Saudi Arabia Eases Foreign Ownership Rules Under Vision 2030

Saudi Arabia has moved to make it far simpler for international companies and investors to enter its market, part of a wider push under رؤية السعودية 2030 to attract foreign capital. In most commercial, industrial, professional, and service activities, businesses can now be established with 100% foreign ownership, while a limited number of restricted sectors still require Saudi participation or remain closed.

The shift is anchored in the 2024 Investment Law, which replaced the older foreign-investment licensing model with a registration-based system. The main official channel for investors is وزارة الاستثمار, where standard company registration is commonly completed in about 3 to 10 business days, with the registration term valid for up to five years.

On costs, commonly reported figures include SAR 2,000 SAR 10,000 for the first-year investor-relations subscription, and SAR 60,000 Some 2026 guidance indicates that headline issue and renewal fees are suspended or waived for many investors, though that status is not applied uniformly.

Market access and property rules

In a notable change, the Qualified Foreign Investor requirement for listed-securities investing was removed in February 2026, opening the listed market to foreign investors under updated rules. Ownership limits still apply: a non-resident foreign investor, other than a strategic investor, may not hold 10% or more of a listed issuer's shares or convertible debt, and aggregate foreign ownership generally may not exceed 49%. Foreign strategic investors remain subject to a two-year lock-up.

A separate real-estate regime, which entered into force in January 2026 and became operational after the June 2026 cabinet approval of its executive regulation, allows foreign property ownership only in designated zones and under specific conditions. Makkah and Madinah remain restricted, with special Muslim-only rules in those areas.

For residents and business owners, the process typically touches several official platforms, including قوى for labor matters, مقيم for residence services, نفاذ for digital login, Etimad for government procurement, Balady for municipal services, ناجز for legal services, and توكلنا for digital-government services.

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