A European industrial-services firm wins a 30-month maintenance contract at a petrochemical complex in Jubail. It needs a country general manager, an HR manager, eight Saudi engineers and about 50 expatriate technicians. The HR director in Dubai asks the company’s UAE agency to handle everything.
Six weeks later the plan has stalled. The UAE agency has no Saudi licence to supply labour, so procurement turns to a local labour-services company, which sends technicians to site before their Ajeer permits are issued, a breach under rules in force since January 2026. The new entity’s Nitaqat band limits visas until more Saudis join, and two engineers who accepted offers do not yet count because their contracts were never documented on Qiwa. The general-manager search, run on contingency, has produced three CVs. In Saudi Arabia, who may supply, place or lend a worker is regulated as closely as the hire itself.
Saudi Arabia is the largest hiring market in the Gulf and the one where the type of firm matters most. Vision 2030 projects, regional headquarters and fast-rising Saudi participation have pulled every major recruiter into Riyadh, while a separate industry of licensed manpower companies supplies workers on its own sponsorship. Search firms compete for senior leaders, and HR consultancies build the pay and Saudisation plans behind every hire.
This guide, part of the Finding the Right Person hub, explains how the market is regulated, what firms charge and how Saudisation and the Ajeer rules shape your choice. It then profiles 14 firms in three groups, with a summary table and a question set. For job boards, Nitaqat bands and the hiring process, start with our Saudi Arabia recruiting playbook.
In short
Recruitment and labour services are HRSD-licensed activities; unlicensed providers face fines of SAR 200,000, rising to SAR 250,000 for repeat offences.
Article 40 of the Labour Law puts recruitment, iqama and work-permit fees for non-Saudi workers on the employer.
Since 26 January 2026, outsourcing expatriate staff between establishments needs an Ajeer contract and permit, for at most three years.
Contingency fees run at roughly 15–25% of first-year package; for localised roles, choose recruiters with real Saudi talent networks.
How the recruitment and HR-services market works in Saudi Arabia
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD) licenses recruitment and labour services. At the volume end sit licensed manpower companies, some of them listed, which recruit workers from abroad and supply them to businesses and households on their own sponsorship. In a 2025 consultation HRSD published draft rules that would require such companies to be closed joint-stock companies with paid-up capital in tiers from SAR 5 million to SAR 100 million, plus a bank guarantee and, where required, professional insurance, as reported by Argaam. The ministry also pursues unlicensed operators: in September 2026 it fined ten establishments, including app- and website-based services, at SAR 200,000 for a first offence, SAR 220,000 for a second and SAR 250,000 for a third.
Professional recruiters and search firms sit at the other end. They introduce candidates whom you hire on your own entity and visas, usually through a locally registered company. Treat any firm that will keep workers on its own payroll as a labour-services provider, and check its licence accordingly.
Saudi recruitment market at a glance
Agency licence required?Yes: HRSD, for recruitment and labour services
Unlicensed-provider finesSAR 200,000, rising to 250,000 for repeats
Typical contingency feeRoughly 15–25% of first-year package
Guarantee period normUsually 3 months; up to 6 for senior hires
Retained search normAbout a third of first-year cash, in stages
Temp/outsourced labourAjeer contract and permit; max 3 years
Main business hubsRiyadh, Jeddah, Eastern Province
Data-protection lawPDPL, enforced since September 2024
Fees, guarantees and who pays for what
At the time of writing (November 2026), contingency fees for professional roles generally run at about 15% to 25% of first-year package, with scarce engineering, digital and senior finance roles at the top. Packages combine basic pay with housing and transport allowances, so agree the fee base in writing. Three-month replacement guarantees are the norm, and retained search is paid in stages for roughly a third of first-year cash; our guide to agency fees by country compares markets.
Costs on the worker side are fixed by law. Article 40 of the Labour Law, as published by HRSD, puts recruitment fees for non-Saudi workers, iqama and work-permit fees, exit and re-entry visas and the return ticket on the employer. Nothing should be deducted from the worker’s pay, whoever recruited them; see our Saudi work visa guide for the steps.
Labour services, Ajeer and the 2026 outsourcing rules
For project or seasonal needs you can contract a licensed manpower company that employs the workers, or borrow expatriate staff from another establishment. Since 26 January 2026, Ministerial Decision No. 60339 has governed this internal outsourcing through the Ajeer platform. Each arrangement needs an electronic contract and an Ajeer permit before work starts, the worker must perform the profession on their permit, and a permit lasts no longer than the service contract or three years. The provider remains the legal employer; the beneficiary supervises and must stop the work when a permit lapses. For permanent hires before you have an entity, see hiring without an entity.
Watch outNever let supplied workers start on site before the Ajeer permit is issued, and diarise every expiry date. Under the 2026 rules a violation begins on the first business day after a permit expires, and the provider is liable even if the worker carried on without its instruction.
Saudisation first: what to ask of a recruiter
Your Nitaqat band decides whether you can obtain visas, renew permits or transfer expatriates, and many occupations now carry their own localisation percentages. A recruiter that only sources expatriates is half a solution. Look for firms with a real Saudi talent practice: networks among returning scholarship graduates and mid-career Saudis, salary data for nationals, and the discipline to have every contract documented on Qiwa, because since 15 April 2026 a Saudi hire counts towards Saudisation only once it is. Pay matters too: a Saudi employee counts in full only above the ministry’s wage threshold, long set at SAR 4,000 a month and reported to be rising, so check Qiwa before you set salaries. Our Saudi playbook covers the quotas.
