Starting a Business in Saudi Arabia

Everything begins here. The Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) issues your foreign investment license — without it, no other registration is possible. Apply through the Invest Saudi portal, where you select your legal entity type, up to three ISIC-coded business activities, ownership structure (100% foreign or JV), and target city. MISA will verify your parent company's legal standing, corporate history, and financial health before approving.

Once your MISA license is issued, register with the Ministry of Commerce to receive your Commercial Registration number — a 10-digit company ID required for banking, hiring, leasing, and every government portal thereafter. Your Articles of Association are notarized through the MOC system at this stage.

Every company must register a standardised National Address through Saudi Post (SPL) — the official address used across all government portals, bank statements, customs clearance, legal correspondence, and deliveries. Without it, corporate bank account applications and government registrations will stall. Register as soon as your office lease is signed.

The Municipal License (Rukhsa Baladiyya) confirms your premises comply with local zoning, health, and safety regulations. Required before operating or receiving clients at your location. Retail, F&B, healthcare, and education businesses face additional inspections. Apply via Balady portal after confirming your office address.

All businesses must be members of the local Chamber of Commerce — Riyadh, Jeddah, or the relevant regional body. Membership enables Certificates of Origin, document attestation, and government-tender pre-qualification. Register via the Saudi Chambers platform after your CR is live.

GOSI is Saudi Arabia's mandatory social insurance system. Registration must happen before your first employee joins. Contributions are due by the 15th of each month. Non-payment triggers automatic fines and blocks on Qiwa, Muqeem, and all government services. GOSI is fully integrated with Qiwa and Mudad — employee data must match across all three platforms.

Qiwa is the Ministry of Human Resources' digital backbone for managing your entire workforce. Every employer must register before making any hires. Through Qiwa you apply for expat work permits, issue legally binding digital employment contracts, handle labor dispute resolution, process internal employee transfers, and monitor your Nitaqat (Saudization) compliance in real time.

Muqeem (Arabic for "resident") is the Ministry of Interior's portal for managing the full Iqama lifecycle of your expat employees. As the sponsoring employer (kafeel), your company uses Muqeem to issue entry work visas for new hires, track Iqama expiry, renew residence permits, manage exit-re-entry visas, final exit visas, and dependent visas for employees bringing family to the Kingdom.

Mudad is the digital backbone of Saudi Arabia's Wage Protection System. All salaries must be paid through a WPS-registered channel, and Mudad records every disbursement, reporting it automatically to MHRSD. Late or missed payments trigger automatic Qiwa violations, Nitaqat tier downgrades, and suspension of all government services — including work permit and Iqama renewals.

Register with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) for VAT and corporate income tax. VAT is mandatory once annual taxable supplies exceed SAR 375,000 (voluntary from SAR 187,500). Register early — input VAT on your setup costs can be reclaimed. Foreign-owned companies pay 20% CIT; Saudi/GCC-owned companies pay 2.5% Zakat; mixed ownership pays proportionally.

A Saudi corporate bank account connects to Mudad (WPS salary payments), GOSI contributions, ZATCA tax payments, and your company's capital deposit. Due to KYC/AML requirements, the process takes 2–4 weeks. A warm introduction through a local PRO or contact dramatically compresses bank due diligence. Recommended for foreign-owned companies: SNB, SABB (HSBC affiliate), Al Rajhi, and Riyad Bank.