Saudi Arabia's Amendments to the Penal Code Will Cover a Host of Violations

Saudi Arabia has developed a penalty system that will impose an SR10,000 ($2,666) fine for employers who hire foreign workers without valid legitimate permits.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced a habitualisation of the labour market, curbing of abuse, and an assurance that both employers and workers adhere to current rules or regulations of employment and abuses.

The amendments to the Penal Code will cover a host of violations, including undocumented contracts and illegal recruitments, child labour, passport retention, and breaching maternity and childcare provisions.

As per the officials, the penalty has been implemented to stop the common trend of hiring impartially, and they want to ensure the safeguarding of workers. Employers who do not digitally register contracts will incur a fine of SR1000 ($266) per worker.

• Saudi Arabia’s move is part of its broader exercise to digitise governance that it claims will enhance transparency, record-keeping, and enforcement of labour rights. The new penalties set stricter terms for child labour offences.
• The hiring of children below 15 years of age has now become a crime under Article 167 of the Labour Law, with firms employing 50 workers or more facing fines of up to SR2,000($533.28).

The government’s zero-tolerance policy on the employment of children is further strengthened by the imposition of a fine of SR 1,500 per incident for extra violations regarding the employment of children under Chapter 10 of the same law. One of the most remarkable provisions with respect to expatriate workers is the retention of personal documents.

• Employers who take possession of or withhold a worker’s passport or residency permit will be fined SR3,000 for every worker. Foreign workers have flagged this practice for a long time, and the new penalty gives regulators clearer enforcement powers.

The toughest penalties are for unauthorized recruitment. Anyone who recruits or employs workers without a proper authorisation will face a fine of at least SR200,000($53,327) for the first offence, which will rise to SR220,000($58,660) for the second. This will rise to SR250,000 for the third.

In November 2025,  Nairametrics  reported that Saudi Arabia moved to digitise its immigration and border control systems, with authorities announcing the launch of a new Self-Deportation Platform and an artificial intelligence-driven Smart Track system aimed at speeding up passenger processing at airports and other entry points.

The acting director-general of passports, Saleh Al-Murabba, announced the initiatives during the Digital Government Forum 2025, Riyadh.

As he put it, the measures are part of a Kingdom-wide push to modernise administrative operations and leverage advanced technologies to improve efficiency and security, as well as regulatory compliance.