Saudi Arabia · Business & founder
Premium Residency — Business Investor and Entrepreneur
Two of the five products introduced on 17 January 2024. The Investor product grants permanent status immediately, conditional for the first two years pending job creation.
The investor route converts a real operating commitment into permanent status — which is the point. It is not a passive product: the 10-job requirement is an ongoing operating obligation, and permanent status is revocable during the conditional period if you miss it.
Qualifying routes
Minimum SAR 7m investment (roughly USD 1.87m) plus creation of at least 10 jobs within 2 years. Permanent residency granted immediately but conditional for the first 2 years.
SAR 400,000 in a licensed startup with approved venture funding. 5 years, renewable once. 3-year Saudization exemption for the startup.
SAR 15m in a startup leads to permanent residency. WARNING: sources materially conflict on the associated job-creation and equity terms (10 jobs in year one vs 20 jobs over two years; 5% vs 10% equity). Confirm directly with the Premium Residency Center before relying on any figure.
The facts
- Minimum investment
- 400k SAR
- Total landed cost
- SAR 4,000 government application fee plus roughly USD 170 PRC assessment fee — the products themselves are cheap to apply for; the cost is the underlying investment and the ongoing payroll obligation
- Timeline
- 2–4 months — 8–14 weeks for investor tracks reflecting capital and licence verification. Confidence medium — advisory sources, not a PRC service standard.
- Physical presence
- None published
- Family
- spousechildrenparents
- Permanent residency
- Immediate for the SAR 7m investor and SAR 15m entrepreneur routes, conditional on meeting job-creation obligations
- Citizenship
- Effectively none
- Language test
- Not applicable
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted — you would have to renounce
- Requirements
- licensed investment in the Kingdomjob creation for the investor tierclean criminal recordfinancial solvencymedical report
- The 10-job requirement is a real, enforceable payroll obligation — not a formality. Permanent status is conditional for the first two years.
- Entrepreneur Tier 2 (SAR 15m) terms are genuinely unresolved across Fragomen, Deloitte and Vialto. Do not quote job or equity terms to a client without confirming with the PRC.
- SAR 7m plus 10 Saudi jobs is a materially heavier commitment than SAR 800,000 for the permanent tier, which requires nothing operational. Most families should compare the two before assuming the investor route is the serious one — it is often the worse deal.
- Prices and product terms are CEDA-adjustable by administrative decision.