KSA Glossary — مسرد المصطلحات
31 Saudi Arabia-specific terms explained in plain English with Arabic translations — covering employment law, business registration, tax, immigration, and Islamic banking.
👷Employment & Laborالتوظيف والعمل
7 terms
Nitaqat (Bands) is the Saudi labor market nationalization program that classifies private-sector companies int…
Saudization (Tawteen) is Saudi Arabia's national policy requiring private-sector companies to employ a minimum…
The Kafala (sponsorship) system is a framework used in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states that ties a foreign …
Qiwa is the official digital platform of Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MH…
Musaned is Saudi Arabia's official online platform for recruiting and managing domestic workers (household sta…
The General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) is Saudi Arabia's social security system that provides pe…
End of Service Benefits (EOSB) — known as مكافأة نهاية الخدمة — is the mandatory gratuity payment Saudi employ…
🏢Business Registrationتسجيل الأعمال
7 terms
A Commercial Registration (CR) is the official license issued by the Ministry of Commerce (MOCI) authorizing b…
Sijil is the Ministry of Commerce's digital platform and mobile app for managing commercial registrations in S…
Chamber of Commerce membership is mandatory for all businesses with a commercial registration in Saudi Arabia.…
A MISA (Ministry of Investment) license is required for foreign investors to operate businesses in Saudi Arabi…
Baladiya (municipality) is the local government body that issues municipality licenses required for businesses…
ISIC (International Standard Industrial Classification) codes are activity codes used in Saudi Arabia's commer…
The Saudi Freelance License (Marshid/Work Document) allows Saudi nationals to work independently without a tra…
🧾Tax & Financeالضرائب والمالية
6 terms
ZATCA (Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority) is Saudi Arabia's tax authority responsible for collecting VAT, Zakat…
Value Added Tax (VAT) is a 15% consumption tax applied to most goods and services in Saudi Arabia, administere…
Zakat is the Islamic obligatory charitable tax of 2.5% levied on the net assets of Saudi and GCC-owned busines…
SADAD is Saudi Arabia's national electronic bill payment system, operated by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). It…
Mada is Saudi Arabia's national debit card payment network, connecting all Saudi banks and enabling point-of-s…
SAMA (Saudi Central Bank, formerly Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority) is the central bank of Saudi Arabia. It r…
🛂Immigration & Visasالهجرة والتأشيرات
6 terms
An Iqama is the residence permit issued to foreign nationals living and working in Saudi Arabia. It serves as …
An Exit/Re-entry visa allows foreign workers in Saudi Arabia to leave the country temporarily and return. Unde…
A Final Exit visa is issued when a foreign worker permanently leaves Saudi Arabia. Under the Labor Reform Init…
Absher is Saudi Arabia's government e-services portal managed by the Ministry of Interior. It provides 200+ di…
Muqeem is the online platform used by employers and government agencies to manage expatriate affairs in Saudi …
The Dependent Levy is a monthly fee charged to foreign workers in Saudi Arabia for each dependent family membe…
🏦Islamic Bankingالمصرفية الإسلامية
5 terms
Murabahah is an Islamic finance structure where the bank purchases an asset and resells it to the customer at …
Tawarruq (organized commodity Murabahah) is an Islamic financing method where the bank buys a commodity on beh…
Ijarah is an Islamic leasing contract where the bank purchases an asset and leases it to the customer for a sp…
Riba (usury/interest) is explicitly prohibited in Islamic finance and Saudi Arabian banking law. All financing…
Sukuk are Islamic financial certificates similar to bonds but structured to comply with Sharia law. Instead of…