit needs at least 30 days left on the iqama, and the visa lasts only as long as the iqama when fewer than 60 days remain. Check it with our iqama expiry guide.
• Ask HR to issue the visa close to your flight. An unused final exit costs a SAR 1,000 fine before it can be cancelled.
• Work out your award before the meeting with HR. Our end of service benefit calculator shows the amount for your years and reason for leaving.

Frequently asked questions

Is a final exit letter required by law?

No law names it, but resignation and notice must both be in writing. A signed final exit letter is the simplest proof that you asked for the visa, and when.

How many days before my contract ends should I send it?

Follow your contract’s non-renewal clause if it has one. If you are resigning from an open-ended contract with a monthly wage, the minimum notice is 30 days under Article 75. Sending the letter at least 30 days before your last day also gives HR time to prepare the visa and the settlement.

Can I send the letter by email only?

Email proves the date, so always send one. Hand in a signed paper copy too, because some HR departments act only on signed paper.

When must my employer pay my final settlement?

Under Article 88, within one week of the end of the contract, or within two weeks if you ended it by resigning. The employer may deduct genuine work-related debts you owe.

Sources: Saudi Labour Law, Articles 55, 64, 75, 76, 77, 79 bis and 88 (laws.boe.gov.sa, including the amendments by Royal Decree M/44 in force since 19 February 2025); Bureau of Experts, Labour Law; HRSD Labour Reform Initiative; HRSD Termination of Contractual Relationship (Qiwa); HRSD Friendly Settlement for Labour Disputes; HRSD Regulation for Domestic Workers (2024); Absher Business service guide; Saudi Gazette and Envoy Global reports on the Qiwa 60-day rule (2025).