Working for another employer in Saudi Arabia is illegal for both sides. On 7 September 2026 the Ministry of Interior confirmed that an individual employer who lets their worker do it faces up to SAR 100,000 in fines, six months in jail and a five year recruitment ban.
What the Ministry of Interior actually announced
Be precise about what this is, because the headline reads like a brand new law and it is not. The penalties already existed. What changed on 7 September is that the ministry put them back in front of the public, which usually signals an enforcement push rather than a legislative one. Near identical warnings went out in earlier years.
For an individual employer, meaning a person rather than a registered company, the ministry listed three consequences:
- A fine of up to SAR 100,000
- Imprisonment of up to six months
- A ban on recruiting workers for up to five years
The ministry repeated its reporting numbers at the same time: 911 in Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province, and 999 in the rest of the Kingdom.
Penalties at a glance
Every figure here is a ceiling. The official wording is “up to”, so these are maximums rather than flat amounts charged in every case.
| Who is liable | Fine | Jail | Also applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual employer who lets their worker work for others or for the worker’s own account | Up to SAR 100,000 | Up to 6 months | Recruitment ban up to 5 years |
| Establishment doing the same, or employing expats who are in breach | Up to SAR 100,000 | Up to 1 year for the responsible manager | Recruitment ban up to 5 years, deportation if that manager is an expat |
| Expat worker working for their own account | Up to SAR 50,000 | Up to 6 months | Deportation |
Note the gap between the two rows that matter most to households. The sponsor is exposed to double the fine the worker is, and to a hiring ban the worker does not face at all.
Working for another employer: what the law actually bans
Article 39 of the Labour Law is the underlying rule and it cuts three ways. An employer may not let their worker work for someone else. A worker may not take a job with another employer. An employer may not hire someone else’s worker. All three are barred unless the prescribed procedures are followed first.
There is a second layer people forget. A work permit names an occupation, not only an employer. A driver picking up weekend electrical jobs is in breach even when the work is for his own sponsor.
The kafala sponsorship system was abolished in June 2025 and moving between employers got considerably easier. The permit requirement did not disappear with it. Your work permit still has to match the employer you actually work for, and the way to change that is a documented transfer.
The lawful routes
Two exist, and both leave a paper trail.
Ajeer. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development issues temporary work permits through the Ajeer platform. These authorise a worker to work at a named establishment for a set period while the original employment stays in place. The receiving establishment applies, not the worker.
Transfer of services. For a permanent move, the answer is a proper transfer. Once a request is submitted you can check sponsor transfer status in MOL to see where it has reached.
Anything outside those two is the arrangement the ministry just warned about.
Where expats actually get caught
Based on how this works on the ground in KSA, the cases that end badly rarely involve someone quitting and disappearing. They involve small arrangements nobody thought of as a crime:
- A household worker sent to clean a relative’s villa at weekends
- A company driver taking delivery app shifts on his day off
- A shop assistant covering a friend’s till during Ramadan trading hours
- A worker whose salary has stopped being told by his own employer to find something outside for now
That last one causes the most damage. If your employer is not paying your salary, the correct move is a wage complaint, not outside work. Taking a job elsewhere also gives your employer the option of filing huroob against you, and then you are carrying the deportation risk for their failure to pay. The Jawazat huroob rules are worth reading before you make that decision, not after.
What this means for expats
If you are the worker, the exposure is SAR 50,000, up to six months in custody and deportation. If you are an individual sponsor, most often a household with domestic staff, the exposure is larger and includes losing the right to recruit for up to five years.
Permission from your sponsor protects nobody. A WhatsApp message saying it is fine does not make the arrangement lawful and will not help either of you during an inspection. If you are looking for extra income, understand that the legal paths are narrow before you commit: the guides to self employment in Saudi Arabia and part time jobs in Saudi Arabia set out what is genuinely available and what is not.
Frequently asked questions
Can I work for another employer in Saudi Arabia if my own employer agrees?
No. Verbal or written permission from your sponsor is not a legal authorisation. The arrangement has to go through the ministry, usually as an Ajeer permit or a transfer. An employer who allows it informally faces a fine of up to SAR 100,000 and up to six months in jail.
What is the penalty for an expat working for their own account?
The Ministry of Interior puts it at a fine of up to SAR 50,000, imprisonment of up to six months, and deportation from the Kingdom. That is the worker side of the same violation the SAR 100,000 employer penalty covers, and both can be applied in the same case.
Is this a new law announced in September 2026?
No. The Ministry of Interior issued this as a reminder on 7 September 2026, and the same penalties have been publicised in previous years. Treat it as a signal that enforcement is being pushed rather than as a change in the rules themselves. Nothing about your obligations changed on that date.
The kafala system was abolished. Does that not mean I can work anywhere?
No. Kafala ended in June 2025 and moving between employers became far easier, but your work permit still has to name the employer you actually work for and the occupation you actually do. Changing employer means a documented transfer. It does not mean taking a second job on the side.
Does this apply to households with domestic workers?
Yes, and households are the most exposed group because the ministry singled out individual employers rather than companies. Sending your domestic worker to clean a relative’s home, or letting them take outside cleaning jobs, is the exact arrangement described. For a household that depends on recruiting, the five year ban can matter more than the fine.
