Based on Fragomen's recent immigration practitioner experience, the Qualification Verification Program (QVP), requiring work visa applicants to verify the adequacy of their educational qualifications before they enter Saudi Arabia, now applies to all industry sectors and includes a broader range of countries. The changes are as follows:
- All industries. The QVP requirement now applies to all industries, whereas previously, only applicants seeking to work in certain fields, such as aviation, construction, health, media, and tourism, were subject to these rules.
- More nationalities. Although the government has not released an official list of newly affected countries, Saudi authorities are now asking applicants from previously unaffected countries to provide a Professional Accreditation Certificate. Previously, this was only required for nationals from countries that lacked a Saudi cultural attaché. So far, the list of countries required to complete the QVP includes Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Germany, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Zambia.
Under the QVP rule, applicants must apply for and obtain a Professional Accreditation Certificate through the QVP portal. The QVP process is a substantial administrative step in the onboarding process that extends the overall work visa application timeline by an additional 15 days, and it requires a government fee of USD 93. Employers must accommodate these new administrative and cost challenges into their talent management strategy, and may need to adjust onboarding timelines accordingly.
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