MWO Riyadh: What to Bring, by Worker Category
Department of Migrant Workers · employment
Quick answer
The Migrant Workers Office in Riyadh verifies renewed contracts for household and skilled workers returning to the same employer at the end of a 2-year contract. Its online OEC assistance is limited to vacationing workers returning in less than 60 days.
Every figure on this page is from Migrant Workers Office Riyadh's own published documents.
Last verified 1 source, listed below
Services, Requirements and OWWA pages1. PHGuides is independent and not affiliated with DMW.
The Migrant Workers Office in Riyadh organises everything by who you are, not by what you want done. Getting the category right is most of the job.
Which category are you
| You are | Verification needed |
|---|---|
| Household worker on vacation at the end of a 2-year contract, returning to the same employer | Yes, the renewed contract must be verified |
| Skilled or company worker already verified, returning to the same employer after vacation | Yes |
| Skilled worker not going on vacation | No, unless you transferred to another company |
Household workers are defined broadly: domestic workers, household waiters, family drivers and similar. Skilled or company workers are those holding an Iqama or Resident ID under a corporation or establishment.
That middle row is the one people get wrong. Staying put and not travelling means no verification is due, but changing employer triggers it whether you travel or not.
What a household worker brings
| # | Document |
|---|---|
| 1 | Employment contract, signed by both the employer and the OFW |
| 2 | Copy of valid passport |
| 3 | Copy of valid Iqama |
| 4 | Copy of the employer’s national ID |
| 5 | Copy of Exit Re-Entry Visa |
| 6 | Copy of ticket, preferably round-trip |
Bring photocopies of the requirements, and present the original signed contract at the gate. Both, not one or the other.
What a skilled or company worker brings
| Document | Note |
|---|---|
| QIWA or company employment contract | - |
| Copy of company commercial registration | Marked optional |
| Copy of Exit Re-Entry Visa | Only for vacationing workers |
| Copy of ticket | Only for vacationing workers |
QIWA is the Saudi labour platform, so the contract the office wants is the one registered there.
OWWA membership renewal, and the Absher rule
| Requirement | |
|---|---|
| Accomplished OWWA Membership Form | - |
| Copy of valid passport | - |
| Copy of valid Iqama | - |
| Verified contract | Alternative to Absher |
| Active Absher account | Alternative to the verified contract |
The office states that if you cannot provide an active Absher account you present your verified contract, and vice versa. So the two are interchangeable, and you need one of them, not both.
Renewal can also be done through the OWWA mobile application rather than in person.
The online OEC, and the 60-day limit
The DMW E-Registration platform, previously called BM Online, lets returning OFWs pull their records and obtain an OEC or exit clearance at onlineservices.dmw.gov.ph. MWO Riyadh will help if the account or registration misbehaves.
This service is ONLY for vacationing workers. Assistance for online exemption is only for vacationing workers who are returning in less than 60 days.
So the 60-day window is the gate on the exemption help, not on the OEC itself.
| Bring for e-Reg | |
|---|---|
| Verified contract | - |
| Copy of Exit Re-Entry Visa | - |
| Copy of ticket | - |
| Accomplished OEC / e-Registration form | - |
The OEC guide covers the certificate, the balik-manggagawa OEC guide covers the returning worker route, and the OEC exemption guide covers who does not need one.
What verification unlocks
| What | Figure | Where it is covered |
|---|---|---|
| OWWA membership contribution | USD $25.00 | The OWWA membership guide |
| OWWA membership term | Until the contract expires or 2 years from effectivity, whichever comes first | The OWWA membership guide |
| Travel tax, economy | ₱1,620.00 | The travel tax guide |
| Travel tax with a valid OEC | ₱0.00 | The travel tax exemption guide |
The ₱1,620.00 economy travel tax is the practical reason the OEC matters at the airport, and a valid OEC takes it to ₱0.00. That is the full ₱1,620.00 saved each trip, which is arithmetic on the published rates.
Employers: verifying a job order
The company side is much heavier than the worker side.
| Document | Detail |
|---|---|
| Request letter | Addressed to the Labor Attaché, to approve verification of documents |
| Demand letter, job order or manpower request | Actual position, position as per visa category, gender, number of workers, basic monthly salary in SAR, basic terms |
| Visa | Visa position in English text, number of persons, unified number, company name |
| Special Power of Attorney | Issued by the employer to the licensed Philippine recruitment agency |
| Recruitment agreement | Fully signed and stamped by the employer or manager on all pages |
| Master employment contract | Minimum provisions for land-based workers, bilingual Arabic and English, fully signed |
| Contingency plan | - |
| Affidavit of undertaking | - |
| Commercial registration | Valid certificate in Arabic with official English translation |
| Commercial activity or business licence | Arabic with official English translation, company name exactly as in the CR |
Two separate job order routes exist: company job order verification for skilled workers, and recruitment agency job order verification for household workers hired by local employers. The recruitment agencies guide covers the Philippine-side licensing, and the DMW job order guide covers the order itself.
