Nitaqat, Naturalisation, Remuneration, Residency, and Intention to Stay among Indonesian Professionals in Saudi Arabia

Dilal Adlin Fadil (Pelita Harapan University, Indonesia)
Niko Sudibjo (Pelita Harapan University, Indonesia)
Yohana Meilani Palupi (Pelita Harapan University, Indonesia)

International Journal of Law and Society
Vol 5 No 2 (2026): International Journal of Law and Society (IJLS)

Saudi Arabia’s labour-market transformation combines workforce localisation with selective pathways intended to attract exceptional foreign talent. This study examines how Indonesian professionals interpret these regulatory arrangements as social conditions affecting their intention to remain with their current organisation. An explanatory quantitative cross-sectional survey of 167 purposively selected Indonesian professionals in Saudi Arabia was analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The study models perceived Nitaqat implementation, perceived attractiveness of the exceptional naturalisation policy, remuneration, and perceived residency constraints. Perceived Nitaqat pressure was negatively associated with organisational intention to stay (β = −0.256, t = 3.720, p < .001), whereas perceived attractiveness of exceptional naturalisation was positively associated with intention to stay (β = 0.354, t = 4.072, p < .001). Nitaqat did not significantly predict remuneration (β = −0.033, p = .603), and remuneration did not mediate the Nitaqat–intention relationship (indirect β = −0.006, p = .623). Exceptional naturalisation strongly predicted remuneration perceptions (β = 0.659, t = 12.823, p < .001), remuneration positively predicted intention to stay (β = 0.198, t = 2.456, p = .014), and remuneration partially mediated the naturalisation–intention relationship (indirect β = 0.130, p = .015). Residency constraints negatively moderated the remuneration–intention relationship (β = −0.148, t = 2.056, p = .040). The results show that Indonesian professionals do not process state regulation as a single labour-market signal. Localisation pressure and long-term status opportunity are associated with different retention mechanisms, while residency insecurity reduces the extent to which financial rewards translate into organisational staying. The contribution to Law and Society is to demonstrate empirically that formal regulatory arrangements acquire behavioural meaning through professionals' perceptions of security, opportunity, and future social membership; retention, therefore, cannot be understood solely in terms of organisational rewards.