Premium Residency in Saudi Arabia
Live in Madinah without working or opening a company
Residency in your own name. No sponsor, no employer, no exit visa. Your family comes with you.
The official name is Premium Residency, in Arabic الإقامة المميزة, issued by the Premium Residency Centre. You will also hear it called the Saudi Green Card or the Saudi Golden Visa. It is all the same permit.
Most people move here on somebody else’s permission
An ordinary Iqama ties your whole life in this country to one employer or one company. That is fine until it is not.
Your sponsor holds your status
If the job ends, the residency ends with it, and the family you brought here goes too.
You need permission to leave
Every trip out of the Kingdom needs an exit and re-entry visa arranged for you.
Your wife cannot sponsor her own mother
A dependant cannot sponsor anybody. That wall catches almost every family eventually.
You cannot simply change jobs
Moving employer means release letters, transfer fees and somebody else agreeing to it.
Premium Residency removes the sponsor entirely
It is residency in your own right, granted under Royal Decree M/106. It is not citizenship, and it does not become citizenship.
- ✓No sponsor at all. Nobody holds your status in this country.
- ✓Work for anyone, or for yourself. No release letter, no employer permission.
- ✓Own property freehold, outside the restricted zones.
- ✓Own a business outright with no Saudi partner.
- ✓Sponsor your family directly, including certain other relatives.
- ✓Leave and return freely, with no exit or re-entry visa.
- ✓Your spouse and children can work without their own sponsorship.
- ✓Citizen lanes at the airport and some services at citizen rates.
There are three kinds of people who get this
Most pages only talk about the first two, because the headline number gets attention. The third group is the one almost nobody tells.
A single payment, residency for life. For people who want the friction gone and can afford to remove it.
The same rights, paid each year. For people testing the move before committing fully.
Doctors, researchers, senior executives, founders and property owners. Five routes that cost a fraction of the above, and most people have never heard of them.
Seven ways in
Two are about money. Five are about who you are and what you have built.
| Route | Who it is for | Government fee |
|---|---|---|
| Special Talent | Doctors with recognised specialties, researchers and senior executivesSalary thresholds apply, and they are lower than people expect | 4,000 SARabout $1,070 |
| Entrepreneur | Founders of a licensed Saudi startup, or investors in a Saudi venture fund | 4,000 SARabout $1,070 |
| Investor | People with an active investment registration and capital in a Saudi company | 4,000 SARabout $1,070 |
| Real Estate Owner | Owners of completed, mortgage-free property worth 4,000,000 SAR or moreabout $1,070,000 in property value | 4,000 SARabout $1,070 |
| Gifted | International level achievement in sport, art, film, music or architecture | 4,000 SARabout $1,070 |
| Renewable | Anyone. Full rights, renewed each yearWorks out more than the permanent option after roughly eight years | 100,000 SAR a yearabout $26,500 a year |
| Permanent | Anyone. Full rights, for life, with nothing to renew | 800,000 SAR onceabout $213,000 |
The five category routes carry a government fee of 4,000 SAR, plus a small application fee of around 640 SAR paid when you apply. Dollar figures use the fixed rate of 3.75 SAR to the dollar and are a guide only. Fees are set by the Premium Residency Centre and we confirm the current amount for your route before you commit to anything.
Two to three months, not two years
People assume this takes forever. It does not.
Your documents
Passport valid for two years or more, a few months of financial statements, your employment or business papers, and any endorsement your route needs.
Submission
Everything goes through the official Premium Residency portal. There is no agent route and no shortcut, and a complete file is what keeps it moving.
Checks
Background, medical and financial checks run together, usually across the third to sixth week.
Decision
Typically 30 to 60 days from a complete submission. Requests for extra documents are normal and we handle them.
Payment and card
You pay the main fee only after approval. Your card is issued within about two weeks and linked to Absher.
You might not need this at all
We would rather tell you now than take your money. Opening your own company also gives you residency, and for many people it is the better route.
Premium Residency suits you if
- You do not want to run a business at all
- You want to live here and keep earning abroad
- You qualify on your profession or your property
- You want your wife able to sponsor her own parents
- You want the sponsor question gone for good
A company suits you if
- You want to build something here anyway
- You want the lowest cost route to residency
- You are happy with yearly renewals
- You want an income inside Saudi Arabia
- You do not qualify on a category route
Tell us your situation on the form and we will say plainly which one fits. If it is the company route, we will tell you that too.
We do not hand you a residency and disappear
The permit is the paperwork. Landing a family in a new city is the part people underestimate, and that is where we stay with you.
Your apartment
We find and secure the right home in the right area, and negotiate the lease in Arabic.
Schooling
We help you find the right school and get through the admissions process.
The community
Hundreds of English speaking families already live here. We introduce you.
Whatever comes next
Property, a business, bringing your parents. We are already here and we know your file.
The things people ask us
Is Premium Residency the same as the Saudi Green Card?
Yes. Premium Residency is the official name, الإقامة المميزة in Arabic, and it is issued by the Premium Residency Centre. Green Card and Golden Visa are nicknames people use for the same permit.
Can I apply from outside Saudi Arabia?
Yes. You do not need to be in the Kingdom to apply and you do not need an Iqama first. The whole submission is done online, and you come once the permit is issued.
How long does the whole thing take?
Usually two to three months from a complete file. The decision itself is typically 30 to 60 days, and the card follows about two weeks after that. What slows people down is an incomplete file, which is the part we handle.
What happens if I am refused?
You will not have paid the main government fee at that point, because that is only paid after approval. We go through the reason with you. Where the file can be strengthened and resubmitted we say so, and where it cannot we tell you that plainly instead of selling you another attempt.
Does Premium Residency give me citizenship?
No. It is residency in your own right with no sponsor, and it does not lead to a Saudi passport.
Can I lose it?
If you hold it through employment and lose that job, there is a grace period to find another before it is withdrawn. The permanent route is not tied to a job.
Can I sponsor my parents?
Yes. And this is the part that matters for couples: a wife who is a dependant on her husband cannot sponsor her own mother, while a Premium Resident can.
Can my wife work?
Yes. Your spouse and children can work in the private sector without needing their own sponsorship.
Can I buy property in Madinah?
Property rules in Madinah are their own subject and changed in 2026. We go through exactly where you stand on the call rather than giving you a half answer here.
Do I still need a company to do business?
You can own a business outright with no Saudi partner. There are still registrations to complete, and they are far lighter for a Premium Resident than for somebody applying from abroad.
What does Loving Madinah actually do?
We work out which route fits you, prepare and check your file, handle the submission and the follow-up requests, and then help you land properly once you are here. We guide the application. We do not control the decision, and nobody honest will tell you otherwise.
Find out which route is yours
Two minutes. Tell us your situation and we will come back with the honest answer, insha’Allah.
Fees and thresholds are set by the Premium Residency Centre and can change. We confirm the current figures for your route before you commit to anything.