Riyadh Expat Desk
Setting up a Riyadh home
A 90-day sequence for Iqama, housing, utilities, connectivity, family records and reimbursements.
Practical city guide
First 90 days
Riyadh setup depends on the Iqama, Saudi mobile number, banking and address record. Put those at the top of the 90-day dependency register.
First 90 days
Turn the move into a dependency register. Identity, residence, tenancy, utilities, internet, banking, health and school steps are not independent.
Riyadh setup depends on the Iqama, Saudi mobile number, banking and address record. Put those at the top of the 90-day dependency register.
Home handover
Record inventory, defects, meter readings, access cards, keys, maintenance contact, parking and building rules at handover.
For the home, keep handover photos, inventory, access cards, compound rules, parking records and maintenance contacts in one dated file.
Utilities and internet
Check the exact unit for service availability, deposits, commitment periods, router return, early cancellation and relocation charges.
Internet and utilities should be checked at the exact property. Ask who arranges transfer, who pays deposits and how outages or air-conditioning failures are reported.
Family records
Store identity, school, medical, vaccination, emergency and insurance records where both adults can reach them.
Family records should include school, medical, vaccination, passport, Iqama and emergency contact copies. Store them where both adults can access them.
Payroll review
After first salary, reconcile basic pay, allowances, reimbursements, deductions and promised support against the offer.
After first salary, reconcile basic pay, housing, transport, school, flights, deductions and reimbursements against the accepted offer.
Riyadh working checks
Do review the task register weekly. Never leave reimbursements or landlord promises outside the written record.
Never let the first month disappear into WhatsApp threads. Copy decisions and receipts into a secure household folder.
Tracker
The tracker marks residence, payroll, tenancy, utilities, banking, health, school, transport and first-payroll proof.
The tracker is passed only when the document exists. A promise from human resources is an open item.
Riyadh document checklist
Identity first; Iqama, Saudi mobile, bank and address record before dependent services.
Home file; Tenancy, inventory, defects, access cards, parking, compound rules and maintenance contacts.
Services; Electricity, water, internet, mobile, district or building charges and deposits.
Payroll review; Basic salary, allowances, reimbursements and deductions checked after first pay.
Run the first 90 days as a Riyadh dependency register
Create one row for Qiwa contract, residence identity, Saudi mobile, Absher, National Address, bank, payroll, tenancy, health insurance and family steps. Give each row an owner, required records, submitted date, current status and next action. Never mark a task complete from a verbal update. Record the issued reference or working service and the document stored.
Sequence tasks by dependency. The checked bank route requires a valid resident ID plus Absher and National Address registrations. A proposed tenancy, salary instruction or family step can therefore depend on earlier identity work. Ask the employer which steps it checks and which the employee must perform. Update the register after every issued record rather than rebuilding it from messages later.
Stabilise arrival cash before permanent commitments
List temporary accommodation, meals, local transport, mobile service, document costs, housing viewings, rent advance, deposit and school visits by due date. Confirm payroll cut-off and the first expected pay cycle. Keep accessible money outside the new Saudi account until the account, card and transfer route have been tested. Salary stated in a contract cannot pay a bill due before its first credit.
Separate employer-paid items, employee payments awaiting reimbursement and personal household cost. Keep invoices and approvals. Never subtract a reimbursement from the day cash is due. Review the runway after the first week and before paying a tenancy or school amount. The setup calculator is a cash-timing tool and should use dated records or clearly labelled assumptions.
Turn temporary accommodation into a clear housing search
Use the temporary period to test office, site, school and service routes. Define property type, maximum upfront cash, required furnishing, maintenance responsibility and acceptable travel time. Verify the parties and proposed unit before payment. Ejar's residential service records party, financial, term and property information and provides electronic certification, so compare the draft record with the viewing and negotiated terms.
Inspect the exact unit and preserve defects, inventory, meter and handover records. Read current Riyadh rent and renewal provisions beside the contract. Never let temporary accommodation expiry force an undocumented transfer. If the permanent property is not ready, price a short extension against the financial and legal exposure of rushing a larger commitment.
Activate the home service by service
For electricity, water, cooling where applicable, internet, mobile and building access, record provider, account holder, deposit, activation date and first successful use. Ask for the current provider process for the exact property. Never assume a service is included because it operated during a viewing. Keep account and meter records with the tenancy file.
Update National Address through its official route when the household has the proper residence record and address records. Preserve the transaction number and printable proof. Match the address spelling across bank, employer and service records where required. A completed online form is not the same as an accepted address available to the bank or another relying service.
Bring family systems online separately from the employee
Track each dependant's residence, insurance, school and medical readiness separately. Confirm the child's admissions stage and payment status, and verify every named insurance beneficiary. Never describe the family as settled because the employee can work and bank. The family move needs a usable home, travel permission, care route and education plan on its own records.
