The country’s willfulness to become a global hub is incarnated in its Vision 2030 plan, an initiative seeking to accomplish steady economic, cultural, and social growth across the country. Now, as part of Vision 2030, the Premium Residency Center is launching new residency solutions.
What is Premium Residency in Saudi Arabia?
To put it simply, Premium Residency in Saudi Arabia is a Residency by Investment program, officially run by the government in the form of the Premium Residency Center. It offers foreign nationals the ability to become Temporary or Permanent Residents.
While some visas may require sponsorship to enter Saudi Arabia, Premium Residency does not. Interested individuals can apply at their discretion, making the application for the visa entirely self-sponsored, a common trend surging in the Middle East.
With the five new Residency solutions, the program is opening considerably, enabling a multitude of differently specialized individuals to enter and live in the country. In doing this, Saudi Arabia hopes to captivate talented professionals to aid the country in its push for economic growth. While the solutions may hold the key to Permanent Residency, obtaining Citizenship in Saudi Arabia via naturalization is a vastly complicated procedure.
What are the new Saudi Arabia Residency Solutions?
Officially referred to as “products” by the Premium Residency Center, the residency solutions are essentially new visa categories, inspired by Golden Visa programs present across Europe, which offer multiple options to individuals seeking Residency, including the purchase of Real Estate. Each of the Saudi solutions is designed with different demographic segments in mind, though their goal is the same: to promote and diversify growth across several sectors in Saudi Arabia by captivating foreign nationals to live and work in the country.
The Special Talent Residency solution is aimed at highly skilled individuals in the areas of executive leadership, scientific research, and healthcare. This new visa targets knowledge dissemination.
The Gifted Residency solution seeks to attract exceptional talents to grow and foster Saudi Arabia’s transformative journey across the sports, arts, and cultural sectors.
The Investor Residency solution is for business-driven individuals looking to expand their ambitions and generate hefty profits in Saudi Arabia, a country with a unique position in the Middle Eastern landscape, boasting the strongest economy in the region.
The Entrepreneur Residency solution is geared toward innovators dreaming the world of tomorrow. As Saudi Arabia seeks to further its own position as a global hub, it creates the conditions for its underdeveloped sectors to flourish.
The Real Estate Owner Residency solution is the residential alternative, especially for those who have purchased or wish to buy property in Saudi Arabia.
What are the benefits and the eligibility criteria of the Saudi Arabia Residency Solutions?
Each of the residency solutions brings its own set of specific benefits, though they all share the same general advantages. As a holder of a Premium Residency permit in Saudi Arabia, you are entitled to live, work, conduct business, invest, and own real estate in the country. You can also enroll your family in the application and bring your spouse, parents, and children under the age of 25.
The solutions also offer flexibility, meaning if you qualify for a specific Residency “product,” you can change the area within the scope of the visa. For example, changing from one business to another, which also applies to all family members. Moving to Saudi Arabia on the basis of Premium Residency, you are exempt from paying normal fees imposed on expats and gain the ability to use lanes dedicated to citizens at airports. You and your family can enter and exit the country without any further visa requirements, and you become able to sponsor other relatives to obtain their visas to visit and live in Saudi Arabia.
Likewise, there are specific criteria to qualify for each type of Residency solution. Generally, though, Saudi Arabia’s government requires a vast array of documentation, including, but not limited to, a valid passport, a clean criminal record, financial resources, and a medical report clearing the applicant of communicable diseases.
Are there any alternatives to Saudi Arabia?
Despite Saudi Arabia’s commendable attempts, it still has a long path ahead. As new residency solutions, the program will most likely undergo significant changes in the future, possibly further restricting eligibility criteria. In the meantime, there are tried and true methods of accomplishing Residency status, with similar, if not better benefits, than the ones proposed by the country.
Among the better ones are Golden Visa programs, the basis of inspiration for the new Premium Residency in Saudi Arabia. Commonly found in Europe, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific, these initiatives offer either Residency or Citizenship status by Investment. Two programs which currently stand out from the rest can be found in Greece and Portugal.
Greece, a country in the EU, currently holds the best Golden Visa program in the world, enabling you to obtain Residency status in the country through a Real Estate purchase of €250,000 in most of the country, including the island of Crete. Alternatively, an investment of €500,000 in the Athens center, Thessaloniki, and the iconic islands of Mykonos and Santorini, among other select regions, also qualifies for the Greece Golden Visa.
Portugal, also in the EU, competes with Greece with its D2 Visa program. Aimed at the operation of a business in the country, the D2 Visa grants Residency in the country. Portugal currently has the fastest track toward EU citizenship, taking only 5 years.
Investment Visa boasts packages for Portugal, Greece, and other countries, carefully curated by a team with various decades of experience in residency and citizenship programs across the world. Our team prides itself on providing the most solid solutions for our clients, who always remain our number one priority.
Right now, Saudi Arabia proposes an interesting path forward, revealing its commitment to the future, but all it promises is already achievable in Europe, either in Portugal or in Greece, countries with more powerful passports and best known for incarnating the European and Mediterranean lifestyle at a lower cost of living.
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