Buying Property in Saudi Arabia as a Non-Saudi: Who Qualifies and How to Apply

A procedural reference: who can own today, how the application actually works through the Saudi Properties portal, and — just as important — what has not been announced yet, as of 4 July 2026.

Yes — property ownership in Saudi Arabia is now genuinely open to non-Saudis, and applications run through exactly one official channel: the Saudi Properties portal operated by the Real Estate General Authority. A legal resident inside the Kingdom applies directly through the portal using their Iqama number, with eligibility verified automatically end to end. An individual applying from abroad starts at a Saudi embassy or diplomatic mission, where a digital ID must be issued before the application can be completed online. Non-Saudi companies and entities must first register with the Ministry of Investment and obtain the unified national number before beginning any ownership procedure (Real Estate General Authority). That is the direct answer. The detail — including what has not yet been announced — is what this article is for.

Before the steps, one point of precision that much of the coverage gets wrong. The Saudi Properties portal began receiving applications when the law entered into force on 22 January 2026 (Real Estate General Authority). What happened on 23 June 2026 was two simultaneous events, not one: the Council of Ministers approved the law's executive regulations and the geographic zones document (Saudi Press Agency), and the Authority announced the intake of ownership applications through the portal. Together, those two events completed the framework that makes ownership executable within published, defined zones. We analysed the regulations and the zones themselves in a separate Insights article — "The Executive Regulations and Geographic Zones for Non-Saudi Property Ownership: What Changed in June 2026?" This article builds on it rather than repeating it, and answers the practical question: who can apply today, how, in what order — and where does the official record stop?

A Short Timeline: How We Reached the Application Stage

• The updated Law of Non-Saudi Ownership of Real Estate is issued by Royal Decree No. M/14, in fifteen articles (Ministry of Justice legal portal and consistent press coverage).
• The law is published in the official gazette, Umm Al-Qura, to take effect 180 days after publication (Al-Eqtisadiah).
• The law enters into force, and the Real Estate General Authority announces the intake of ownership applications through the Saudi Properties portal (Real Estate General Authority).
• The Council of Ministers approves the executive regulations — fifteen articles covering ownership procedures for individuals, companies, and non-profit entities — together with the geographic zones document (Saudi Press Agency). The Authority announces application intake within the approved zones, and a supervisory committee of 13 government bodies is formed to monitor implementation and measure impact (Saudi Press Agency).
• The executive regulations are published in Umm Al-Qura; fee levels, exemptions, and individual requirements surface in press readings of the published text (Al-Watan).

For completeness: in January 2026, the Authority had stated that the zones document would be issued within the first quarter of the year (Argaam). The actual approval came on 23 June 2026 — roughly a full quarter later. We record this not as criticism but as method: reading this file properly requires distinguishing, always, between what was announced as intent and what was issued as decision. The same rule applies to any list of "approved projects" that does not come from the official map — the Authority's spokesperson, Taiseer Al-Mufarrij, stressed in January that everything then circulating on that front had not been officially announced (Argaam).

Who Can Own Now? The Three Eligible Categories

Three categories are officially eligible: residents inside the Kingdom, non-resident individuals abroad, and non-Saudi companies and entities (Real Estate General Authority). The updated law's beneficiaries also include foreign companies, non-profit entities, and Saudi companies with foreign capital (Al-Eqtisadiah). Each category has its own application route and its own requirements.

1. Residents Inside the Kingdom

Legal residents have the shortest path: they apply directly through the Saudi Properties portal using their Iqama number, and eligibility is verified automatically in a fully digital flow with no paper steps (Real Estate General Authority). According to consistent press readings of the law and its regulations, a legal resident may also own one residential property for personal housing even outside the approved zones — with the exception of Makkah and Madinah, which are subject to a special restriction (Al Jazeera Net).

2. Non-Resident Individuals (Applying from Abroad)

An individual investor outside the Kingdom does not start at the portal — they start at a Saudi embassy or mission abroad, where an approved digital ID must be issued before the ownership application can be completed online (Real Estate General Authority). Per press readings of the regulations as published in Umm Al-Qura, individuals must meet three conditions: a digital ID approved by the Ministry of Interior, a bank account inside the Kingdom in the buyer's name, and a Saudi phone number linked to the digital ID (Al-Watan).