Create secure household copies of passports, identity records, insurance, school contacts, medicines and emergency information. Limit employer access to what its process requires. Record the parent responsible for school collection and medical decisions when work travel or site hours intervene. Recheck these arrangements after the actual timetable has been experienced for several weeks.
Set up the Riyadh work and project routine
Confirm normal workplace, current project, site access, working time and transport in writing. Test the journey from the chosen home and identify any final shuttle, parking or security step. Keep client and project records inside approved employer systems. The personal relocation file may record a site address or expense approval but must not become a copy of confidential project material.
At first payroll, match salary, allowances, expenses and deductions to the active Qiwa contract and bank credit. Record any project-related travel that the employer must reimburse. Never allow regular business cost to disappear into the household budget. If the assignment changes, rerun home, school, transport and cash assumptions rather than treating the original setup as fixed.
Close the 90-day register with records and future dates
Review each row and require the final record: active contract, identity access, address proof, working account, correct payroll, certified tenancy, live services, insured beneficiaries and school status. Leave unresolved items open with an owner and date. Never turn an unanswered issue into a completed check merely because daily life has started.
Add renewal, expiry, notice and payment dates for the next year. Include passport and identity expiry, tenancy renewal, school fees, insurance review, vehicle terms and employer benefits. Store records securely and test recovery access. This future calendar turns settlement from a one-off rush into a assignment record and prepares the household for a later move or departure.
Create a clear Riyadh household contact sheet
Record verified contacts for employer government relations, payroll, landlord or manager, insurer, nearby clinic, school, bank and transport. Identify the official channel and after-hours route where one exists. Never copy numbers from an old group message without confirming them. Store the sheet securely and make it available to the adults who may need it.
Add the records each contact will ask for and the limits of their role. The landlord cannot confirm insurance, and an employer contact cannot change a bank instruction informally. Review the sheet after staff or provider changes. A clear contact route reduces rushed disclosure of identity or payment information to the wrong person.
Set a monthly document and money review
Once a month, reconcile contract and payroll, rent and services, school, insurance, transport and outstanding reimbursements. Save statements and receipts in dated folders. Never let a small repeated discrepancy become the accepted baseline. Record the owner and deadline for each open point and retain its final response.
Refresh the cash runway after every large payment. Keep deposits and expected refunds outside spendable income. Compare actual cost with the relevant page calculator, not one generic household total. This preserves the reason behind a change and shows whether housing, school or project travel caused it.
Plan ordinary life beyond the setup checklist
Identify routine food shopping, exercise, worship or community needs, healthcare and weekend transport from the chosen home. Test the practical journey and opening times. Never choose a property solely from office distance if every family activity requires a second vehicle or frequent taxi. Record actual cost after several ordinary weeks.
Keep emergency cash, medical details and home access arrangements suitable for both adults. Confirm how a trusted person can assist without handing over full bank or identity access. Settlement means that ordinary and urgent tasks work reliably, not merely that the main government and tenancy applications have been submitted.
Run a 90-day cold review
At day 90, ask another household adult to follow the records trail without relying on the employee's memory. Confirm active identity, contract, pay, bank, tenancy, services, insurance and school. Record anything that cannot be proved and reopen it. Never mark the review passed because each service appears to work today.
Compare the accepted offer case with actual recurring cost and accessible reserve. Add renewal and departure dependencies exposed by the review. Secure the archive and remove unnecessary duplicate identity copies. The result should be a short list of live obligations and dates, not an unnecessary pile of setup correspondence.
Record what the setup tracker means
A completed tracker box means the named records are stored and the service has been tested where applicable. It does not predict approval, prove legal compliance in another matter or guarantee that a dependant's related task is finished. Link each box to its record and uncheck it if the records expires or no longer matches the active case.
Use notes for blocked dependencies and responsible contacts rather than forcing a completion percentage. Review the tracker alongside cash, not as a substitute for it. A household can have every application submitted and still lack usable salary, housing or healthcare. Closure requires issued records and a practical result, not the appearance of progress.
Record the first reliable ordinary week
Choose one week after temporary setup ends and record pay access, journeys, school, health access, food and home services. This provides the first records-based household baseline.
Note exceptional costs and exclude them from recurring figures with a reason. Repeat the week if a site, school or home change makes the first record unrepresentative. Reconcile the week with bank, health and transport records, then repeat the test after a material household change. Keep one-off arrival payments outside recurring household cost and preserve the statement or receipt behind every replacement figure. Retain the dated review.
Interactive planning tool
Riyadh first 90 days funding test
Add setup cash to three months of spending and deduct confirmed support.
Household funding required
Setup plus three months of spending, less confirmed relocation support.
This page is a planning guide. Rules, charges, eligibility, availability and provider terms can change. Recheck the recorded official source and obtain current written terms before paying, signing, resigning or travelling.