Saudi Work Visa from Pakistan: From Visa Number to Iqama
Saudi work visa from Pakistan: the employer's Qiwa approval, Takamol skills test, Wafid medical, stamping, Protector and Iqama — and the free-visa trap.
Last checked against official sources on 25 September 2026
QUICK ANSWER
Who pays for a Saudi work visa from Pakistan, and how long does it take?
Your employer does: Saudi labour law puts the recruitment fees, the work permit and the Iqama on the employer, and anyone selling you the visa itself, or a “free visa”, is a warning sign. In Pakistan you pay for the skills test, the medical, verification and Protector of Emigrants registration, and from the visa number to departure usually takes 4–10 weeks.
Checked on the official sites on 13 October 2026. Fees and times change, so confirm them on the linked page before you pay. Visa centre charges and any consultant's fee are extra.
A Saudi work visa starts with the employer. A Saudi company gets approval for the post through the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) and its Qiwa platform, and the visa is issued to you by name. You then complete the skills test, the medical and the visa stamping in Pakistan, and your Iqama follows after you land.
What decides it is whether the job and the profession on the visa are real and match you. Many trades now need a skills test before the visa is stamped, and degree-level jobs need your qualifications verified. The “free visa” or “azad visa” sold in Pakistan is the classic trap: working for anyone other than your sponsor is illegal, and nobody legitimate sells a job offer or a visa.
Most refusals come down to one of four
01A real job and profession
02The skills test
03A fit medical
04A verified qualification
SASaudi Arabia · Work visaFACT SHEET
Who applies
Your employer, through the Ministry of Human Resources and its Qiwa platform
Skills test
The Skill Verification Program (Takamol) for many trades, taken in Pakistan
Medical
A GCC-approved medical booked through Wafid, before the visa is stamped
Who pays
Saudi labour law puts recruitment, work permit and Iqama fees on the employer
Before you fly
Protector of Emigrants registration in Pakistan
After you land
Your employer issues your Iqama, the residence permit
Applying on the wrong visa is one of the quickest ways to a refusal, so read both lists before anything else.
You’re in the right place if you are
A tradesperson recruited through a promoter
Tradespeople — electricians, plumbers, welders, masons, drivers and others — recruited through a licensed Overseas Employment Promoter, many of whom need the Takamol skills test.
An engineer, accountant or professional
Engineers, accountants, IT staff and other professionals, whose qualifications go through Saudi Arabia's Professional Verification.
A doctor, nurse or health worker
Doctors, nurses and other health workers, who also register with the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties.
Holding a visa number, unsure what comes next
Anyone holding a Saudi visa number who wants to know what should happen next — and what should not.
In the order it happens. Each stage waits on the one before it, so the date you start decides the date you finish. Ranges, not promises — the mission owns the clock.
VISA NUMBER TO DEPARTURE4–10 weeksusually
1First
Check the visa and the employer
Make sure the visa is issued in your name, by the company you will actually work for, in the profession you will actually do. If you are going through a promoter, check its licence on the Bureau of Emigration's list. A visa for sale with no real job behind it — the “free visa” — cannot legally be worked on.
21–3 weeks
Pass the skills test, if your trade needs it
If your trade is on Saudi Arabia's mandatory list, register on the Takamol portal and sit the test at a NAVTTC-approved centre in Pakistan. NAVTTC says the certificate is issued within 24 hours of passing. The trade you test in must match the profession on your visa.
3
Verify your qualification
For jobs that need a degree or diploma, have it verified by HEC. Since Saudi Arabia and Pakistan both joined the Apostille Convention, an apostille from Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has replaced attestation by the Saudi Embassy, and professional jobs also go through Saudi Arabia's Professional Verification before you enter.
4Days to 1 week
Medical through Wafid
Book the medical through Wafid at an approved centre. Some results mean the visa cannot be stamped, so do the medical before you resign from your current job, not after.
51–3 weeks
Biometrics and visa stamping
Give your fingerprints at a Saudi visa service centre and submit your passport for the visa to be stamped. Check the name, passport number and profession on it before you leave the counter.
6Days to 2 weeks
Protector and departure
Register for Protector — through your promoter, or directly with the Bureau of Emigration if the employer hired you without one — and attend the pre-departure briefing. FIA checks the registration at the airport.