3. Non-Saudi Companies and Entities

Non-Saudi companies with no existing presence in the Kingdom begin at the Ministry of Investment: registration through the Invest in Saudi platform and issuance of the unified national number beginning with 700, before any ownership procedure can start (Real Estate General Authority). Companies must fully disclose their direct and indirect owners and notify the Ministry of Investment within 15 days whenever 5% or more of ownership changes hands (Al-Watan). Non-profit entities register with the National Center for Non-Profit Sector Development (Real Estate General Authority; Al-Watan); their detailed conditions have not yet been spelled out in available coverage.

One restriction sits above all of the foregoing: ownership in Makkah and Madinah is limited to Saudi companies and to Muslim individuals, whether from inside or outside the Kingdom, and only within designated zones (Real Estate General Authority). Post-regulations readings indicate this covers Muslim non-Saudis whether they hold residency, Premium Residency, or invest from abroad (Al Jazeera Net).

The Only Official Channel: The Saudi Properties Portal

There is no other application channel. The Saudi Properties portal, operated by the Real Estate General Authority, is the single official gateway, and it performs four connected functions: verifying eligibility, presenting the approved ownership tracks and property opportunities, submitting and tracking the application, and linking directly to the Kingdom's title registration system (Real Estate General Authority). The portal also hosts the public zones map, showing for each zone the permitted ownership percentages, the types of real rights, usufruct durations, and controls — caps are set zone by zone, and no single percentage applies across cities (Real Estate General Authority). The Authority has published two official support channels: Saudiproperties@rega.gov.sa and 920017183 (Real Estate General Authority). Any party offering "proxy submission" outside this path, or claiming parallel channels exist, is describing something that does not exist in the announced framework.

The Application, Step by Step: Three Tracks

The Resident's Track

1. Access the Saudi Properties portal with your Iqama number; eligibility is verified automatically (Real Estate General Authority).
2. Verify the target property's exact location on the official zones map published on the portal — by precise location, never by city or district name (Real Estate General Authority).
3. Submit the application online and track its status through the same portal.
4. Complete the transaction under the general requirements: registration in the real estate registry, full disclosure of transaction data, and payment restricted to electronic means approved by the Saudi Central Bank (Al Jazeera Net; Al-Watan).

The Non-Resident Individual's Track

1. Obtain an approved digital ID through a Saudi embassy or mission abroad — the mandatory starting point (Real Estate General Authority).
2. Activate the ID via the Nafath platform for digital access (Real Estate General Authority), then satisfy the regulations' three conditions per press readings: the Ministry of Interior-approved digital ID, a local bank account in your name, and a Saudi phone number linked to the ID (Al-Watan).
3. Confirm that the target property falls inside an approved zone using the official map on the portal.
4. Complete the ownership application online through the Saudi Properties portal and track it.
5. Close under the same general requirements: title registration, full disclosure, and approved electronic payment (Al Jazeera Net; Al-Watan).

The Corporate Track

1. Register with the Ministry of Investment via the Invest in Saudi platform and obtain the unified national number (700) — before any ownership step (Real Estate General Authority).
2. Fully disclose direct and indirect owners and appoint a legal representative (Al-Watan).
3. Submit the ownership application through the Saudi Properties portal, within approved zones.
4. Maintain the ongoing obligation after purchase: notify the Ministry of Investment within 15 days of any transfer of 5% or more of ownership (Al-Watan).

Fees: Three Numbers You Must Never Add Together

The most common error in coverage of this file is merging three distinct amounts into one figure. The accurate picture:

• A pre-existing tax that applies to transactions across the market generally, entirely independent of the new fee (Al Jazeera Net).
• The law imposes a fee on a non-Saudi's disposal of real rights in property, capped at 5% of the transaction value — a legal maximum, not an applied rate (Al Jazeera Net).
• The executive regulations set the non-Saudi transaction fee at 2% in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, and Madinah, according to press readings of the published regulations (Al-Watan).