The other services
| Service | For |
|---|---|
| HSW Labor and Welfare Case Management | Household workers with labour and welfare cases |
| Skilled Worker Labor and Welfare Case Management | Low, semi and highly skilled workers |
| Assistance-to-Nationals unit | OFWs with criminal, administrative or civil cases |
| Shipment and burial of remains | Deceased OFWs |
The help for distressed OFWs guide covers what ATN can do.
The OWWA programmes the office lists
MWO Riyadh’s OWWA page names specific programmes rather than describing them in general. These are the published amounts for the ones it lists.
| Programme | Amount |
|---|---|
| EDSP, Education for Development Scholarship Program | ₱60,000.00 per school year, for a 4-5 year baccalaureate course, limited to the top 1,000 passers of the DOST-SEI qualifying examination |
| ODSP, OFW Dependent Scholarship Program | ₱20,000.00 per school year |
| SESP, Skills-for-Employment Scholarship Program | A maximum of ₱14,500.00 per training course, 6 months to 2 years |
| SUP, Seafarer’s Upgrading Program | A maximum of ₱7,500.00 per upgrading course |
| ELAP, for dependents of deceased OFW members | ₱5,000.00 primary, ₱8,000.00 secondary, ₱10,000.00 tertiary, per school year |
The office also lists the Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program, a two to six-day orientation for domestic workers covering language training, culture familiarization and stress management; the Mariners’ Dugtong Aral bridging programme; and an Information Technology training programme described as basic computer literacy for OFWs and their families.
The gap between EDSP at ₱60,000.00 and ODSP at ₱20,000.00 is ₱40,000.00 per school year, which is arithmetic on the published amounts. The OWWA scholarship guide covers eligibility for each.
Where it is
| Address | 3267 Makkah Al Mukarramah Rd, Al Mutamarat, 8103, Riyadh 12711 |
| Hotline | +966 50 285 0944 |
| Booking | Through the office’s own appointment page |
What this page does not cover
The pages read for this guide publish services and requirement checklists but not a fee schedule, office hours, or processing times, so none is stated here. The office publishes an Arabic translation of the job order requirements alongside the English, and separate tabs for Final Exit and Shipment of Remains that were not read in full.
For consular services in Riyadh, which is a different office, the Philippine Embassy Riyadh guide covers passports and civil registry, and the passport renewal Saudi guide covers the passport checklist.
Related
The migrant workers office guide covers the 20-post network, the MWO Dubai guide covers the Gulf’s other large post, the OEC guide covers the certificate verification leads to, and the OWWA membership guide covers the welfare fund.
Frequently asked questions
- Who has to get a contract verified in Riyadh?
- Household workers going on vacation to the Philippines at the end of their 2-year contract and returning to the same employer. They count as Balik Manggagawas and are required to have the renewed contract verified at the MWO.
- Do skilled workers need verification too?
- Only sometimes. A skilled worker who already verified with their existing employer and is returning to the same employer after vacation is covered. A skilled worker not going on vacation does not need to verify unless they transferred to another company.
- What does a household worker bring?
- Six items: the employment contract signed by both parties, a copy of the valid passport, a copy of the valid Iqama, a copy of the employer's national ID, a copy of the Exit Re-Entry Visa, and a copy of the ticket, preferably round-trip.
- Do I bring originals or photocopies?
- Both. The office asks you to provide a photocopy of the requirements and to present the original signed contract at the gate.
- What if I do not have an Absher account?
- Then bring the verified contract instead. For OWWA membership renewal the office asks for an active Absher account, and states that if you cannot provide one you present your verified contract, and vice versa.
- Can MWO Riyadh help with my online OEC?
- Yes, within limits. The DMW E-Registration platform, previously called BM Online, is at onlineservices.dmw.gov.ph. The office helps if you have trouble with your account or registration, but assistance for online exemption is only for vacationing workers returning in less than 60 days.
- What does a company need to verify a job order?
- Ten or more documents, including a request letter to the Labor Attaché, a demand letter stating the basic monthly salary in SAR, the visa details, a Special Power of Attorney to the Philippine recruitment agency, a bilingual Arabic and English master employment contract, a contingency plan, and the commercial registration with official English translation.
- What else does the office handle?
- Labour and welfare case management for household and skilled workers separately, an Assistance-to-Nationals unit for OFWs with criminal, administrative or civil cases, OWWA membership renewal, and shipment and burial of remains for deceased OFWs.