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Saudi Foreign Ownership Law Now in Effect: What Buyers Should Do
Saudi Arabia’s Law of Real Estate Ownership by Non-Saudis — approved in July 2025 — has been in force since January 2026, and its first months have confirmed the shape of the new market: zone-based foreign ownership, concentrated in areas with established infrastructure in Riyadh, Jeddah, and the giga-project destinations.
What is now in effect
- Foreigners, including non-residents, can buy property inside designated ownership zones defined under the geographic zones framework.
- Foreign residents can own a residential unit under the framework, with ownership outside designated zones limited to one property (excluding Makkah and Madinah).
- Riyadh and Jeddah are open by zone, not city-wide — district-level status determines eligibility.
- Makkah and Madinah remain under a special restricted regime.
Full detail in our 2026 foreign ownership guide.
What it means in practice
Developers marketing to international buyers are now advertising zone eligibility on new launches, and the off-plan pipeline — from ROSHN’s communities to the giga-projects — is the main channel through which foreign money can enter, since new supply is concentrated exactly where the designated zones are.
For buyers, the action list is short:
- Confirm the project’s designated-zone status independently, not just from marketing.
- Verify the Wafi escrow licence before paying anything — the process is unchanged and is covered in our off-plan buying guide.
- If residency is part of your plan, evaluate the Premium Residency real-estate route as a separate application.
We’ll track zone announcements and new launches as they come — see all Saudi property news and current off-plan projects.