Navigating Immigration to Saudi Arabia with a Police Caution

If you’re exploring the possibility of moving to Saudi Arabia but have a criminal record, including a police caution from the UK, you may face some difficulties. This guide provides insights into how your record might be revealed and when, and how a police caution might affect your ability to travel, work, and live in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia maintains strict immigration policies, often prioritising individuals with clean records. Background checks are standard for those seeking work and residency. The Kingdom values integrity, especially for professionals in sensitive industries, making a criminal record a potential red flag.

If you are traveling to Saudi Arabia for only a short business strip or holiday, a police caution or another criminal record, should not cause you an issue, unless you are a known serious and/or wanted criminal.

Police cautions, while not technically “convictions”, will still appear on background checks and will raise concerns, depending on their nature and severity. Lower-level police cautions will be revealed on a Standard or Enhanced DBS certificate for 6 years, after which they may be disclosed on an Enhanced Certificate. For more serious offences, such as ABH and affray, these records will always be disclosed on a Standard and Enhanced Certificate. For more details on UK DBS Certificates, please see here: Disclosure & Barring Service.

For travel and work in Saudi Arabia, it is unlikely that you will need a DBS Certificate –Saudi authorities will however require an ACRO Police Certificate. If you have a criminal record, your Certificate will reveal your criminal record, either directly or indirectly. For information on how criminal records are disclosed on an ACRO Police Certificate, please visit here: ACRO Police Certificate.

If you do have a criminal record, Saudi authorities will ask you to obtain your subject access report from ACRO – this is essentially a printout of your criminal record, that is held on the PNC.

Most short-term visitors (e.g., for tourism or pilgrimage) may not face detailed scrutiny, unless a person has a record for offences that mean they pose a national security risk.

Employment visas to Saudi Arabia demand thorough vetting. Although your employer may not be able to know about your caution or other criminal record because it is protected under UK rehabilitation laws, because Saudi Arabia is a sovereign nation, they can request any information prior to granting a visa, including asking you to provide a copy of your PNC record. Therefore, via the visa process, an employer based in Saudi Arabia may receive details about a criminal record, even if it is rehabilitated in the UK.

Certain roles in finance, healthcare, law education, and government may have stricter requirements, meaning even minor infractions could hinder job prospects. We have had recent reports from clients that Saudi authorities have become much stricter in their approach to criminal records, including police cautions, and are rejecting visas even where the criminal record is lower level.

Saudi Arabia has a zero-tolerance approach to drugs, and we have found that visas have been rejected due to low level drugs cases. The USA and China are also strict when it comes to criminal records for drugs offences. See our article on this topic here: Will a police caution affect a visa to the US or China?

Applicants for residency permits, similar to work visa applicants, undergo detailed scrutiny. A police caution might not automatically disqualify you, but its implications depend on the discretion of Saudi immigration authorities, and the nature of the incident. As above, we have received recent reports of Saudi Arabia adopting a very strict approach to any form of criminal record.

There are other countries in the Middle East where you may experience problems with a police caution and immigration. If you’re planning to relocate to the UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi etc.) Qatar, Oman, or Jordan and you have a criminal record—including a police caution—you may face challenges during the immigration process. Each of these Middle Eastern countries have unique policies when it comes to evaluating past criminal offences.

Although Saudi Arabia is very strict when it comes to certain police cautions, the good news is that you may be able to get your record deleted.

Once your record is deleted, your ACRO Police Certificate will state “no trace” and you will also be cleared from the PNC.

The police may have wrongly issued your caution, or there may be public interest reasons why your caution should be removed. With our experience and expertise we will be able to craft your deletion application to ensure you have the best possibility of success.

We have had hundreds of police cautions and arrest records deleted for clients, including clients who were offered jobs or were looking to reside in Saudi Arabia. Once our clients had their records removed, they were able to successfully apply for their work visas/residency in Saudi Arabia.

Please get in touch today to discuss your case – your police caution does not have to prevent your move to Saudi Arabia.

We offer reasonable fixed fees, and will give you an honest and clear advice on your prospects of success during an initial consultation.