7After arrival
Iqama after arrival
Your employer registers you and issues your Iqama, the residence permit you carry for the rest of your stay. Under Saudi labour law the employer pays for it and for its renewal.
The official figures are in the quick answer at the top, as checked on 13 October 2026. They change without notice, so each line here says what a cost depends on and where the current figure is published.
Paid by the employer
Recruitment, permits and Iqama
Saudi labour law makes the employer pay the recruitment fees, the work permit and Iqama fees and their renewal, exit and re-entry visas, and your ticket home at the end of the contract.
Paid in Pakistan
Protector registration
In Pakistan you pay for your Protector registration — the government fee, the welfare fund and insurance — at the rates the Bureau of Emigration publishes. A licensed promoter's service charge is regulated; always get a receipt.
FIGUREBureau of Emigration
Paid to third parties
Test, medical and verification
The Takamol test fee is set on its portal, and the Wafid medical, HEC verification and apostille are each paid at their own published rates.
FIGUREEach provider
Never pay this
The visa itself, or a free visa
If anyone asks you to pay for the visa itself, or sells you a “free visa”, stop. It is the clearest sign the job is not what it claims to be.
This is general guidance. Rules change, sometimes without notice, and your case will have specifics this page cannot know about. Check anything decisive on the official pages, or send us your situation and we will tell you where you actually stand.
Read before you apply
Why Saudi work visa applications are refused
The grounds that come up most on files from Pakistan. Most of them can be dealt with before you submit.
REFUSED
01
A failed or mismatched skills test
Failing the Takamol test, or testing in a trade that does not match the profession on the visa.
02
An unfit Wafid medical
An unfit Wafid medical. Hepatitis B and C and tuberculosis are among the conditions screened for, and some results mean the visa is not stamped.
03
A qualification that fails verification
A qualification that fails verification or cannot be verified. Forged certificates are caught, and the consequences fall on you.
04
A past deportation, overstay or huroob
A previous deportation, overstay or absconding (huroob) record in Saudi Arabia — including an overstay after Umrah.
05
The wrong profession on the visa
A visa profession that does not match you — an engineer on a labourer's visa, for example — which then follows you onto your Iqama.
06
Protector refused
Protector refused because the promoter is not licensed or its paperwork for your job is incomplete.
07
A free visa
A “free visa” with no real employer behind it: no Iqama, fines and deportation after you arrive.
Already been refused?
Send us the refusal letter before you do anything else. It states the grounds, and they decide whether applying again is worth it or would just cost you the fee a second time.
Two agents cover WhatsApp between them, so this reaches a person rather than an inbox. The first assessment is free and you get a straight answer, including when that answer is no.
YOUR MESSAGE PREVIEW
ApkaVisa · live agentonline now
Assalam-o-Alaikum! I'd like a free assessment.
Service: Work Visa
Destination: Saudi Arabia
(ref: form-guide-work-visa-saudi)
It is a visa sold by someone who is not going to employ you, on the promise that you can work anywhere once you arrive. You cannot: working for anyone other than your sponsor is illegal, and it ends in fines, deportation and a ban. Nobody legitimate sells a job offer or a visa.
Only if your trade is on Saudi Arabia's mandatory list, which covers construction, electrical, mechanical, driving, culinary and other trades. You register on the Takamol portal and sit the test at a NAVTTC-approved centre in Pakistan. NAVTTC approves and oversees the centres; it does not provide training for the test.
Your employer. Saudi labour law puts recruitment fees, the work permit, the Iqama and its renewal, exit and re-entry visas and your final ticket home on the employer. In Pakistan you pay for your own Protector registration and for the tests and verification your job needs.
Under the Labor Reform Initiative, in force since March 2021, private-sector workers can move to a new employer without the old one's consent once their contract ends, and can travel or leave without the employer's approval, through Qiwa and Absher. The conditions change from time to time, so check them on Qiwa before you rely on them.
The start is different. A Saudi household hires domestic workers through Musaned, the government's domestic labour platform, under separate rules, and the Labor Reform Initiative does not cover domestic workers. The medical, stamping and Protector steps in Pakistan are similar.
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