Updated 2026-11-09
Saudi Arabia hosts more than 350,000 Kenyan workers - the largest Kenyan workforce anywhere in the Gulf. Most are in domestic work, but drivers, security guards, hospitality staff, nurses and skilled trades all move there in numbers. This guide covers what the jobs pay, how the process works from Kenya, and the protections (and gaps) you should understand before you sign anything.
Never pay to be hired. Verify any agency on the NEA public register before you give them documents or money, and treat any offer that arrives by WhatsApp with a fee attached as a scam until proven otherwise. See how to choose a recruitment agency.
Salaries are set by the contract, not by law, with two floors worth knowing. The Kenya-Saudi bilateral agreement set a minimum of SAR 900 per month for domestic workers (about KES 31,000; Kenya’s Ombudsman has documented workers recruited below it, so check your own contract). More broadly, the Kenyan Embassy in Riyadh has notified workers that Saudi Arabia implements a SAR 1,000 per month minimum for all workers from February 2026.
Above those floors, recruiter listings in 2025-26 commonly show drivers at SAR 1,200-2,000, security guards at SAR 1,500-2,500 and hospitality staff at SAR 1,500-3,000, usually with housing and food provided or an allowance instead. Licensed nurses earn several times that. Saudi employment income carries no income tax, and the Wage Protection System - mandatory for all domestic workers from January 2026 - requires salaries to be paid through monitored channels.
Saudi Arabia’s March 2021 Labour Reform Initiative lets workers covered by the Labour Law change jobs without the employer’s consent after one year of the contract and request their own exit permits. Human Rights Watch notes the system’s core remains, and crucially, domestic workers are excluded from most of these protections - which is why the bilateral agreement and Musaned contract matter so much for them.
Kenya and Saudi Arabia signed a new Labour Recruitment and Employment Agreement in July 2026 in Riyadh, intended to tighten recruitment oversight for the 350,000+ Kenyans in the Kingdom. Agreements have been signed before; what protects you day to day is a registered contract, your own copy of it, and knowing who to call.
If you are in trouble in Saudi Arabia: the Kenyan Embassy in Riyadh and the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources labour line (19911) take complaints. Keep digital copies of your passport, contract and employer details with someone you trust in Kenya before you travel.
Domestic workers are covered by a bilateral minimum of SAR 900 per month, and Saudi Arabia implements a SAR 1,000 general minimum from February 2026. Drivers, guards and hospitality staff typically earn SAR 1,200-3,000 in 2025-26 listings, usually with housing and food provided, and salaries are untaxed.
Many Kenyans work safely, but the risks are real and documented, especially in domestic work, which is excluded from most labour-law protections. Use a licensed agency, insist on a registered contract, keep copies of everything, and know the embassy contacts before you travel.
For domestic work under Musaned, the Saudi employer bears recruitment costs - a worker should not be paying large fees. Your genuine costs are personal documents (passport, Certificate of Good Conduct), the Wafid medical, and training where required. Anyone quoting hundreds of thousands of shillings is selling something else.
Workers under the Labour Law can transfer to a new employer without consent after one year of the contract, under the 2021 reforms. Domestic workers are excluded from this and need the employer’s agreement or a dispute process through Musaned and the labour authorities.
Musaned is Saudi Arabia’s official platform for hiring domestic workers from abroad. Your contract, your employer’s identity and the recruitment agencies on both sides are registered in it - if your domestic-work offer is not going through Musaned, it is not legitimate.