A "work absence report" is a formal procedure available to an employer through the Qiwa platform, for a worker who has no electronically documented contract and has been absent from work without a legitimate reason. If you find yourself in this situation, understanding the procedure precisely determines whether you lose your legal status or move safely to a new employer.
📋 When an employer may use this report
"A work absence report: a procedure that allows an employer to register the absence of a worker who has been away from work without a legitimate reason for more than thirty days during the contractual year, or more than fifteen consecutive days." This requires: no documented contract for the expatriate worker on Qiwa, the worker's status being "on the job," and the work license and residency being valid for at least 60 more days.
⏳ What happens the moment the report is filed
Per Section 2 of the guide: both you and your employer receive an SMS, your data is immediately disentangled from the establishment (no longer counted toward the employer's Nitaqat quota), and your status in the Ministry's systems changes to "absent from work." From this moment, you are given exactly 60 days to act.
✅ Your three options within the 60 days
- Transfer to a new establishment: the new employer submits a service transfer request, you approve it, the Ministry approves it — you formally move to the new employer.
- Final exit: you issue a final exit visa yourself through your Absher account within the grace period.
- Taking no action within the 60 days: the system will no longer accept either a final exit request or a service transfer — your status changes to "absent from work" (a violation status), and you bear the consequences.
The difference between "absent from work" as a temporary status (still fixable within 60 days) and "absent from work" as an actual violation status (once the deadline passes) is exactly 60 days. Don't wait until the deadline is near — transferring to a new employer takes time for multiple approvals.
- Procedural Guide for Ending the Contractual Relationship (Work Absence Report) — Section 1: definition and conditions
- Same guide — Section 2: filing procedures and consequences
- Same guide — Section 3: options available to the worker after the report