Iqama Management

Qiwa Muqeem Absher Explained: What Each Platform Does for Saudi Employers

Last updated 2 October 2026

Qiwa is the labour platform of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD), where employers document contracts, issue work permits and request services such as visas and transfers. Muqeem and Absher Business are Ministry of Interior channels for the residence side, covering iqamas, exit and re-entry visas and passport updates. The Qiwa Muqeem Absher split follows those two authorities, and the platforms depend on each other, because the work permit issued on Qiwa is one of the conditions for issuing or renewing an iqama.

This is general information, not legal advice. Service lists and conditions change, so confirm them on the live platform or with the authority before you act.

Qiwa Muqeem Absher at a glance

The Saudi government platforms for employers divide along ministry lines. HRSD runs the labour side. The Ministry of Interior runs the residence and travel side through two channels that overlap.

Platform	Run by	What employers use it for
Qiwa	HRSD	Contracts, work permits and labour services such as visas and transfers of expatriate workers
Muqeem	General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat), Ministry of Interior	Reviewing resident workers’ data and completing residence and travel transactions, such as iqama renewal and exit visas
Absher Business	Ministry of Interior	The e-services portal for establishment owners, covering iqamas, exit and final exit visas, passport updates and delegation to other users

Qiwa Muqeem Absher therefore means two ministries and three platforms, and a transaction that starts on one can depend on another.

Qiwa work permit, contracts and visas

HRSD says Qiwa is aimed at business owners and individuals, who use it to recruit employees, manage their establishments and business accounts, and reach labour office services. It also says the platform offers private-sector users more than 130 services, including contract documentation and work permits (HRSD, September 2024). Of Qiwa Muqeem Absher, Qiwa is the one HRSD runs, and the other two are Ministry of Interior channels.

Contracts

Contract management lets an establishment create an employee’s contract and document it electronically. The employee approves it, rejects it or asks for changes through Qiwa Afrad, the employee-side platform, and once both sides agree the Ministry treats the contract as certified (HRSD service page). In July 2023 HRSD announced a phase requiring establishments to document 80 per cent of employee contracts (HRSD, July 2023). In August 2024 it said establishments at 80 per cent or more can fully benefit from its services, including visa issuance, service transfers and profession changes (HRSD, August 2024).

Work permits

The work permit, also called the work licence, is issued and renewed on Qiwa. HRSD’s service page names Qiwa as the channel and describes the permit as one of the conditions for issuing or renewing regular residency (HRSD). A Qiwa work permit therefore sits upstream of what the Ministry of Interior platforms do for the same worker, which is the dependency that ties Qiwa Muqeem Absher together.

Visas and transfers

HRSD lists an immediate visa issuance service on Qiwa. Its description says the service is provided to enterprises that achieve high nationalisation rates and comply with labour regulations (HRSD), so whether you can use it depends on your own record. The Employee Transfer service covers hiring non-Saudi employees who work for another employer in the Kingdom, and moving your own non-Saudi employees between your establishments (HRSD).

Muqeem iqama renewal and exit visas

Muqeem is the portal of the General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) for establishments. Its own page says the service lets organisations review resident workers’ data and complete their transactions online (Muqeem). When the Saudi Press Agency reported on it in 2014, residence permit renewal, exit and re-entry visas and final exit visas were among its listed services (SPA, 2014). In January 2025 Saudi Gazette reported that dependants of expatriates and domestic workers outside the Kingdom could renew iqamas and extend exit and re-entry visas through Absher and Muqeem (Saudi Gazette, January 2025). The conditions that apply to Muqeem iqama renewal and the visa transactions are listed under the Qiwa Muqeem Absher dependencies below, as the Absher Business guide states them.

Absher employer services through Absher Business

Absher is the Ministry of Interior’s electronic platform for citizens, residents and visitors. Its site splits into Absher Individuals, Absher Business for establishments and business owners, and Absher Government for public-sector employees (Absher). On the Ministry of Interior side of Qiwa Muqeem Absher, employer work belongs on Absher Business, which the Ministry’s guide says serves the owners of companies and establishments so they can carry out their workers’ transactions electronically. It was introduced in 2017 (Absher Business guide).

The Absher Business service guide (version 6, October 2021) lists these Absher employer services (service guide):

Issuing and renewing the iqama.
Issuing and cancelling exit and re-entry visas and final exit visas, including a final exit visa during probation.
Transferring a worker’s services and changing a worker’s occupation.
Updating a worker’s passport information.
Requesting a Muqeem print report of a worker’s basic data. The guide says it is a data report for specific purposes and not an official document proving the worker’s status.
Authorising another registered Absher user to carry out a specific service for the establishment through that user’s own account.

Delegation matters in practice. The authorised person must be a registered, activated Absher user, and the authorisation lapses automatically if they do not accept it within seven days. It gives a PRO officer a way to act for the establishment without borrowing the owner’s login.

Where the platforms overlap and depend on each other

Two platforms in Qiwa Muqeem Absher overlap. Muqeem and Absher Business both list iqama renewal and exit and re-entry and final exit visas. The official pages we reviewed do not explain how the two divide the work, so ask your account administrator which one your establishment’s transactions run through, and treat that one as the reference for status.

The links across Qiwa Muqeem Absher are clearer. The conditions below come from the Absher Business guide unless stated otherwise.

Contract. Documented on Qiwa. The documentation rate affects which Qiwa services you can use.
Work permit. Issued and renewed on Qiwa. A valid work permit is a condition for renewing an iqama, and for issuing one in some jobs.
Iqama issuance. The worker must be in the Kingdom with a valid passport, have passed a medical examination at an accredited centre, have health insurance, and have fingerprints and photos recorded. Fees, any delay penalty and any traffic fines must be paid.
Iqama renewal. The renewal must be paid for, and the passport and work permit must be valid. Medical insurance must be in place and no traffic violations may be unpaid.
Exit and re-entry or final exit visas. The passport must have 90 days or more of validity. A final exit visa has to be used within two months of issue.
Transfers and occupation changes. The guide lists labour ministry approval as a condition, and HRSD offers the transfer service on Qiwa, so both ministries are involved.

At renewal the direction is clear. The work permit renewed on Qiwa has to be valid before the iqama renewal on Muqeem or Absher Business can go through.

Our guide to the iqama, the work permit and the work visa follows a new hire through the sequence, and the iqama renewal checklist turns the renewal conditions into steps.

What the platforms leave to your own records

Each platform completes the transaction and shows its status inside its own account. Teams that run Qiwa Muqeem Absher transactions for many cases usually need a record of their own on top. It shows who requested what, which documents were ready, who approved it, what it cost and which date falls due next. That is the layer digital visa management software is built for. It sits beside the government platforms and does not replace them.

Two more HRSD platforms sit outside Qiwa Muqeem Absher and outside this guide. Domestic worker recruitment runs on Musaned (HRSD), and wage files go through Mudad under the Wage Protection Program (HRSD).

Habits that keep Qiwa Muqeem Absher in step

Name an owner and a deputy for each account across Qiwa Muqeem Absher, so a holiday does not stop renewals.
Delegate through the platform where it offers delegation, instead of sharing passwords.
Save each transaction’s confirmation against the employee record, with the date and the amount paid.
Check the work permit, passport and insurance dates before you start a renewal.
Check your contract documentation rate on Qiwa before you plan visa or transfer requests.

Put Qiwa Muqeem Absher into one workflow

Tell us how many entities and expatriate employees you manage and which platform each transaction runs through. We will show how a single case record could sit beside them.

Discuss your visa and iqama workflow