Jeddah - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the availability and cost of household help, and what types of help are typically employed by expatriates?
Maids, nannies, and drivers are widely available and affordable, but I never attempted to hire one. - Oct 2022
Getting a quality nanny has been an issue and providing housing for a Nanny from your last post is difficult. This is the one area that is in need for a more permanent solution. At the SDA, you are able to get a nanny hired and screened for a badge that allows them to access the compound with no issues. This screening process takes about 2 months. - Aug 2022
The typical rate was 30 SAR per hour on western compounds, but I understand that with the introduction of VAT that individuals are now requesting 35-40 SAR for hourly work. Discounted rates can be negotiated for full-time and/or live-in support. Other reports from people have indicated that nannies were only available if you could find one to transfer sponsors, but we found that we could purchase hourly time from someone else's household help. As such we utilized one individual during the day, and another when we needed evening or weekend support. It did take some coordination to find someone we were happy with, but neighbors were very helpful during this search and there are some online forums to consult, as well. - Nov 2020
Household help is plentiful; expect to pay roughly US$8-10/hour for nannies, housekeepers, and the like. - Oct 2019
About $10 per hour, give or take. A lot of expats have nannies and/or housekeepers. There are no yards to speak of, so no gardeners. I have not seen a Saudi in one of these jobs, it is all Filipinas/Sri Lankans/etc. The government is constantly hiking their residence permit fees, though, so I'd expect salaries to eventually go up as people leave the country. - Mar 2019
Household help is a struggle. You really have to spend time searching for a good person. People will be late to interviews, unresponsive, and so on. If you stay in the compound pool, help runs about $10 an hour. If you are willing to spend a lot of time advertising and finding someone else who's not already in the pool, it's about $550 a month for full-time, live-in. Big cost difference. - Jan 2019
Limited and expensive. - Apr 2016
Another issue, it is VERY difficult to get a full time nanny here. You have to be her sponsor, and no one can be here without a sponsor, so you have to wait until someone is ready to go to transfer the sponsor. It is a big deal. - Nov 2015
It is difficult to find full-time help. You have to be her sponsor and wait until her last sponsor transfers her to you. - Oct 2015
Around US$10 per hour. - Oct 2015
Going rate seems to be US$7 per hour. - Aug 2015
Generally Filipinas and African nationals - for full-time, you pay about US$1,000 per month plus having to be a sponsor (costs about US$600 per year). It is VERY VERY difficult find good help good (rely on referrals). - Feb 2014
Widely available. For expats, costs range between USD5 and 7 per hour for part-time cleaning and childcare. I think it best to pay on the high side --- my capitalist way of redistributing wealth to those who really need it and earn it well. - May 2013
500 riyal for a maid to come by once a week. - Nov 2010
