Saudi Arabia golden visa: Premium Residency for property owners and paid residency

The Premium Residency Center requires a valid passport, a minimum age of 21, proof of solvency, a clean criminal record and a medical report not older than six months showing no communicable diseases. Applicants already in Saudi Arabia must be legally resident and settle their previous sponsorship before the Premium Residency is issued. The Center notes that all conditions may change.

Category 1: ownership or usufruct of real estate in Saudi Arabia worth at least SAR 4,000,000. The property must be residential, an existing built unit (not developed or undeveloped land) and free of any mortgage now and later. The residency lasts as long as you keep the ownership or usufruct.

Category 2: purchase of one residential unit off-plan worth at least SAR 4,000,000, with at least SAR 1,000,000 or 10% of the price paid, whichever is higher. The developer must be approved by the Real Estate General Authority, the unit may not be bought with a mortgage loan or mortgaged later, and ownership must be transferred within five years of purchase.

These products need no investment: the applicant shows sufficient means and pays the fee. Limited Duration is a fixed-term residency of one to five years, renewable, at SAR 100,000 for each year. Unlimited Duration is a permanent residency for a one-time SAR 800,000. Money paid for a one-year residency is not refunded if it ends before the year is out.

There is no legal limit on the number of family members. Parents, spouses and children up to 25 can be included, and dependants do not pay the Premium Residency fee. Children's cards end at 25. After a divorce the children keep their status and the spouse has a 60-day grace period, extendable up to 180 days.

The residency is cancelled, among other reasons, after a conviction carrying at least 60 days in prison or a fine of SAR 100,000 or more, a deportation order, false information in the application, breach of the law, failure to renew medical insurance, or relinquishment. The holder may stay up to 60 days after cancellation to settle affairs, extendable to a total of 180 days. Premium Residency does not give a right to Saudi citizenship.

Holders live in Saudi Arabia without a sponsor, together with parents, spouses and children under 25; can move between employers; are exempt from the fees imposed on expatriates and their dependants; may leave and re-enter without a visa; can obtain visit visas for relatives; use citizens' lanes at airports; may conduct business under the Investment Law, own or hold usufruct of real estate, hire domestic workers on the same terms as citizens and own private vehicles. Family members may work in the private sector, except in jobs reserved for Saudis.