Muqeem Portal Explained for Expats & Employers

If you work in Saudi Arabia as an expat, you have probably heard your HR team mention Muqeem when it is time to renew your iqama or arrange an exit/re-entry visa. Muqeem is an employer-facing government portal for resident services — it is used by organizations to manage residency transactions on behalf of their employees, rather than by individuals for self-service. This guide from سعودي ليفنج explains what Muqeem does, the transactions it handles, the fees and levies involved, and how the whole process fits together so both employers and expats know what to expect.

What Muqeem actually is

Muqeem is a business portal that gives registered organizations access to a range of resident services. Through it, an employer can carry out residency transactions, handle passport-related services, and print residency documents for individual beneficiaries (the workers sponsored by that organization).

The key point for expats to understand: Muqeem is not a self-service app for individuals. You cannot log in personally to renew your own iqama through it. Instead, your employer or your company's government-relations (GR) team uses their Muqeem access to process everything on your behalf.

The most common transactions

Most day-to-day activity on Muqeem revolves around a handful of core services:

• Iqama renewal — extending residency, usually for a 12-month validity period.
• New iqama issuance — creating residency for a newly arrived worker.
• Exit/re-entry processing — issuing single or multiple exit/re-entry visas so an employee can travel and return.

The portal also provides support for resident services and a set of reports, though the number of users and reports available depends on the subscription tier the organization holds.

Fees you should know about

Several separate charges may apply, and it helps to know the difference between government fees and processing fees. Always confirm current figures on the relevant official Saudi portal before paying, as amounts can change.

• Iqama renewal fee: commonly SAR 650
• Domestic-worker iqama fee: some summaries list SAR 600
• Work permit levy: commonly shown at SAR 800 payable in installments of 3, 6, 9, or 12 months.
• Dependent levy: SAR 400

On top of these, a small processing fee applies Typical figures shown include SAR 51.75 for iqama renewal and new iqama issuance, SAR 103.50 for exit/re-entry extension, SAR 70 for final exit, SAR 69 for passport update, and SAR 28.75 for employee report actions.

How exit/re-entry visa fees are calculated

Exit/re-entry visas are priced by a base fee plus a per-month charge, and the additional months are counted up to your iqama expiry.

• Single exit/re-entry: SAR 200 base plus SAR 100 for each extra month.
• Multiple exit/re-entry: SAR 500 base plus SAR 200 for each extra month.

For fee purposes, months are rounded: 1–30 days counts as one month, and 31–60 days counts as two months. Because the duration is capped at your iqama expiry, it is worth renewing the iqama first if you need a longer travel window.

The typical employer workflow

Whatever the transaction, the sequence is broadly the same:

• Pay the required government fees and any applicable levies.
• Complete the transaction through Muqeem or the linked government channel.
• Finalize the residency or visa service record after payment is confirmed.

Employer payment and status checks for labor-related fees are generally handled through the services of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, with login using أبشر or مقيم credentials.

Muqeem subscription tiers

Organizations pay for Muqeem access through packages priced by the number of residents they manage. Published examples of package pricing include SAR 1,100, SAR 2,300, SAR 3,600, SAR 5,600, and SAR 7,550, with user limits and available reports scaling by tier. Larger employers with many sponsored workers naturally sit in higher tiers.

What this means for expats

Because Muqeem is employer-controlled, the smartest thing you can do as a resident is stay in close contact with your HR or GR team ahead of any deadline. Ask them to confirm your iqama expiry date, plan exit/re-entry visas before you travel, and keep your passport details up to date. If a transaction stalls, remember the real actions happen on the employer side — and any exact fee should always be verified on the official Saudi government portal at the time of processing.

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