The Ministry of Defence, represented by the General Administration of Admission and Recruitment, announced the opening of admission and unified recruitment for military jobs for men and women in Saudi Arabia.
Applications are invited for joining military services from the rank of a soldier to sergeant.
The ministry said, in a statement issued, that registration of applications would commence on April 10.
The ministry invited those who wish to join the armed forces to visit its unified admission portal, to know details about the military jobs, terms and conditions and procedures for application and admission.
In a significant move, the Ministry of Defence opened its military sectors for both men and women cadets in February 2021.
It noted then that military ranks from soldier to sergeant are available in the Saudi Arabian Army, Royal Saudi Air Defense, Royal Saudi Navy, Royal Strategic Missile Force and Armed Forces Medical Services.
The plan to allow women into the military was first announced in 2019, the same year the kingdom said it would allow women to leave the country without permission from a male relative, a major step toward ending a restrictive guardianship system that has been heavily criticized at home and abroad.
That came after Saudi Arabia, in 2018, allowed women to drive and ended its status as the last country on earth to prohibit women from taking to the wheels, a step that Bloomberg Economics estimated at the time could add as much as $90 billion to economic output by 2030.
Apart from the usual weight and height criteria, female applicants to the military need to have at least a high school education. Applicants married to foreigners will not be accepted.
Applicants must be between the age of 21 and 40 to be eligible for the military. In addition to this, a woman must be at least 155 centimetres tall or above, to become part of the army.
The age range for first-time male applicants is between 17 and 40 while their minimum height is 160 cm.
All applicants must also pass admission procedures, have a clean record and be medically fit for service. Moreover, a woman must hold an independent national identity card, have at least a high school education and cannot be married to a non-Saudi.
