Can You Get Saudi Residency by Buying Property? Premium Residency for Real Estate Owners

Does buying property in Saudi Arabia give you residency?

Not on its own. The Law of Real Estate Ownership and Investment by Non-Saudis has applied since 22 January 2026, and the Saudi Properties portal has accepted ownership applications since 23 June 2026. Article 6 of that law limits what ownership brings: owning real estate or holding another right in rem gives a non-Saudi no rights or privileges other than those of the holder of that right. Residency is not among them.

Article 5 states that the law does not prejudice the Privileged Residency Permit Law, on which Premium Residency is based, or other laws that grant non-Saudis better rights to own real estate.

Buying and residency are separate processes: Article 6 attaches no status to a purchase, and Premium Residency requires its own application to the Premium Residency Center at pr.gov.sa. The purchase and the title run through REGA's system, the Saudi Properties portal and the Real Estate Registry.

For property owners, Premium Residency offers a dedicated product, Real Estate Owner Residency, with two categories. The conditions below are those published by the Center as of 17 October 2026.

Category 1: Premium Residency for owners of completed homes

The first category is for people who own, or hold a usufruct over, a completed home in Saudi Arabia. The Center requires:

• ownership or usufruct of real estate in Saudi Arabia worth at least SAR 4,000,000;
• residential property only;
• an existing, built property; developed and undeveloped land plots do not qualify;
• no mortgage now and no mortgage in the future.

Residency in this category lasts as long as the ownership or usufruct continues. Selling the home or pledging it as security means the condition is no longer met.

Keep the ownership law in mind as well: a non-Saudi's ownership is valid only once it is registered with the Real Estate Registry. A reservation, a signed contract or even full payment does not replace registration.

Category 2: Premium Residency conditions for off-plan homes

Homes still under construction have their own category, with these conditions:

• the purchase of one off-plan residential unit worth at least SAR 4,000,000;
• at least SAR 1,000,000 or 10% of the price paid, whichever is higher;
• a developer approved by REGA;
• no mortgage financing for the purchase and no mortgage over the unit.

Residency in this category is tied to the contract: it lasts while the purchase contract is maintained, and title to the home must transfer to the buyer within five years of the purchase date.

How the minimum payment works: at a price of SAR 4,000,000, 10% is SAR 400,000, which is below the SAR 1,000,000 floor, so at least SAR 1,000,000 must be paid. At SAR 12,000,000, 10% is SAR 1,200,000, which is higher, so the minimum becomes SAR 1,200,000.

An off-plan unit is a multi-year commitment: your residency rests on the contract, and the contract rests on the developer completing the project so that title passes in time. The product page does not say what happens if handover slips and the five-year window is at risk. Off-plan sales are regulated under a law in force since 4 April 2024: the project needs a REGA licence issued through Wafi, and buyers pay into the project's escrow account. That reduces risk, but escrow is not an unconditional guarantee of completion or of a refund.

Fee, validity and what the residency gives you

The Center lists a fee of SAR 4,000 for Real Estate Owner Residency. Validity is not expressed in years and follows the conditions of each category described above.

According to the Center, benefits include:

• living in Saudi Arabia with your family: spouse, parents and children under 25;
• working in the private sector and moving between employers, including for your spouse and children;
• doing business in line with the Investment Law;
• leaving and re-entering the Kingdom without a visa, for the holder and family members;
• exemption from the fees charged to expatriates and their dependants;
• owning and using real estate.

Check the list of benefits and conditions on the Center's page when you apply: the Center states plainly that conditions may change.

