Service for construction companies
Subcontracting in Saudi Arabia
There is work. The conversation about it starts not with price but with who signs the contract and who employs the people. This page explains entry honestly, including the part that will not suit everyone.
Who this is for
We work with companies that have delivered projects behind them rather than plans to enter the market. We need to establish that before any conversation about money.
- You run a construction or installation company with real projects, but no entity in the Kingdom
- A client contact appeared and the correspondence then went quiet
- You want to enter with works, not with material supply
- You have your own crews and are wondering how to employ them here
- You already hold an entity and a licence in the Kingdom, but have no access to project opportunities or prequalification
Three things to understand before money is discussed
We say this first, because this is where most entries break. If entry does not work after these three points, you have saved half a year.
Subcontracts are taken by a company registered in the Kingdom
A Russian, Kazakh or Uzbek entity will not take a subcontract directly. This is not about trust or build quality — it is about who signs, who is answerable to the client and who sits in the payment chain. Entry runs either through your own entity in the Kingdom or as work under a local company.
A crew cannot simply be flown in
Only a local company gives work, and a visa is issued against a specific job. The employer does the paperwork, and nationality quotas apply. Arriving first and working it out later ends in deportation and an entry ban, not in savings.
Nobody enters this market empty-handed
Subcontracts are paid after the work, with part of the sum retained until warranty obligations close. Meanwhile people have to be fed, moved and housed from day one. Working capital for the first months is a condition of entry, not a preference. We do not publish a figure: it depends on scope, trade and headcount, and is calculated for the case.
What we do
We do not simply pass work packages between clients and contractors. We close the gap between your company and the client: assessment, entry route, documents, contract, supervision.
- Assessment: do you qualify. Trades, delivered projects, headcount, plant, financial picture. If entry does not work as things stand, you hear it immediately along with what is missing
- Entry route: your own entity or work under a local company, and which licence category covers your trade
- People: how they are employed, what the employer carries, where quotas start and where timelines do
- Prequalification: the document pack a client requires, vendor registration, submission
- Contract and money: scope and scope exclusions, acceptance criteria, change control, retention and its release, claims. We read the Arabic text, not the English translation
- Presence on the ground: supervision, acceptance and photo reporting on your behalf while you are out of the country
- A separate line of work: residential and commercial property — fit-out, acceptance and quality control for the owner. More on the Saudi property page
Our own construction team in Riyadh and active sites mean you can come and watch how we work before you pay.
How the work starts
- 01
The form
Trades, projects, headcount, and whether you hold an entity or a partner in the Kingdom. Fifteen minutes, no documents. It is not a bid for work — it is the input for the assessment.
- 02
Assessment and a straight answer
Whether entry works, and by which route. If it does not, we explain why and what would change it.
- 03
Route and sequence
What comes first, what costs money, what costs time, and where the decision belongs to an authority rather than to us.
- 04
Reaching the client
Prequalification, submission, negotiation on scope and price. Taking part is not winning work: we are accountable for preparation and for getting you reviewed.
- 05
Works and control
Once work is awarded: supervision, acceptance, reporting and contractual claims.
Cost follows the brief: it depends on whether you incorporate, whether site supervision is needed and how many people are employed. Government fees are paid directly to the authorities.
What we will not do
We do not promise work or awards
That decision belongs to the client or the main contractor. We are accountable for preparation and submission, not for the outcome.
We do not bring people in
Employing a worker is the local employer's duty, against a specific job. We neither replace nor bypass that order.
We do not sell licences detached from an outcome
Incorporation is a step, not a service in itself. It matters once there is somewhere to take a contract.
We do not name clients or projects
Not in correspondence, not in presentations. Your presence in the market is your information.
We do not replace a lawyer or auditor
Opinions, tax and audit are the work of licensed professionals in the Kingdom.
Frequent questions
Can a foreign company take a subcontract directly?
The subcontract is signed by a company registered in the Kingdom. Entry therefore runs either through your own entity or through a local company you work under. Which is cheaper and faster depends on scope, duration and whether you intend to stay in the market.
Can we bring our own crew?
Not the way it works inside one country. Only a local company gives work, and a visa is issued against a specific job; the paperwork is the employer's duty, and nationality quotas apply. People arrive against arranged positions, not alongside the company.
How much capital does entry need?
We do not publish a figure, because it differs by multiples: an installation crew on one project and a main contractor with permanent staff are different orders of magnitude. It is calculated for your profile after the assessment.
We already have an entity in the Kingdom. What do you add?
Then the question is not entry but access: prequalification with clients, submission, negotiation on scope and price, and control over what ends up in the contract. That is the bulk of our work.
Do you take a percentage of the contract?
The format is agreed for the case. We state it before the work starts, not after a contract is signed.
Will you sign an NDA?
Yes, before the brief, if the information is confidential.
Fill in the contractor form
Trades, projects, headcount, and whether you hold an entity or a partner in the Kingdom. We will tell you whether entry works and by which route. No documents, no payment.