Employers can issue final exit visas through Absher before domestic workers obtain residency permits.
Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Passports has outlined conditions under which employers can issue final exit visas for domestic workers during their 90-day probationary period, even before the workers have received their residency permits.
The service is available electronically through the Absher platform, enabling employers to complete final exit procedures for eligible domestic workers while they are still within the probation period.
Under the requirements, the domestic worker must be inside Saudi Arabia when the final exit visa is issued and must not be registered as deceased or absent from work.
The worker must also have no unpaid traffic fines and must hold a passport with at least 60 days of remaining validity.
Under regulations issued by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, employers and domestic workers are required to enter into a written employment contract, which may include a probationary period of up to 90 days.
The probationary period gives employers an opportunity to evaluate a domestic worker’s professional abilities and conduct before continuing the employment relationship on a longer-term basis.
During this period, both the employer and the domestic worker have the right to terminate the employment contract unilaterally.
A domestic worker cannot be placed on probation more than once with the same employer, unless both parties agree that the worker will take on a different role from the one covered by the original probationary period.
