Saudi work visa Wakala: what it is, who issues it and how to check it

For a Saudi work visa, the Wakala is an electronic authorisation that the employer gives to a recruitment office on the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa platform (previously known as Enjaz). It lets that office take the employer's work visa to the Saudi embassy or consulate for the worker's visa to be issued. Only the employer can give it.

This guide is for three groups of readers: applicants with a Saudi job offer who keep hearing "the Wakala isn't done yet", HR teams at Saudi employers who have to give it, and recruitment agents who receive it. It explains where the Wakala sits in the process, how to check it, and what to do when something on it is wrong.

What the Wakala is

"Wakala" (وكالة) is the Arabic word for agency or power of attorney. In the work visa process, the platform itself calls the step "authorisation on a visa" (التفويض على تأشيرة). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa platform describes it as a service that lets employers authorise one of the recruitment offices to go to the Saudi mission and use the employer's work visas.

So the Wakala is a link between three things:

• a work visa the employer already holds,
• a recruitment office that will handle the file at the Saudi embassy or consulate, and
• the employer's consent, given electronically on the platform.

Without that link, the office has nothing to present to the mission for that visa.

Who issues it, and to whom

The employer issues it. The authorisation service sits in the business services section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa platform. Businesses sign in through the platform's login for government entities and businesses. Saudi citizens and residents sign in through Nafath, the national single sign-on. Either way, the employer gives the authorisation from their own account.

A recruitment office receives it. It is the office that will take the visa to the Saudi embassy or consulate. Because the employer gives the authorisation, the employer names the office. If the worker or an agent wants a particular office to handle the file, agree it with the employer before the authorisation is given.

Three things the Wakala is not:

• It is not something the worker applies for. A worker who is told to "get the Wakala" needs to ask the employer.
• It is not issued by the embassy or consulate. The mission receives it.
• It is not issued by a private service provider. Any business, including ours, can only check it and work with the office named on it.

Where it fits in the work visa process

The Wakala comes in the middle, after the visa exists and before the embassy stage. In outline:

1. The employer obtains the work visa in Saudi Arabia. Companies use the visa issuance service on Qiwa, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development's platform. Employers of domestic workers use Musaned, the Saudi government platform for domestic worker recruitment.
2. Any steps the job title needs are completed. Depending on the job title and nationality, this can include professional qualification verification (QVP), Saudi Council of Engineers accreditation, attested or apostilled certificates and a medical examination, where required.
3. The employer gives the Wakala. On the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa platform, the employer authorises the chosen recruitment office for that visa. A separate service on the platform, "authorisation on a work visa", is where the employer pays the authorisation fees for domestic and professional worker visas so that the document is sent to the embassy.
4. The recruitment office prepares the file. It collects the documents the mission asks for. Depending on the mission and the case, these can include the passport, photos, a medical report and biometrics, where required.
5. The Saudi embassy or consulate decides. The office lodges the file with the mission, and the mission decides whether to issue the visa.

Steps 2 and 3 can overlap. What matters is that the visa, the Wakala and a complete file are all ready when the office goes to the mission.

How to check a Wakala or visa status

The details of the authorisation sit in the employer's account on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa platform, so the employer is always the most reliable source. Ask them for the authorisation details or a copy of the document, and check that the recruitment office named on it is the one handling the file.

The visa platform also has public look-ups that do not need an account:

1. Inquiry about submitted applications. On the platform's home page, you can search by application number, visa document number or visa application number, together with a record number (a Saudi national ID, an iqama number, or a commercial registration number for companies and other organisations). You will usually need the employer to give you these numbers.
2. Search for a submitted application. A separate page searches by passport number, current nationality, visa type and the Saudi mission city the application comes from. The platform describes it as a search for a paid application.
3. Musaned visa status. For domestic workers, Musaned lists its own visa status inquiry.

These pages change from time to time, and the Ministry has launched a trial version of a new platform called KSA Visa. If a look-up does not work, go back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa platform and follow its current links rather than an old Enjaz address or a guide that copies one. Don't give your passport or visa numbers to a website that only claims to check them.

Common problems and what to do

Most stalled files come down to one of four problems. Only the employer can change the authorisation, so in every case the fix goes through them.

The Wakala went to the wrong office

The office named on the authorisation is the only one that can use it. If the worker's file is with a different office, that office cannot lodge it.

1. Ask the employer which office the authorisation names.
2. Decide which office should handle the file. Sometimes it is simpler to move the file to the named office.
3. If the authorisation has to change, the employer does it on the visa platform. Neither the worker nor the new office can transfer it.

The authorisation or the visa can no longer be used

If the office says the authorisation or the visa can no longer be used, ask the employer to check its status in their account and tell you what the platform allows next. Don't pay anyone who offers to "renew" it without the employer's involvement.

The details don't match

A misspelt name, a passport number from an expired passport or a different nationality can hold a file up.

1. Compare the passport's data page with the visa details and the authorisation, letter by letter.
2. If the worker has a new passport, tell the employer before the file is lodged.
3. Ask the employer to make any correction. The visa and the authorisation both sit in the employer's accounts, so neither the worker nor the office can correct them.

The job title needs a step that hasn't been done

Sometimes the Wakala is in place but the file still cannot move, because the job title needs qualification verification, engineering accreditation or attested certificates first. Check the requirements for the job title early, so the visa and the supporting steps are ready together.

Wakala for a visa versus a legal power of attorney

The same word causes confusion. A legal "wakala" in Saudi Arabia is a power of attorney: one person (the principal) appoints another (the agent) to act for them, with set terms and a set duration. In Saudi Arabia it can be registered on Najiz, the Ministry of Justice platform, and issuance is completed through a notary service, often a virtual one.

The work visa Wakala is different. It is given on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa platform, it relates to one employer's work visa, and it names a recruitment office, not a personal agent. A power of attorney from Najiz does not authorise a recruitment office to use a work visa, and a visa authorisation gives nobody legal power to act for the employer in anything else.

If someone asks you for "a wakala", ask which one they mean.