Saudi Arabia runs two separate systems for recruiting foreign workers, and employers sometimes start in the wrong one. Qiwa, operated for the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, handles workers employed by establishments — companies, contractors, factories, hotels. Musaned handles domestic workers employed by individuals in their homes. The platform follows from who the employer is and what the job is, and it changes the visa, the contract, the rules that apply and the documents needed on the Indian side.
Who Counts as a Domestic Worker
Domestic workers are employed by a household rather than a business: house drivers, housemaids, cooks working in a private home, nannies, private carers for a family member, home gardeners and similar roles. Some farm and livestock roles for individual owners have also been handled through the domestic framework. If the person is employed under a commercial registration and works for the business, the role is a business role even when the job title sounds domestic. A cook in a company camp is a business worker; a cook in a family home is a domestic worker.
What Musaned Does
Musaned is the ministry's platform for domestic labour. An individual employer applies for a domestic visa, works with a licensed recruitment office, and signs a standard domestic contract on the platform. The platform also carries complaints, contract records and, increasingly, wage payment through approved digital channels. Domestic workers are governed by the domestic worker regulations rather than by all of the main Labour Law, although recent reforms have brought certain protections closer together. Because those rules have changed several times, check the current version before relying on any specific term.
What Qiwa Does
Qiwa is the establishment's platform. Visa requests, work permits, contract authentication, profession changes and transfers all run through it, and it links to Nitaqat, Mudad and the Skill Verification Program. Workers on Qiwa fall under the Labour Law in full: working hours, overtime, leave, end-of-service benefit and the mobility rules introduced by the Labour Reform Initiative. Our Qiwa guide for employers covers the platform in detail.
Why the Choice Matters
- Nitaqat — business workers count in your establishment's Saudization ratio; domestic workers sit outside it because individuals sponsor them
- Fees — the expatriate levy and work-permit fees apply to establishment workers; domestic workers follow a different fee structure
- Profession codes — business visas carry codes that must match the SVP certificate where the trade is listed; domestic visas use a separate list of household professions
- Mobility — transfer rules differ between the two frameworks
- Liability — the sponsor of a domestic worker is a private person, who carries the obligations personally
Mixing the two creates real problems. A company that places a worker on a domestic visa and then uses them in its business is breaching the terms of the visa, and the worker loses protections they are entitled to.
The Indian Side of Each Route
Both routes run through eMigrate for workers holding ECR passports, but domestic recruitment carries extra safeguards because domestic workers are more exposed. India applies additional conditions to the emigration of women for domestic work, including minimum age rules for those on ECR passports and documentation from the foreign employer, and these conditions are revised from time to time. Business recruitment follows the standard route, in which the employer’s demand letter, power of attorney and model employment contract pass through Chamber, Saudi foreign ministry and Indian Embassy attestation, as set out in our employer document checklist.
Common Grey Areas
- Drivers — a family's private driver is domestic; a driver in a company fleet is a business worker on Qiwa, even if they drive executives
- Caregivers — a carer employed by a family for an elderly relative may be domestic; a nurse employed by a home-care company is a business worker and needs professional classification
- Farm workers — agricultural companies use Qiwa; individuals with private farms may use the domestic route, depending on the profession list in force
- Camp and compound staff — always business roles when employed by the operator
Where Taha Airwaves Fits
Our work is concentrated on business recruitment through Qiwa: construction, MEP, industrial, logistics, hospitality, FM and agricultural company requirements. For mixed requirements we confirm the platform and profession codes before anything else, because a wrong start costs weeks. Companies can start with the Saudi Arabia hiring overview or a sector page such as camp and catering staff or farm workers.
Checklist Before You Apply
- Who is the legal employer — a person or a commercial registration?
- Where will the worker actually work, and for whom?
- Is the profession on the business list or the household list?
- Does the role count toward your Nitaqat band?
- Do Indian emigration conditions for the role, gender and age of the worker apply?
Answer those five questions honestly and the platform choice is usually obvious. When it is not, settle it in writing with your adviser before a single visa is requested, since correcting a visa issued under the wrong framework is slower than getting it right the first time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a company recruit a domestic worker through Musaned?
Musaned is designed for individuals employing workers in their homes. Workers employed by a company for its business are recruited through Qiwa under the establishment’s file.
Is a company driver a domestic worker?
No. A driver employed by a company fleet is a business worker on Qiwa. Only a driver employed privately by a household falls under the domestic framework.
