What are the exact requirements to be employed in KSA?

Brother you are still confused, They give you the contract right, you signed it right , you started the job already  right ?
to clear all your doubt do not report on online duty for 3 days without any updates and see how they deal with you and you will understand the value of contract you have and difference between normal and work from home.

Brother , pls ready saudi labor law and check what is missing in your contract, you will find only they you are not physcially in saudi arabia so you dont have IQAMA, else everything will match with saudi labor law, if you find any contradiction with any point or law highlight that thing so i can give you response on that.

I think I already clarified it on your previous post.

You can work remotely but your contract needs to be a "contract for services" vs. a contract of employment, to be legally enforceable.

I am not sure what you mean by relevant law - there is no law covering remote working in KSA (especially for employees who don't have an Iqama).  If you read the labor law from end to end and cover the section about employer obligations, it states clearly that they have to provide you an Iqama.  This simply implies that, for you to be considered an employee, in front of any court in KSA, you need to be or have been on the employer's sponsorship.

In my company, we have done many similar arrangements and even had some legal disputes so I am very clear on what I am talking about.   It is up to you as to whether you take this statement at face value or keep creating different threads asking the same question again and again.   Or you can also try to consult a lawyer in KSA.

Also, you are looking at it the wrong way.   You can sign the contract and all will go smoothly.  The eventuality that I am highlighting, takes place, only in the case of a dispute in front of the courts.

Here is the labor law:

https://hrsd.gov.sa/sites/default/files … 20LAW.pdf.

Relevant extracts:

Article (٣٣):
A non- Saudi may not engage in or be allowed to engage in any work except after
obtaining a work permit from the Ministry, according to the form prepared by it for this
purpose.
https://www.boe.gov.sa/printsystem.aspx … sionid=201 ٣٨/١١/١٦
The conditions for granting the permit are as follows:
(١) The worker has lawfully entered the country and is authorized to work.
(٢) He possesses the professional and academic qualifications which the country needs and
which are not possessed by citizens or the available number of such citizens is insufficient to
meet the needs, or that he belongs to the class of ordinary workers that the country needs.
(٣) He has a contract with the employer and is under his responsibility.
The word "work" in this Article means any industrial, commercial, agricultural, financial or
other work, and any service including domestic service.

See?  this is very clear.  First step work permit, second step is entering the country and getting authorization to work i.e. Iqama.   Third step is contract.  You are jumping to the third step without the first two.  You are not an employee under Saudi labor law.   This is very clear.   Again, I don't understand what the confusion is.

Hi XTang!

Thanks again for the detailed info and clarification.

Confusion was caused by the responses I received from other people. But this is very clear now. I'm not employee, so the contract is useless.

I just don't understand why would they send me this kind of employment contract? It's a standard "Labor Contract". Why didn't they send me a  "contract of services" instead? I mean, these are Saudi people, so they must be familiar with the law. This contract protects neither of us, so it's strange.

They even told me that if I terminate the contract before it expires, I have to pay penalties under Article 77 of Saudi labour law. Crazy stuff, like I need to pay them all the remaining salaries. This was my biggest concern. But that law doesn't even apply to me, since I'm not a real employee. Also no EOS benefits etc.

OK I see now. Thanks again for all the help.

The problem is that the HR people in most companies don't look at the bigger picture.  For them, you are an employee so they are giving you a labor contract - same as every other employee of the company.   They probably didn't bother to get a legal opinion.  You don't have to pay anything and they can't enforce it in your country of residence (no jurisdiction - they can't file a civil case on the basis of contract of employment where they are in breach of labor law itself.  Plus it's not a labor case as you are not labor), but at the same time, you can't get your EOS.

Also, don't get confused by the responses of other people.  Their responses are again, from a generic angle and don't demonstrate understanding of the legal minutiae.   Think about it.  What will they do if you end the contract?   Go into labor court and file a case on you?   you don't exist in Saudi, no Iqama, no record.   If they file a case in labor court, the court will throw it out saying that the person is not an employee - in fact, the case can't even be filed against you as you don't have any ID in Saudi (labor cases are against someone, not against public at large).  They then go to civil court and file a case; civil court will throw it out saying it is not a commercial agreement and the party has no legal presence in Saudi.   Let's also consider a weird scenario, not possible, but still let's consider..........civil court or labor court passes judgement against you for breach of contract.  Now what?  Saudi courts have no jurisdiction against you in Hungary.  So they have to go to MOFA/Hungarian Embassy and then file a case against you in Hungary, in the local language, with a local lawyer.  And then what happens? in most western countries, making an employee pay remaining salary for resigning early, is an illegal practice.....no court will rule in contravention to issues which are illegal in their country (Hungary law applies, not Saudi law).  So absolutely nothing will happen plus these international cases take years and costs millions of dollars - will they do it for the remaining salary in your contract? .

What I pasted above from the labor law is very very clear - so whatever they are saying is irrelevant.  Just ignore or ask them to list the facts as per legality, not their uninformed opinion.