Saudi Arabia · Talent & extraordinary ability
Premium Residency — Exceptional Competence and Talent
Introduced 17 January 2024. Both products run 5 years, renewable once, and holders are exempt from Saudization ratios. This is where the programme's actual volume sits.
At SAR 4,000 this is the cheapest Premium Residency by three orders of magnitude, and it carries a route through to the permanent tier. 5,578 of the 8,074 permits issued in 2024 went to this category — it is what the programme actually does. Test it before writing a SAR 800,000 cheque.
Qualifying routes
Minimum monthly salary SAR 14,000 plus qualifying research credentials
Minimum monthly salary SAR 35,000
Minimum monthly salary SAR 80,000
Outstanding achievement in culture, arts or sport; must hold or be nominated for an approved award and hold an official recommendation from the relevant Saudi authority
The facts
- Qualifying figure
- 14k SAR
- Total landed cost
- SAR 4,000 government fee plus roughly USD 170 PRC assessment — no investment required
- Timeline
- 1–2 months — The fastest of the Premium Residency products
- Physical presence
- None published, but the salary routes presuppose a Saudi employment relationship
- Family
- spousechildrenparents
- Permanent residency
- Yes — holders become eligible for the permanent tier after meeting residency requirements, unlike the property route
- Citizenship
- Effectively none
- Language test
- Not applicable
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted — you would have to renounce
- Requirements
- qualifying salary evidenced by contract for the competence routesapproved award or nomination plus official Saudi recommendation for the Talent routeattested qualificationsclean criminal recordmedical report
- 5 years, renewable once — this is not permanence, and the salary basis must persist for renewal.
- The salary routes tie you to a Saudi employment relationship, which is precisely what a UHNW family is usually trying to avoid.
- The Talent (Gifted) product is committee-discretionary with award or nomination gating — only 348 were issued in 2024. Do not plan around it.
- Saudization exemption is a genuine benefit for the employer, not for you.