Inspection teams carried out approximately 250,000 field visits to private sector companies during the first quarter of 2026.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has cancelled over 7,200 visas issued to non-compliant establishments and suspended key government services following the discovery of thousands of labour violations during nationwide inspections.
The ministry said its monitoring teams and smart surveillance systems reviewed around 91,000 suspected cases, identifying 13,509 violations related to invalid employment relationships.
Authorities said immediate enforcement measures were implemented, including excluding the cases from the Kingdom’s “Nitaqat” Saudisation programme calculations and referring affected individuals to the Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf) to support their placement in legitimate job opportunities.
The ministry said inspection teams carried out around 250,000 field visits to private sector establishments in the first quarter of 2026, leading to the detection of approximately 168,000 violations.
It added that about 230,000 warnings were issued to businesses to correct their compliance status, while 3,522 violations were recorded at recruitment offices.
On the digital front, the ministry said it identified online violations and took action against 238 social media accounts advertising illegal domestic labour services.
Authorities also conducted proactive inspections in around 54,000 cases as part of efforts to combat human trafficking, the ministry added.
The ministry further acknowledged public participation in oversight, noting that 15,563 reports from the community were processed, with a 96.96% response rate within the designated timeframe.
