An ITI Welder from the Government Industrial Training Institute in Vadodara, six years on Larsen and Toubro's Hazira shipyard fabricating offshore platform sections, with a NEOM contractor offer in hand through a Mumbai-based recruitment agency licensed under the Indian Emigration Act. The Saudi side was an Italian EPC firm running mechanical fabrication on a NEOM project in Tabuk Province. His ITI Welder certificate from NCVT Vadodara (issued 2018) needed apostille. His L and T employment letter required notarisation on the Hazira HR letterhead. His PCC came from the Vadodara Passport Seva Kendra. His Saudi Trade Test certificate was issued at the EPC firm's pre-departure assessment in Mumbai. The Gujarat HRD step ran through the State Council for Vocational Training Gandhinagar. MEA apostille at the authorised MEA service-provider route. Saudi-listed Arabic translation. Saudi became a Hague apostille destination for Indian documents on 7 December 2022, which removed the older Saudi Embassy attestation step entirely from his file. The recruitment agency coordinated the Saudi consulate Mumbai visa endorsement. Three weeks after the documents landed in the agency's Mumbai office, his Saudi work visa was stamped. The onward routing is typically via Riyadh to the Tabuk site.
That sequence is the sequence behind most Indian welder and fabricator moves to Saudi Arabia in 2026. Saudi Arabia's construction and industrial pipeline runs on imported skilled trade workers. NEOM, the Red Sea Project, AMAALA, Qiddiya, the King Salman Park, the SAR rail expansion, the Riyadh Metro completion, the Jubail and Yanbu industrial cities and the wider EPC contractor base hire continuously. The pay is significantly better than equivalent Indian roles. The visa file moves quickly when it is right and gets sent back when it is not. This page is for the Indian welder or fabricator preparing for a Saudi role through a recruitment agency, and for the recruitment agency coordinating the documentation. It covers what changed when Saudi joined the Hague apostille treaty on 7 December 2022, what the typical route looks like in 2026, and where files most often stall.
Trade type matters more than people realise
A welder is not one job. ARC welding, MIG, TIG, SMAW, structural steel welding, pipeline welding and underwater welding each carry their own equipment, safety profile and certification expectation. A Saudi EPC contractor hiring for a pipeline project at Jubail will read the file differently from one hiring for a NEOM steel-fabrication shop. The experience letter that says "Welder, ABC Engineering, 2019 to 2024" with no other detail leaves the file weaker than one that names the welding type, the equipment used, the project type and the supervisor.
Ask each past employer in India for a detailed experience letter before you leave that workshop. The detail to include: the welding process you handled (TIG, MIG, SMAW, FCAW), the materials you worked on (carbon steel, stainless, aluminium, exotic alloys), the joint configurations (butt, fillet, lap, groove), the certification level (3G, 4G, 6G), the type of project (oil and gas, power, structural, fabrication shop) and the supervisor's name and contact.
The 2026 in India Saudi Arabia welder process from issue to embassy
Saudi Arabia joined the Hague apostille treaty for Indian documents on 7 December 2022. Personal and educational documents now go through MEA apostille, not the old Saudi Embassy attestation route.
The route has four stamps parts on the India side.
State-level attestation or notarisation on the ITI welder trade certificate and any other educational documents. HRD or the State Education Department in the issuing state for ITI certificates. Three to seven working days.
MEA apostille in Delhi. The Ministry of External Affairs adds the apostille stamp. Three to five working days.
Certified Arabic translation by a Saudi-listed translator on the trade certificate, the experience letters and the marriage certificate (if family will follow). Three to seven working days.
Police Clearance Certificate from the Regional Passport Office, then MEA apostille on the PCC.
Tracked return courier takes three to seven working days.
Run together, the set of steps is two to four weeks for a clean file.
POE clearance and the recruitment agency for a Saudi Arabia welder
For an ECR passport holder going to Saudi (and Saudi is on the ECR list), Protector of Emigrants (POE) clearance through the e-Migrate portal is mandatory before the visa can be stamped. POE clearance is given to candidates being recruited through an MEA-registered Recruitment Agency (RA). The RA submits the demand letter, the power of attorney from the Saudi employer and the candidate's documents to the POE via e-Migrate.
If you have an ECNR passport (issued to candidates with class 10 or higher education), POE clearance is not required, but most welder and fabricator candidates with ITI certificates have ECR passports.
The recruitment agency is the key partner here. SiZA does not replace the RA. We work alongside the RA on the documentation work, doing the in India authentication while the RA handles the demand letter, the power of attorney, the POE submission and the visa stamping.
What the Saudi welder file carries
The ITI welder trade certificate (NCVT or SCVT) with the date of completion and the trade code.
A trade test letter from at least one past Indian employer where the welder's certification level (3G, 4G, 6G) was tested and confirmed.
Detailed experience letters with the welding type, the equipment, the projects, the certification levels and the supervisor's name.
Police Clearance Certificate from the RPO, dated within six months of the visa application.
Passport with at least eight to twelve months of validity.
Saudi employer offer letter, the demand letter and the power of attorney from the Saudi employer to the Indian RA.
GAMCA-approved medical fitness certificate, done at a GAMCA-approved centre before the visa stamping. Saudi visa stamping does not happen without the GAMCA medical.
Visa stamping at the Saudi Embassy in New Delhi or one of the consulates in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad or Kolkata.
The work in India on this Saudi Arabia welder application, and the steps that belong to the Saudi Arabia side
When you first send us scans on WhatsApp at +91 9220161774 (often through your recruitment agency), we read the ITI certificate, the experience letters and the trade test letters for Saudi EPC employer fit. We tell you where experience letters need to be strengthened with trade detail, what state-level attestation applies, and how the steps time against the visa stamping window. We share the timeline and cost end to end before any payment is taken.
When the originals reach our Noida office, we run the authentication in India. State-level attestation or notarisation, MEA apostille in Delhi, certified Arabic translation by a Saudi-listed translator, PCC apostille after the RPO issues it, and tracked return courier to you or directly to the recruitment agency for visa stamping. Named SiZA staff carry the documents between offices in Delhi NCR.
We do not run the recruitment agency role. The RA handles the demand letter, the power of attorney from the Saudi employer, the POE submission through e-Migrate and the visa stamping appointment. We do not run the GAMCA medical (the GAMCA-approved centre does that). We do not handle anything inside Saudi after you arrive.
For a free scan-review of your Saudi welder file, send a WhatsApp message to +91 9220161774 with photos of your ITI trade certificate, your experience letters and your Saudi offer letter (if you have it).
Two pages on the SiZA site that follow on from this: Saudi Arabia country documentation guide, apostille services, certified translation services.