Jadarat, the national employment platform run by the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), is the free first channel, with HRDF training and wage-support schemes alongside. Several firms below, including Michael Page, Adecco and Antal, advertise Saudisation advisory or national-talent hiring. Ask each for twelve-month retention of its Saudi placements and how it supports onboarding.
Consultant’s noteAsk for a Saudisation plan, not just CVs. A good recruiter will map which of your occupations are localised, which roles a Saudi graduate can grow into within a year and what each hire does to your visa capacity. Pair it with a pay band set in advance; our guide to setting the pay band shows how.
Four routes to a worker, four kinds of firm
Most Saudi hiring falls into one of four routes, and each calls for a different kind of firm and a different compliance check. Our hiring-channel decision matrix covers the job boards and referrals that sit alongside them.
Four hiring routes in Saudi Arabia, the type of firm suited to each and the check that matters most.
Building from scratch? Secure the Saudi hires that lift your band first, then file expatriate visas, and use labour services for anything temporary.
Recruitment, selection and placement firms
The first four firms are international recruiters with Saudi operations, suited to professional and managerial hiring. The next three are Saudi manpower companies that supply and recruit workers at volume. Listings are editorial and independent; no firm paid to be included, and inclusion is not a recommendation. Check licences, terms and references directly with each firm.
International recruiters with Saudi offices
Adecco (Saudi Arabia)International staffing and recruitment group
SaudisationRPO
WhereSaudi Arabia
Best forPermanent recruitment, executive search, RPO, payroll outsourcing and Saudisation programmes
Pricing modelPlacement fees; outsourcing by contract
Also lists visa and iqama services, relocation, background checks, salary benchmarking and government-relations support.
Leadership hiring here is shaped by giga-projects, regional headquarters and a growing pool of senior Saudis. Retained search is the norm for general managers and the C-suite, with staged fees, off-limits lists and shortlists in six to ten weeks, often longer when a Saudi national is required.
Heidrick & Struggles (Riyadh)Executive search and leadership consulting
BoardCEO
WhereRiyadh; also Dubai
Best forCEO, board and senior executive search; leadership assessment and development
Pricing modelRetained search; consulting projects
A global search firm with its own Riyadh office, relevant for government-related entities, giga-projects and multinationals building Saudi leadership teams.
These firms help you build the structure around a hire: grading and pay, competency frameworks, assessment centres and HR transformation. TASC Outsourcing, profiled in our UAE guide, also runs employer-of-record and payroll services from Riyadh and Al Khobar for companies without a Saudi entity.
TharwahSaudi human-capital advisory firm
SaudiAssessment
WhereRiyadh head office; Jeddah, Dammam, Dubai, Egypt
Best forHR consulting, organisational excellence, talent assessment, leadership academy, recruitment and HR outsourcing
Pricing modelProject and training fees
Founded in 2012 according to its site; a fit for companies building an HR function, competency framework or assessment centre from scratch.
Editorial selection of 14 firms operating in Saudi Arabia, November 2026. No firm paid to be included.
Before you sign with a Saudi recruitment or HR firm
Put these questions to every firm on your shortlist and keep the answers with the contract.
● Before you engage a recruitment or HR firm in Saudi Arabia · 11 questions
1Which HRSD licence or registration covers the exact service you are selling us?Introducing candidates, supplying workers and recruiting from abroad are different activities; unlicensed providers face fines from SAR 200,000.
2Will any candidate or worker pay anything to you or to a sub-agent abroad?Article 40 puts recruitment fees for non-Saudi workers on the employer. Any deduction is a red flag.
3Is the fee based on basic salary or the total package with allowances?Housing and transport allowances can lift the invoice by a third.
4Does the guarantee still apply if a visa, iqama or Qiwa step delays the start?Government steps can push a start date beyond the guarantee window.
5How many Saudi nationals did you place in our occupations last year, and how many are still in post?Retention, not placement counts, shows real Saudi talent networks.
6Will you check how each hire affects our Nitaqat band and occupation quotas before we offer?A good recruiter sequences Saudi and expatriate hires to protect visa capacity.
7Who documents the contract on Qiwa, and by when?Saudi hires count towards Saudisation only once the contract is documented.
8For supplied workers, is every assignment covered by an Ajeer contract and permit before day one?The 2026 rules prohibit work before the permit and make lapses a violation from the next business day.
9Who is the legal employer of supplied workers, and who handles WPS, GOSI and permit renewals?The provider stays the employer; you supervise on site. Put each duty in the contract.
10Can you verify degrees and professional accreditation, such as engineering or health-specialties registration, before the offer?Many technical roles cannot start without accreditation, which takes weeks.
11Where is candidate data held, and how do you comply with the PDPL?Saudi data-protection rules restrict transfers of personal data outside the Kingdom.
Last Updated: November 2026 · Reviewed by the Kurums HR editorial team. This guide is general information, not legal advice; employment and advertising rules change, so confirm requirements with local counsel before you post.
