Saudi Arabias Premium Residency Law amended; age limit of 21 waived, two types of residency - permanent and fixed-term

The Premium Residency Law in Saudi Arabia was amended by royal decree. The royal decree's wordings were released by the official Umm Al-Qura newspaper on Wednesday. It states that there are two categories of residency: permanent and fixed-term, and that the age requirement of 21 years old for obtaining a Premium Residency has been eliminated.

The new legislation makes no opportunity for holders of Premium Residency to become citizens of Saudi Arabia.

Article 1 of the law's definition of "family" has been modified, according to the newspaper, and now states: "Family: those supported by the holder of Premium Residency, including spouses, children, and parents, in accordance with what the regulations specify."

The following was added to Subparagraph H of Paragraph 1 of Article 2: "The freedom for him or any of his family members or all of them to leave the Kingdom and return to it without requiring a visa."

Additionally, Article 2's Paragraph 2 has been changed to say that "the regulations shall determine the rights, benefits, and other duties, as well as the provisions regulating what is stated in this article, in a manner that does not conflict with the regulations that are in force in the Kingdom."

The law's Article 3 was modified to clearly define the various categories of residency, including fixed-term and permanent.

The Council has also offered products for the forms of Premium Residency mentioned in Paragraph 1 of Article 3, including the monetary compensation it thinks fit to collect for them as it is granted by a Council of Economic and Development Affairs decision.

The rules and procedures pertaining to the information in this article are outlined in the regulations.

Additionally, Article 4's Subparagraph B, which stated that "the applicant's age must not be less than 21 years," was cancelled.

A decision from the head of the centre will issue the Premium Residency, in accordance with the provisions of the law and its regulations. One of the amendments made to the law was to change Article 5 to read as follows: "The Premium Residency Centre will study the application, after completing the requirements referred to in Article 4 of the law, to consider approval — unless the interest requires otherwise — to grant the applicant Premium Residency."

Subparagraph A of Article 6's paragraph 1 was altered, according to the Official Gazette, to say: "Payment of the financial compensation approved by the Council of Economic and Development Affairs."

As to the statement, the third paragraph of Article 6 has been modified to read as follows: "The regulations determine the procedures necessary for the issuance of the Premium Residency and the taking into effect of it."

Article 8, which states that "The holder of Premium Residency is considered as a resident for the purpose of applying other statutory provisions, especially tax provisions, regardless of the period he spends outside the Kingdom during the year," has been cancelled in accordance with the amendments.

Article 10's first paragraph, which stated that "the rights and benefits granted to the holder of Premium Residency shall be in accordance with the law exclusively," was likewise cancelled.

After revision, paragraph 3 of Article 10 now reads as follows: "All laws, regulations, and instructions that apply to a non-Saudi resident would apply to him and his family, except the rights and benefits stipulated in the law and regulations for the holder of Premium Residency and his family."

Article 11's second paragraph, which stated that "Premium Residency does not entitle its holder to the right to obtain Saudi citizenship," was likewise repealed.