Gulf states in particular tie market access to hiring nationals and buying locally. The UAE sets annual Emiratisation targets with monthly contributions for shortfalls and weights in-country value in federal tenders; Saudi Arabia grades employers under Nitaqat, imposes Saudi participation and training duties on foreign-owned entities, and favours national products in procurement. Singapore uses quotas and levies on foreign workers. These rules affect headcount plans, pricing and the choice of entity from the start.
Workforce nationalisation
In the UAE, private companies with 50 or more employees must grow Emirati employment in skilled roles by 2% a year, with a contribution of AED 6,000 a month per unfilled position from January 2023, rising by AED 1,000 each year to 2026. Companies with 20 to 49 employees in 14 sectors, including information and communications, finance, real estate and professional services, had to employ one Emirati in 2024 and two from 2025.
Saudi Arabia's Nitaqat programme grades employers by Saudisation rate into bands from Red to Platinum, and lower bands restrict new visas and profession changes; a May 2026 guide moved to entity-level assessment and headcount-based formulas. A 100% foreign-owned trading company registered with the Ministry of Investment must also meet the ministry's localisation rates and train Saudis equal to 30% of its staff each year. Singapore takes a different route: employers pay a monthly levy for each Work Permit holder and are limited by sector quotas.123456
Local ownership and local content in procurement
Some Saudi activities need Saudi shareholders: communications activities registered by foreign investors require 40% Saudi participation, and supportive communications activities 30%. In Saudi public procurement, national products receive a 10% price preference, bids that ignore the mandatory list of national products are excluded from supply tenders, and designated high-value contracts weigh local content commitments in the financial evaluation.
In the UAE, the National In-Country Value programme has applied to the procurement of 45 federal entities since August 2022, with ICV certificates weighted at 25% in bid evaluation. A supplier's ICV score depends on local spending, so the location of manufacturing, staff and suppliers feeds directly into tender results.78910
| Market | Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAE (mainland) | Emiratisation, 50+ employees | 2% a year in skilled roles; AED 6,000 a month per shortfall from 2023, plus AED 1,000 a year | MOHRE; u.ae |
| UAE (mainland) | Emiratisation, 20 to 49 employees in 14 sectors | One Emirati in 2024, two from 2025; AED 96,000 / 108,000 | u.ae |
| UAE (federal procurement) | In-Country Value | 25% weighting in bid evaluation | UAE Ministry of Finance |
| Saudi Arabia | Nitaqat | Bands by Saudisation rate; formula-based from 2026 | Clyde & Co (secondary) |
| Saudi Arabia | 100% foreign trading company | Train Saudis equal to 30% of staff each year | MISA investor guide |
| Saudi Arabia | Communications activities | 40% Saudi participation (30% supportive) | MISA investor guide |
| Saudi Arabia (procurement) | National product preference | Foreign product price treated as 10% higher | Ministry of Finance regulations |
| Singapore | Work Permit quota and levy | Sector quotas; monthly levy per worker | Ministry of Manpower |
Decisions to make
- How many employees will the entity have in year one and year three, and in which sector?134UAE targets switch on at 20 employees in listed sectors and at 50 employees generally, and Saudi Nitaqat thresholds rise with headcount.
- Will the business sell to government or national companies?1089ICV scores in the UAE and local content preferences in Saudi Arabia can decide tenders.
- Does the chosen Saudi activity require Saudi participation or training commitments?75Communications activities need Saudi shareholders, and 100% foreign trading companies carry training and localisation duties.
- What is the cost of non-compliance compared with the cost of hiring?24UAE contributions per unfilled position are fixed amounts that rise each year, and Nitaqat bands limit visas needed for expatriate hires.
Documents usually needed
- Workforce plan by nationality, grade and location for at least three years
- Emiratisation or Nitaqat compliance reports from the government portals
- ICV certificate and the audited data behind it
- Local content baseline and targeted local content commitment for Saudi tenders
- Training plans and records for Saudi employees
Common mistakes
- Planning headcount without checking when Emiratisation or Nitaqat thresholds are crossed
- Treating nationalisation contributions as a fixed cost when they rise each year
- Bidding for Saudi supply tenders without checking the mandatory list of national products
- Assuming an ICV certificate is optional in UAE federal tenders
- Restructuring branches in Saudi Arabia without checking the effect of entity-level Nitaqat assessment
Questions businesses ask
Do UAE Emiratisation targets apply to a company with 30 employees?
Only if it operates in one of the 14 specified sectors; those companies had to hire one Emirati in 2024 and two from 2025. The general 2% annual target applies from 50 employees.31
How does Saudi local content affect a price comparison?