What to clarify before you buy

The product page sets out the property requirements but leaves several questions open. Put them to the Center and to a licensed lawyer in Saudi Arabia before you reserve anything:

• general applicant requirements (age, documents, checks) are not listed on the product page;
• how the Center determines the property value for the threshold;
• which title and payment documents it accepts as evidence;
• what happens to the residency if an off-plan handover is delayed;
• which ownership rights the Privileged Residency Permit Law itself gives a holder, including outside the designated zones: Article 5 preserves that law's provisions, and the product page lists owning and using real estate among the benefits without further detail;
• whether a holder benefits from the ownership-law rule for legal residents, who may own one home outside the designated zones, except in Makkah and Madinah.

Can a non-resident foreigner buy a qualifying home?

Before comparing a price with the threshold, make sure you can buy the property at all. Under the new law, non-Saudis, both residents and non-residents, may own real estate in geographic zones designated by the Council of Ministers. In Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah ownership is allowed only within the zones set out in the Geographical Zones Document, whose map is published on the Saudi Properties portal. What is checked is the specific address, not the city or the project name.

In Makkah and Madinah, a non-Saudi individual may own property only if they are Muslim, and only within the designated zones.

Ownership applications go through the Saudi Properties portal. A non-resident first obtains a digital identity through a Saudi mission abroad. According to advisers' summaries of the Implementing Regulations (Deloitte, Greenberg Traurig), a non-resident also needs a Saudi bank account and a Saudi mobile number, and payments must be made electronically through SAMA payment systems.

Budget: the SAR 4,000,000 threshold and costs on top

The threshold applies to the property's value. On top of the price, budget for transaction and application costs:

• Real Estate Transaction Tax (RETT) at 5% of the price; by default the seller pays, but the buyer becomes jointly liable if they caused non-payment, underpayment or late payment;
• the REGA fee for non-Saudis: under Article 9 of the law up to 5% of value, without prejudice to other taxes and fees, so it does not replace RETT; according to advisers, the Implementing Regulations set it at 2% for property in Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah Governorate; sources do not say which party pays it, so confirm with a lawyer;
• the Premium Residency Center fee of SAR 4,000;
• bank charges and currency conversion at your banks' rates.

Rule out a mortgage for this purpose from the start: in both categories the property must not be mortgaged, and in Category 2 the purchase must not be mortgage-financed. If you plan to let the home, treat any rental income as possible, never guaranteed.

Step by step: from choosing a property to applying for Premium Residency

1. Choose a category, completed or off-plan, and check the current conditions on pr.gov.sa.
2. Confirm you can buy: check the address on the Saudi Properties zone map and, in Makkah or Madinah, your eligibility as a Muslim buyer.
3. Confirm the price is at least SAR 4,000,000 and that RETT, the REGA fee and the Center's fee are in the budget.
4. For off-plan, check the developer's REGA approval and the project's Wafi licence, and check the escrow account details against the contract.
5. Non-residents: obtain a digital identity, open a Saudi bank account, get a Saudi number and apply on the Saudi Properties portal.
6. Sign the contract and pay only electronically, to the account named in it. For Category 2, pay at least SAR 1,000,000 or 10% of the price, whichever is higher.
7. For a completed home, register the title with the Real Estate Registry.
8. Apply for Real Estate Owner Residency on pr.gov.sa with the documents the Center requests.
9. Keep meeting the conditions after approval: do not mortgage the property and, for Category 2, keep the contract in force until title transfers within five years.

This is a general sequence: there is no single official checklist covering both the purchase and the residency. Have a licensed lawyer in Saudi Arabia review your specific transaction.

How Yarmax can help, and where our role ends

We can check a specific property's price against the threshold. As of 17 October 2026, no listing in our catalogue with a published price reaches SAR 4,000,000; some listings are priced on request, and we confirm those prices with the developer. For any off-plan project, ask for the Wafi licence number and the escrow account details: check the licence on Wafi and the account details against the contract.

Yarmax does not decide on residency and cannot influence the decision: the Premium Residency Center reviews the application. We do not promise that a purchase will lead to residency, and we do not claim that any specific property is open to non-resident foreign buyers: zone status is checked by address on the Saudi Properties portal.

Frequently asked questions