The regulations also grant a full exemption from the fee in ten cases — among them inheritance division, final court judgments, expropriation for the public interest, donations to endowments or public entities, return of a property to its previous owner within 180 days under conditions, transfer from an individual to a company they wholly own, and the sale of units resulting from development of foreign-owned land (Al-Watan). Whether the new fee and the transaction tax apply cumulatively to the same deal has not been officially clarified as of this article's publication — and we state that plainly. Fees for submitting the application itself on the portal have not been announced either.

Penalties and Correction Windows

The enforcement side is firm: a fine of up to SAR 10 million for providing false or misleading information that leads to ownership, a fine of 5% of the value of the real right involved, and the possibility of a compelled sale of the property (Al-Eqtisadiah; Al-Watan). Per press readings of the regulations, violations carry correction windows of 10 to 180 days before penalties apply (Akhbaar24), and companies whose ownership changes by 5% or more without notification within the statutory window face graduated sanctions (Al-Watan). The regulatory message is unambiguous: the door is open, and disclosure accuracy is not paperwork — it is the condition on which the ownership itself survives.

What Has Not Been Announced Yet — Plainly

Authoritative writing means limiting what we claim to what has actually been issued. As of 4 July 2026, no official detail has been published on the following:

• Application or processing fees for the Saudi Properties portal have not been announced.
• Processing timelines for applications have not been published.
• The full detailed document list — including any proof-of-funds requirement or minimum property value for non-resident individuals — has not been issued officially; figures circulating on some sites are unsourced.
• Mortgage and real estate financing rules for non-Saudis under the new law have not been announced.
• How the portal handles Premium Residency holders specifically — whether they have a track distinct from the Iqama route — has not been officially detailed.
• The detailed conditions and approvals for non-profit entities have not been spelled out in available coverage.
• Maximum ownership percentages and usufruct durations per zone have not been published in consolidated form; they are available zone by zone on the official map on the portal (Real Estate General Authority).
• Which zones are actually open outside the four major cities — including regions such as Jazan — has not been detailed in accessible sources; the updated official map on the portal remains the sole reference.

These gaps are less a flaw in the framework than the natural sequencing of a new legislative regime entering operation. But knowing where the official record stops matters for anyone planning: what has not been issued officially should not carry a decision.

The Golden Rule Before Any Step: The Zone, Not the City

The principle we established in our regulations-and-zones article matters even more at the application stage: a city name alone tells you nothing. The geographic zones document is issued by Council of Ministers decision and covers ownership zones in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, and the Kingdom's other cities and governorates, with maps of specific locations setting permitted percentages, types of rights, durations, and controls (Real Estate General Authority). Specialist real estate coverage puts the document at roughly 170 zones, concentrated in the four cities (Amlak), while non-Saudi ownership is prohibited in cities, villages, and areas within the Kingdom's border strip, per press coverage of the document. The practical takeaway: before any financial commitment, verify the property's exact location on the official map in the portal — not a city name, not a project advertisement, not an intermediary's assurance.

Three conclusions draw this file together. First, the procedural infrastructure of ownership is complete: a law in force, published regulations, a public zones map, and one portal linking application to title registration. Second, the announced cost is capped and defined: an existing 5% transaction tax, and a new fee set by the regulations at 2% in the four cities within a statutory ceiling of 5% — with the question of whether the two apply to the same deal still awaiting official clarification. Third, the remaining gaps — processing timelines, financing, zone detail beyond the four cities — are managed by direct verification on the official portal before any commitment, not by relying on circulating coverage, which as we have seen routinely confuses both the percentages and the dates.

Today's approved zones are concentrated in the four major cities, and the document, issued by official decision, remains open to update by the same route. For readers following this phase with a wider lens — as new destinations take shape on the Red Sea, including Zan Waterfront in Jazan, developed by Zan Destination Development — our reference guide to the Non-Saudi Property Ownership Law (M/14) and our Invest page offer deeper context for reading the framework and the market's direction, with the official map on the Saudi Properties portal remaining, always, the final word on any zone.

Notice: This article is general informational material. It does not constitute legal or investment advice and is no substitute for verification with the official authorities and qualified professionals before completing any real estate transaction.

↑Back to top