What changed
HRSD confirmed decisions raising the Saudization requirement for a defined list of marketing and sales professions to 60%. The implementation date published by HRSD is 19 April 2026, so the requirement is already in force.
For marketing roles to count toward the quota, HRSD requires a minimum monthly salary — the published threshold is SAR 5,500. The requirement applies to establishments employing three or more workers in the covered professions, and HRSD has published procedural guidance on calculation, compliance and penalties.
Why it matters
Three conditions operate together here, and missing any one of them produces the wrong answer. The establishment threshold decides whether you are in scope at all; the 60% rate decides how many of the covered roles must be held by Saudi nationals; and the salary threshold decides whether a Saudi employee in a marketing role actually counts toward that rate.
That last condition is the one most easily missed. An establishment can hire to the headcount the rate demands and still fall short, because marketing employees paid below SAR 5,500 a month do not count toward the quota.
What employers should do
- Map which roles fall within the defined marketing and sales professions
- Confirm whether the establishment employs three or more workers in the covered professions
- Measure current localization in those roles against the 60% requirement
- Check that Saudi employees in marketing roles meet the SAR 5,500 monthly threshold
- Correct any job titles that do not reflect the work actually performed
- Work through HRSD’s procedural guidance on calculation, compliance and penalties