Programme overview
Saudi Arabia’s Premium Residency Permit — Iqama Mumayyazah, sometimes nicknamed the “Saudi Green Card” — was introduced in May 2019 to give foreign nationals a sponsor-free, kafala-free residency on a Vision 2030 economy. The programme is administered by the Premium Residency Center under the Council of Ministers, accessed via pr.gov.sa, and now sits across six tracks covering capital deployment, talent, entrepreneurship and lifestyle relocation.
There are two principal pricing structures. The Unlimited (Permanent) variant is a one-time fee of SAR 800,000 (~USD 213,000) and produces a lifetime residency. The Limited (Renewable) variant is a SAR 100,000 annual fee, renewable indefinitely and convertible. The two share the same rights set: live, work, own property (outside Mecca, Medina and the border zones), run businesses without a Saudi sponsor, recruit workers, and exit and re-enter the Kingdom without an exit visa.
What changed materially in 2024-2025 was uptake. The Premium Residency Center reported more than 40,000 applications between January 2024 and July 2025 — a step-change from the programme’s first four years. Vision 2030 has driven a regulatory tightening of expatriate fees on the standard iqama (SAR 800/month per worker, SAR 400/month per dependent) which has made the Premium Residency materially more attractive: holders and their dependents are exempt from both levies.
Investment routes
Unlimited (Permanent) Premium Residency — SAR 800,000. One-time, lifetime. Open to any applicant 21+ with a clean record, medical fitness, valid passport and demonstrated financial capability. The fastest route for a HNW principal who simply wants the document.
Limited (Renewable) Premium Residency — SAR 100,000/year. Annual fee, renewable. Same rights, no commitment. The working choice for principals testing the jurisdiction or staging a multi-year decision.
Investor Residency — SAR 7M+10 jobs. A SAR 7M minimum business investment plus the creation of 10 jobs within 24 months. Grants direct permanent residency (conditional during the first two years). Used by founders deploying capital into a Saudi operating company.
Entrepreneur Residency — two tracks. Track A is SAR 400K of accredited funding and a 5-year renewable permit. Track B is SAR 15M plus 20 jobs in 24 months and produces direct permanent residency. The choice tracks the venture’s stage.
Real Estate Owner Residency — SAR 4M+. Debt-free residential property valued at SAR 4M+ by an accredited valuer. Excludes Mecca, Medina and border-zone real estate. The straight Saudi analogue to Dubai’s real-estate Golden Visa route.
Special Talent Residency — credentials, not capital. For researchers (SAR 14K+/month salary), healthcare professionals and executives (SAR 35K-80K+/month). 5-year renewable, with permanent residency available after 30 months of residence. SAR 4,000 administrative fee.
Gifted Residency — case-led. Distinguished talents in culture, sports and the arts, on Ministry recommendation. Financial capability is tested. Narrow but real.
Tax architecture
Personal income tax: 0%. Saudi Arabia imposes no personal income tax on salaries, wages, or personal investment income for any resident — Saudi or foreign. This is the structural feature, unchanged since the programme launched, and the answer to most questions about why a HNW family would relocate to Riyadh or Jeddah.
Zakat and corporate tax. Zakat (a wealth-based religious obligation calculated on a defined base) applies to Saudi and GCC nationals only. Foreign nationals — including Premium Residency holders — do not pay zakat. Corporate tax of 20% applies to the non-Saudi/non-GCC ownership share of profit; the Saudi/GCC share is subject to zakat. VAT is 15%. Withholding tax of 5% applies to dividends paid to non-residents; treaty network reduces this in many cases.
No expatriate levy, no dependent fee. The standard iqama carries an SAR 800/month employer levy per foreign worker plus an SAR 400/month dependent fee per spouse/child. Premium Residency holders are exempt from both — a structural cost saving that frequently pays for the SAR 100K annual fee within a single multi-dependent year.
Tax residency. Saudi domestic law treats an individual as resident if present 183+ days in a 12-month period, or 30+ days where they have a permanent home in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia has signed 50+ double-tax treaties. There is no inheritance tax, no estate tax and no wealth tax.
What it gets you
- Sponsor-free residency — the kafala link, the single most cited friction in the legacy iqama, is gone.
- Permanent (SAR 800K) or annual (SAR 100K) optionality at the same rights set.
- Right to own residential and commercial property outside Mecca, Medina and the border zones.
- Right to operate businesses, recruit workers, and own transportation in the Kingdom without a Saudi partner.
- No expatriate levy or dependent fee — a cash-flow advantage that compounds for principals with multi-dependent households.
- No exit-visa requirement, free movement in and out of the Kingdom.
- Family inclusion: spouse, unmarried children up to 25 (extendable while studying), unmarried daughters of any age, and parents as dependents.
- Express airport lanes and access to all public services.
Our role on a Saudi file
- Track selection — Unlimited vs Limited vs category-specific (Investor, Real Estate, Special Talent) — sized to the principal’s purpose, capital position, and timeline.
- Capability documentation — financial statements, source-of-funds, professional credentials, ministry recommendations as the route requires.
- pr.gov.sa application file preparation — passport, medicals, criminal-record clearance, biometric scheduling.
- Property selection or business-investment structuring with our Riyadh and Jeddah counsel where Real Estate Owner or Investor Residency is the route.
- Family file integration — spouse and dependents bundled into the principal’s application from day one, not as later additions.
- Banking, schooling and exit-jurisdiction tax-severance coordination — the same architectural work we do on a UAE file, sized for the Saudi context.