{"id":3103,"date":"2019-05-17T10:25:06","date_gmt":"2019-05-17T10:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.asiapropertyawards.com\/?p=3103"},"modified":"2021-06-04T14:25:03","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T07:25:03","slug":"saudi-arabia-loosens-ownership-rules-for-wealthy-foreigners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.asiapropertyawards.com\/en\/saudi-arabia-loosens-ownership-rules-for-wealthy-foreigners\/","title":{"rendered":"Saudi Arabia loosens residency rules for investors, skilled foreigners"},"content":{"rendered":"

The kingdom approves permanent residency for the first time, with property perks for eligible applicants<\/p>\n

\"\"
Osama Ahmed Mansour\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Foreigners can now obtain permanent residency in Saudi Arabia in an effort by the kingdom to explore non-oil revenue streams, Bloomberg<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

The cabinet stamped its final approval on a new scheme, dubbed \u2018privileged iqama\u2019, granting foreigners the perk of a one-year renewable residency, if not an indefinite stay.<\/p>\n

It marks a departure from the existing \u2018iqama\u2019 system that allows foreigners to reside and work in the kingdom if they have a \u2018kafeel\u2019 or sponsor.<\/p>\n

More: Now you can buy land in Abu Dhabi<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you really want to move forward and innovate, the whole sponsorship system needs to be abolished,\u201d said Nasser Saidi, president of Nasser Saidi & Associates and former chief economist at the Dubai International Financial Centre.<\/p>\n

The new residency scheme gives successful applicants the right to own property \u2014 a move that would benefit wealthy Arabs who have resided in the kingdom for decades \u201cwithout being able to as much as own the homes they live in,\u201d Mazen Al-Sudairi, head of research at Al Rajhi Capital, told Bloomberg.<\/p>\n

However, the residency scheme will be offered to skilled expats \u2014 doctors, engineers, and innovators \u2014 as well as investors and professionals who can \u201ccontribute to the development of Saudi Arabia and lead to a prosperous future,\u201d according to Lina Almaeena, a member of the consultative Shura Council which approved the scheme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kingdom approves permanent residency for the first time, with property perks for eligible applicants<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":20068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[239,167,238],"class_list":["post-3103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-jeddah","tag-middle-east","tag-saudi-arabia","news_country-rest-of-asia","news_author-property-report"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSaudi Arabia loosens residency rules for investors, skilled foreigners | Asia Property Awards<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.asiapropertyawards.com\/en\/saudi-arabia-loosens-ownership-rules-for-wealthy-foreigners\/\" \/>\n<meta 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