Saudi Arabia: Still Being Paid in Cash After 1 January 2026?

MHRSD — call 19911

19911 is the unified contact centre of the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD). It is 24-hour, multilingual, and it accepts anonymous complaints. You can call from any phone — yours, a neighbour's, a hospital's, a mosque's, a supermarket payphone — and you do not need to give your full name or your sponsor's name to open a file.

Which Musaned phase applies to your household?

The mandate has been rolling out since July 2024. From 1 January 2026 it is universal. Check below — if any phase applies to your household, cash-only payment to you is already a violation and 19911 will open a file the moment you call.

• 1 July 2024 — new arrivals: if you arrived in Saudi Arabia on or after 1 July 2024, the Musaned mandate has applied to your contract from day one.
• January 2025 — 4+ workers: if the household employs four or more domestic workers, Musaned has been mandatory since January 2025.
• July 2025 — 3+ workers: if the household employs three or more, mandatory since July 2025.
• 1 October 2025 — 2+ workers: if the household employs two or more, mandatory since 1 October 2025.
• 1 January 2026 — UNIVERSAL. Every domestic worker in every Saudi household. No exception.

The four patterns the rule is meant to catch

1. Cash-only payment. The sponsor hands you cash and no Musaned transfer ever appears. This is the simple violation — file on 19911 the same day.
2. Cashback coercion. The full agreed salary lands in the Musaned account, then the sponsor demands part be handed back in cash. The Musaned-recorded salary must reach you in full; this is a violation as much as cash-only.
3. Blocked Mada card. A Mada card is opened in your name but the sponsor holds the card and PIN. The mandate is satisfied only when the card and PIN are in YOUR hands.
4. Fake electronic receipts. The sponsor pays in cash but asks you to sign a Musaned receipt that says it was electronic. DO NOT sign. The receipt would be false — a false receipt is itself a violation.

Your country's embassy welfare attaché in Riyadh

Every embassy in Riyadh (and consulates in Jeddah) has a labour or welfare attaché whose job is exactly this — to help nationals of their country who are in distress. Calling your embassy is FREE and you do not need permission from your sponsor. A relative back home can also file on your behalf.

Don't see your country? Migrant-Rights.org maintains a directory of active NGOs in each Gulf country: migrant-rights.org

Copy-paste SOS message

This message fits into one WhatsApp / SMS / email. Fill in the bracketed parts and send it to MHRSD 19911 OR your embassy's labour attaché OR a trusted relative at home. Keep it short — your safety is more important than the message being perfect.

I am [your name], a [nationality] domestic worker in Saudi Arabia, in [city].
I work for [sponsor name]. Their phone is [sponsor phone if known].
My situation:
  • Cash-only salary, no Musaned transfer: [YES / NO]
  • Number of months paid in cash so far: [N]
  • Agreed monthly wage on the Musaned contract: SAR [amount]
  • Mada card opened in my name: [YES / NO / sponsor holds the card]
  • Passport held by sponsor: [YES / NO]
  • Confined / cannot leave the house: [YES / NO]
I want to file a complaint with MHRSD (19911) and on the Musaned platform.
Please call MHRSD on 19911 on my behalf, open a Musaned complaint at musaned.com.sa, and contact my embassy's labour attaché in Riyadh.
My iqama / residence card last 4 digits: [XXXX].

If the hotline does not answer in a language you speak, hang up and send the message in your own language by SMS or WhatsApp — MHRSD and most embassies have multilingual staff to translate.

Right now — what to do

1. If you are in immediate physical danger: call the the Saudi unified emergency line on 911. The police can come to the household.
2. Call MHRSD on 19911. Open the file. Anonymous is fine. Write down the complaint reference number, the officer's name, and the deadline by which they will respond.
3. File on the Musaned platform (musaned.com.sa). Anonymous complaints accepted. If you can't access the internet, a relative back home can file on your behalf.
4. Call your embassy's labour attaché in Riyadh. Use the list above. Place the complaint on the consular file.
5. If your passport is also retained: tell MHRSD this on the same call. Passport retention combined with non-payment is reportable to the Anti-Trafficking Committee via the same 19911 line under the Anti-Trafficking Act (Royal Decree M/40/1430H).
6. Take a screenshot of this page or save the numbers in your contacts under a discreet name (e.g. "Maria") before the page is closed.

After the emergency call — the demand letter

Once you have opened the file on 19911, you will want to put your demand in writing to your sponsor. Two Commoner Law products are tailored to the Musaned mandate. They are paid (the letter is $5; the pack is $12), but 19911 and your embassy are always free and should always come first.

• Saudi Musaned Electronic Salary Enforcement Demand Letter ($5) — formal demand to your sponsor citing the mandate, the Mada-card requirement, and the 7-day window to comply.
• Saudi Domestic-Worker Musaned Activation Pack ($12) — four letters together: the Musaned demand, passport return, recruitment-fee refund, and a Labour Reform Initiative transfer notice that becomes available if cash-only continues 3 months.
• Emergency: Gulf Domestic Worker (general) — broader emergency directory for the six GCC countries (free).