For national products not on the mandatory list, a competing foreign product's price is treated as 10% higher than bid.8
What this guide does not yet confirm
These points need checking with a qualified local professional before you rely on them.
- Whether UAE Emiratisation targets apply to free zone companies was not stated on the pages read.
- Nitaqat sector percentages and the 2026 formula parameters come from a secondary source; the MHRSD guide could not yet be checked.
- India's localisation measures beyond procurement (for example phased manufacturing programmes) were not researched.
- The current Saudi mandatory list of national products and the LCGPA's high-value contract designations were not reviewed.
Sources and review status
Each statement is numbered to the source it was checked against. We use official sources where we can, and each statement says whether it was checked against an official or a secondary source. Sources last checked on 19 October 2026. None of it has been professionally reviewed yet: it is research checked against official and secondary sources by WONE Global, not legal or tax advice.
Private-sector companies in the UAE with 50 or more employees must achieve 2% annual growth in the number of Emirati employees in skilled positions, monitored by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. Companies registered with MOHRE (mainland). Free zone coverage is not stated on the page.
Companies with 50 or more employees that miss their Emiratisation target pay a financial contribution of AED 6,000 per month for each unfilled Emirati position from January 2023, rising by AED 1,000 each year to 2026, with the aim of a 10% overall increase by 2026. Companies subject to MOHRE Emiratisation targets.
Read on the beta version of the official UAE government portal.
Companies with 20 to 49 employees in 14 specified sectors had to employ at least one Emirati in 2024 and at least two from 2025, with contributions of AED 96,000 for missing the 2024 target and AED 108,000 for missing the 2025 target. Sectors include information and communications, finance and insurance, real estate, professional and technical activities, construction, manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and accommodation and food services. Companies must also keep Emiratis already employed.
Targets for 2026 onwards for this group were not stated on the page.
Under the Nitaqat programme, administered by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, employers are placed in bands (Red, Low Green, Medium Green, High Green and Platinum) according to their Saudisation rate, and lower bands restrict new work visas and profession changes. Private-sector employers in Saudi Arabia. A procedural guide issued in May 2026 assesses Saudisation across all branches carrying out the same activity and replaces fixed percentage brackets with a formula under which required rates rise with headcount; thresholds vary by sector and are set for 2026 to 2028.
Secondary source; the MHRSD procedural guide itself could not yet be checked. Sector-specific percentages were not confirmed.
A 100% foreign-owned commercial (trading) activity registered with the Ministry of Investment must achieve the localisation rates set by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, train Saudis equal to 30% of its employees each year, and plan for Saudis in senior management within five years. Applies to the 100% foreign commercial activity category, which also carries investment commitments (for example SAR 300 million over five years, or SAR 200 million with local manufacturing, R&D or logistics commitments).
Employers must pay a monthly foreign worker levy for each Work Permit holder and are limited by a quota set for their industry. Levy rates depend on sector, skill level and the proportion of foreign workers.
Communications activities registered by foreign investors require 40% Saudi participation, and supportive communications activities 30%. Activities classified as communications in the Ministry of Investment activity requirements; sector licensing by the communications regulator is separate.
In Saudi government contracts, national products not on the mandatory list receive a price preference applied by treating the price of a competing foreign product as 10% higher than its bid price. Regulations on Preference for Local Content and Local SMEs and Companies Listed on the Capital Market in Business and Procurement Transactions, Article 10. Local SMEs receive a separate 10% price preference except in supply contracts and high-value contracts (Article 4(2)); for designated high-value contracts other than supply, price carries 60% of the financial evaluation and local content commitments and capital-market listing the remaining 40% (Article 17).
The date of the version read was not confirmed; the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority (LCGPA) administers the local content portal.
Bids that do not comply with the mandatory list of national products are excluded from Saudi government supply tenders, and agencies may not accept supplied products that breach the list unless the contractor has been exempted. Regulations on Preference for Local Content, Article 9. Where a high-value non-supply contract sets a minimum local content level, a bidder offering less is disqualified (Article 25(2)).
The products on the current mandatory list were not reviewed.
Since August 2022 the National In-Country Value programme has applied to the procurement of 45 federal government entities, with ICV certificates given a 25% weighting when bids are evaluated. Federal entities; suppliers are asked to submit an ICV certificate issued by a certifying body authorised by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology. Emirate-level entities and national companies run their own ICV schemes, not reviewed here.
The u.ae ICV programme page confirms MoIAT runs the programme and that certificates are issued by authorised certifying bodies; certificate validity was not confirmed.
Questions on this topic
10 statements on localisation and local content
