Egyptians In Saudi Arabia: Tales Of Different And Constraint

As tens of a whole bunch of Egyptians proceed heading to Saudi Arabia for work yearly, their immigration experiences mirror a broader geo-economic dynamic shaping the Middle East proper this second. Whereas the switch supplies financial various for lots of, it moreover brings challenges shaped by altering labour insurance coverage insurance policies and licensed frameworks.

Given that Seventies, Saudi Arabia has remained the primary regional trip spot for Egyptian labour migration, notably following the oil improve. A 2024 study in Comparative Migration Analysis confirmed that Egypt has been sending a much bigger number of older, work-experienced migrants to Saudi Arabia than to Kuwait or Libya; two completely different oil-rich nations that moreover turned essential places for Egyptian migrants following the oil improve.

These migrants often depend upon earnings to assist households once more residence.

In April 2025, the Central Monetary establishment of Egypt reported that remittances from Egyptians abroad reached approximately USD 3 billion (EGP 143.5 billion), a 39 p.c improve compared with April 2024, following Egypt’s dedication to float its foreign exchange in March. Gulf worldwide places, led by Saudi Arabia, carried out a central operate in financing this inflow.

According to the World Monetary establishment, Egypt acquired roughly USD 19.5 billion (EGP 932.3 billion) in remittances in 2023, which is roughly 5 p.c of its gross residence product (GDP). The Gulf contributed larger than 40 p.c of this entire.

However, previous remittances, Saudization—a labour protection requiring private-sector employers to lease additional Saudi residents—has an increasing number of shaped migrants’ actuality. 

Rana Mohamed, 36, shared her experience as an Egyptian working in Riyadh’s private coaching sector. 

“I had been working in Saudi Arabia for 4 years, nevertheless after the Saudization protection expanded to cowl additional jobs, my contract was not renewed. I had no various nevertheless to return to Cairo,” she instructed Egyptian Streets.

Her story mirrors tendencies well-known in a 2020 protection short-term by Sincere Sq., which found that worldwide professionals in coaching, product sales, and administration have been among the many many first to essentially really feel the results of tightened labour nationalisation quotas in Saudi Arabia.

Launched in 2011 by the Ministry of Human Belongings and Social Progress, the initiative was designed to increase Saudi participation throughout the private sector. It requires private-sector corporations to utilize a defined share of Saudi nationals, with quotas varied by agency measurement and commerce. Corporations are categorized into tiers: Platinum, Extreme Inexperienced, Low Inexperienced, Yellow, and Purple. This classification is based on their compliance, with non-compliant corporations going by way of restrictions equivalent to lowered functionality to lease worldwide staff or protected authorities contracts.

Formally typically generally known as the Nitaqat programme, the Saudization protection continues to evolve. Under Imaginative and prescient 2030, the protection has been expanded to include a rising number of professions, along with pharmacy, regulation, dentistry, translation, and private coaching, with updated nationalisation quotas and tighter enforcement measures. 

According to a 2024 report by the Migration Protection Institute, periodic adjustments to quotas have led to fluctuations in foreign-worker permits and led to job losses amongst expatriates in sectors like retail, coaching, and administration.

Saudization, nonetheless, shouldn’t be the one concern influencing migrants’ picks to relocate. 

Ponder the case of Karim Hassan, 40, an Egyptian IT specialist who first labored in Dubai for 3 years starting in 2019 sooner than relocating to Jeddah in 2023. 

“I appreciated the work throughout the UAE, nevertheless the dwelling costs have been just too extreme, notably rent. I could barely save one thing,” he talked about. “In Saudi Arabia, regardless that life is additional conservative, I managed to avoid wasting a lot of way more, and that helped me plan for my family once more residence.” 

Whereas Saudi Arabia continues to attract Egyptian migrants with aggressive salaries and benefits, many face structural challenges beneath the nation’s labour framework. 

The kafala (sponsorship) system, which stays partially in affect, hyperlinks a worker’s licensed residency to their employer, limiting the flexibleness to fluctuate jobs or depart the nation with out consent. According to the Worldwide Labour Group, this dependency often results in vitality imbalances that improve the possibility of wage withholding and exploitation. 

Although Saudi Arabia launched labour mobility reforms in 2021 beneath Imaginative and prescient 2030, along with allowing some staff to modify jobs with out employer approval, ILO assessments advocate that gaps keep in enforcement and that the reforms exclude certain sectors like residence work. 

No matter these challenges, Saudi Arabia continues to attract professional professionals, notably in sectors equivalent to healthcare, coaching, and growth. A 2023 medical study printed in PubMed well-known that healthcare staff have been often offered contracts that included flights, lodging, and family benefits, perks rarely current in Egypt’s public sector.

For lots of migrants, nonetheless, the benefits nonetheless outweigh the hazards. 

Mahmoud Saeed, 52, a growth engineer from Mansoura, summed it his experience poignantly by saying, “The money I earned in Saudi helped me buy land once more residence and provide an outstanding top quality of life for my family. However, I won’t need the experience on my son. It was not a simple life.”

As Egypt and Saudi Arabia strengthen monetary ties, migration between the two nations is extra prone to proceed. 

Whereas many Egyptians uncover financial various throughout the kingdom, insurance coverage insurance policies like Saudization and the kafala system nonetheless pose challenges. Guaranteeing trustworthy remedy and lasting benefits for workers is perhaps key to creating this movement sustainable for every worldwide places.

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Why are so many Egyptians transferring to Saudi Arabia? And what do they really uncover after they get there? From greater salaries to highly effective labour pointers, we spoke to Egyptians navigating work life throughout the Kingdom.