Saudi Arabia Declares Criteria For Five New Premium Residency Categories

RIYADH — In a bid to attract exceptional talents, executives, investors, entrepreneurs, and property owners, Saudi Arabia has announced the introduction of five new categories of premium residencies.

The premium residency program offers a range of benefits including the ability to grant residency to family members, conduct business activities, exemption from expatriate levies for themselves and their dependents. It also includes visa-free travel to and from the Kingdom, property ownership rights, easy transitions between establishments without fees, and the ability to host and invite relatives.

Previously offering only two categories - permanent residency at SR800,000 ($213k) and one-year renewable residency at SR100k ($26k) - Saudi Arabia now expands its premium residency options with five new categories. This brings the total number of available categories to seven: special talent, gifted individuals, investors, entrepreneurs, real estate owners in addition to limited duration and unlimited duration residencies.

This move is in line with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 goals which aim at attracting top talents necessary for accelerating economic growth. The Kingdom has witnessed a steady increase in direct foreign investment over the past six years - from SR27 billion in 2017 to SR122 billion last year. The introduction of these new categories is expected to further boost foreign direct investment contribution towards GDP from 3.8% up to 5.7%.

For special talent residencies there are two pathways: one for health professionals/scientists/researchers while another is designed specifically for executives with specific salary and experience requirements.

Gifted residencies require candidates either be nominated or win specified exceptional awards or meet eligibility criteria set by ministries such as Sports or Culture along with financial solvency requirements.

Investor residencies necessitate obtaining investment licenses along with presenting commercial registers/founding contracts alongside a minimum investment of SR7 million in economic activities within the Kingdom.

Entrepreneur residencies are divided into two categories, each with its own investment and ownership requirements, and recommendations from the investing entity.

Real estate owner residencies require ownership or benefit from real estate assets worth at least SR4 million in Saudi Arabia along with other criteria.

Limited duration residencies require minimum financial solvency with an annual fee of SR100k while unlimited duration residencies necessitate a one-time payment of SR800k.

General application requirements for all categories include a valid passport, passing a medical examination, regular residency (for residents already in the Kingdom), and a one-time fee of SR4,000 except for limited duration and unlimited duration residencies.

Click to oin to get Mediaone Saudi News in WhatsApp: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Kwrnz9DRz948tvsNBOI0Ft