The steps, in order
1. A real demand reaches a licensed agent. A Saudi employer sends a demand through a licensed Pakistani Overseas Employment Promoter (OEP), approved with a Permission Tracking Number. Genuine jobs are listed on the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (BEOE) Foreign Jobs Portal — check yours there.
2. Selection and medical. The employer or agent selects workers; you take a medical examination at an approved (GAMCA/Wafid) centre.
3. Visa stamping. The Saudi visa is stamped through the authorised channels on your passport — after the demand and medical are in order.
4. Protector of Emigrants stamp. Before departure, your passport receives the Protector stamp from BEOE. This is your legal protection as an overseas worker — never travel for work without it.
5. Travel and joining. You join the employer in Saudi Arabia; your Iqama (residence permit) is issued after arrival.
What it should cost you — the Rs 15,000 cap
The licensed agent's service charge is capped at Rs 15,000, paid through a bank — and it is released to the agent only after the Protector confirms you actually joined the job. Anyone demanding lakhs for a "free visa", or asking for cash with no bank record, is breaking the rules and very likely running a scam.
Three red flags that mean stop
1) The person is not a licensed OEP or cannot show a Permission Tracking Number. 2) A "Trade Testing Centre" claims it can arrange your visa — per BEOE's advisory, testing centres have no role in visas, and one claiming otherwise is committing fraud. 3) You are asked to hand over your original passport or large cash payments to an unauthorised person.