Document And Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2015	Oct. 31, 2015
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	SAEX
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		17,367,673
Entity Registrant Name	SAExploration Holdings, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0001514732
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company