Which entity fits what you will do here.
Each way a foreign company can be present in Saudi Arabia is a different legal regime, with its own liability, tax and conditions. Checked against the Companies Law, the Investment Law and the Ministry of Investment’s guide.
- May sell
- Yes
- Liability
- Capital only
- Tax
- 20% / zakat
- May sell
- Yes
- Liability
- Shares only
- Tax
- 20% / zakat
- May sell
- Yes
- Liability
- Parent, unlimited
- Tax
- 20% + 5% on remittance
- May sell
- Yes
- Liability
- Foreign company
- Tax
- One contract
- May sell
- No
- Liability
- —
- Tax
- No revenue
- May sell
- No
- Liability
- Company or branch
- Tax
- 0% for 30 years
The forms side by side
| Form | Fits when | Liability | Tax | Key conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limited liability companyone owner or more | You sell and deliver in the Kingdom | Limited to the capital | 20% income tax on the foreign share; zakat on a Saudi or GCC share | No statutory minimum capital; the manager need not be a partner; subsidiaries of foreign groups are audited |
| Simplified joint-stock company | Investors or employee share plans | Limited to the shares | As above | No minimum capital; management set freely in the articles |
| Branch of the foreign company | The parent wants a direct presence | The parent, without limit | 20% on the branch’s profit whoever owns the parent; 5% on profits sent to head office | Audited statements within six months; interest charged by head office is not deductible |
| Temporary registrationfor one government contract | You have won a government contract | The foreign company | — | Ends with the contract; filed on the government letter or signed contract |
| Scientific and technical office | Market study and support for a distributor | — | No revenue, so no profit to tax | May not contract, trade or earn revenue; annual summary to MISA |
| Regional headquarters | Your group manages the region from Riyadh | As a company or a branch | 0% income and withholding tax on eligible income for 30 years | No commercial revenue; 15 full-time staff, three of them executives, within a year; physical presence rules |
Where MISA sets capital or a Saudi share
Most service and industrial activities carry no minimum capital from the Ministry of Investment. These do (Investor Guide, 13th edition, 2026):
| Activity | Minimum capital (SAR) | Minimum Saudi share | Other conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trading, with a Saudi partner | 26,666,667 | 25% | — |
| Trading, fully foreign | 30,000,000 | — | Presence in three markets; SAR 200–300 million invested over five years; train 30% of Saudi staff each year |
| Communications activities | — | 40% | — |
| Supporting communications activities | — | 30% | — |
| Professional activities, with a Saudi partner | — | 25% | Both partners licensed in the profession |
| Engineering consultancy, fully foreign | — | — | Parent licensed in four countries, ten years’ experience |
| Legal practice, fully foreign | — | — | Approval letter from the Ministry of Justice |
| Recruitment agents | — | — | Parent registration two years old, three years of financials, clean record |
Activities closed or restricted
Under the Investment Law a ministerial committee keeps a list of excluded activities, prohibited or restricted, and MISA publishes it. The Ministry’s current guide does not yet carry it. The list last reproduced under the old law included upstream oil, catering to the military, security and investigation services, Hajj and Umrah guidance, commission agents, fishing, and real estate in Makkah and Madinah. We check every activity code on the MISA portal, which marks each one available or restricted, before promising anything.
Changing the structure later
- Shares in a limited liability company transfer when the change is recorded on the commercial register; partners have 30 days to exercise pre-emption.
- An ownership change is amended with MISA first, then on the register within 30 days, or MISA may revert its record.
- There is no direct service to convert a branch into a company: a new company is formed, contracts and staff move to it, and the branch is closed.
- A voluntary liquidation may not exceed three years without a court extension; open tax cases are the usual delay.
See it for your company.
The readiness check applies these rules to your country, activity and plans, and names the longest pole in your file. No email.
Sources: laws.boe.gov.sa Companies Law (M/132) and Investment Law (M/19) · misa.gov.sa Investor Guide (13th ed., 2026) · zatca.gov.sa RHQ Guideline (May 2026) and Income Tax Regulations Art. 63