The questions foreign companies ask first.

Yes, for most activities, once it registers with the Ministry of Investment. The exceptions are set by activity: trading needs SAR 30 million when fully foreign-owned, communications activities need a Saudi share of 40% (30% for supporting activities), some professions need a licensed Saudi partner, and a short list of activities is closed or restricted.

No. The Investment Law, in force since 12 February 2025, replaced the investment licence with an investment registration. MISA decides within 10 working days of a complete file, and the registration is kept alive by an annual update. A lapsed registration can be reactivated within three years; after that, the investor registers again.

The Companies Law sets none for a limited liability company; the partners fix it in the articles. The Ministry of Investment sets floors for particular activities, most visibly trading. A sector regulator may add its own, as the central bank does for payments and lending.

There is no official end-to-end timeline. The published service times are per step: MISA registration within 10 working days of a complete file, incorporation within 72 hours, a trade name within 10 days, a municipal licence within 10 days. The whole route also depends on your country’s apostille or legalisation, the bank’s review, the general manager’s visa and residence permit, and any sector licence.

The commercial registration needs a head-office address, and a national address is created with it. A lease is needed where the activity is carried on at premises, for the municipal licence and civil defence clearance, which are due within 90 days of registration. Sign a lease once you know what the activity’s licences require.

The Companies Law does not require it. In practice, yes: the bank opens the account on the manager’s passport but wants the residence permit within 90 days, and the labour platforms need a Saudi or resident account manager. Until the manager is resident, a resident delegate acts under a power of attorney.

Not if your country is a party to the Apostille Convention, which Saudi Arabia has applied since 7 December 2022: one apostille is enough. The UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon and Malaysia are not parties, so their documents still go through the full chain. MISA’s guide still refers to embassy certification, so we confirm the route for each file.

Income tax of 20% on the foreign share of profit and zakat of 2.5% on a Saudi or GCC share. Payments to non-residents carry withholding: management fees 20%, royalties 15%, technical and consulting services and dividends 5%. VAT is 15%, with registration mandatory above SAR 375,000 of taxable supplies.

Two rules apply together. The Nitaqat band depends on your activity and headcount, and new visas need at least Medium Green. Profession quotas apply on top: customer service and administrative support are reserved for Saudis, procurement is 70%, sales and marketing 60%, accounting 40% rising to 70%, engineering 30%. A Saudi counts in full at SAR 4,000 a month with a contract documented on Qiwa.

Not on day one. A bidder needs, valid at bid opening, a zakat or tax certificate, a social insurance certificate, chamber membership and a Saudisation certificate, which come once the company operates. Bid bonds are 1–2% and performance bonds 5%, on standard Ministry of Finance forms. Multinational groups without a regional headquarters in the Kingdom are generally restricted above SAR 1 million, with exceptions.

Since April 2025 the commercial registration has no expiry date but must be confirmed every year. After 90 days without confirmation, and a warning, the register is suspended together with every licence attached to it. A company left suspended for a year can be pushed to dissolution.

No. Operating through someone else’s licence or name is concealment under the Anti-Concealment Law: up to five years in prison and SAR 5 million, confiscation, deportation and closure, and advisers who knowingly help are liable too. Since most activities are open to foreign ownership, there is no lawful reason to do it. We never arrange nominee owners, managers or bank accounts.

A fixed fee per engagement, quoted after the readiness note, with the scope, exclusions and deliverables in writing. Government fees are passed through at cost on a separate line.