Saudi Arabia
Citizenship guide · SA
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation is restricted; dual citizenship is generally not permitted.
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Who can visit Saudi Arabia?
180 of 199 passports can enter Saudi Arabia visa-free, visa on arrival, by ETA, or with an e-visa.
Visa-free 5
Visa on arrival 69
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e-Visa 106
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17 passports require a visa to visit Saudi Arabia.
Am I eligible for Saudi Arabia citizenship?
Tap the option closest to your situation for an instant steer.
Why Saudi Arabia?
The Saudi Arabia passport offers visa-free, visa-on-arrival, ETA, or e-visa access to 122 destinations, ranking it #106 globally.
Naturalisation by decree (restricted).
Citizenship by descent
Saudi Arabia applies jus sanguinis citizenship can be acquired by descent from a citizen parent.
Naturalisation
Naturalisation in Saudi Arabia is restricted or not standardised there is no straightforward residency-based route for most people.
Dual citizenship
Saudi Arabia generally does not permit dual citizenship naturalising usually requires renouncing your existing nationality.
Fees & timeline
There is no standard published application fee costs vary, so check with official sources.
Tax considerations
- Top personal income tax rate: 0%
- Corporate income tax rate: 20%
- Standard VAT/GST rate: 15%
- Taxation basis: territorial (residents are generally taxed only on domestic-source income)
Compiled from the Citizenship Hub law dataset (approximate). Verify with official government sources before relying on this information.
Documents checklist
The documents you'll typically need for each citizenship route in Saudi Arabia. Tick items off as you gather them your progress is saved on this device.
Citizenship by descent
Proving your lineage to a citizen parent or ancestor.
Naturalisation
The standard route via continuous lawful residence.
Country data
Overview, citizenship routes, economy, freedom, and tax at a glance.
Overview
- Capital
- Riyadh
- Region
- Asia
- Area
- 2,149,690 km²
- Population
- 34,268,528
- Demonym
- Saudi Arabian
- Languages
- Arabic
- Currency
- Saudi riyal (ر.س)
Citizenship routes
- Citizenship by descent
- Yes
- Descent depth
- Parents only
- Naturalisation period
- Restricted / varies
- Dual citizenship
- Restricted
- Official application fee
- Varies
Economics & development
- GDP per capita
- $34,537 2025
- Total GDP
- $793B 2019
- Inflation
- 2.1% 2025
- Life expectancy
- 79.0 years 2024
- GDP growth
- 4.5% 2025
- Human Development Index
- 0.875 #40
- Income group
- High income: nonOECD
- Development status
- Developed region: nonG7
Freedom & quality of life
- Corruption Perceptions Index
- 59 / 100 2024 · #34
- Freedom in the World
- 8 / 100 Not Free · 2024
- Human Rights Index
- 0.18 / 1 2025 · #154
- Liberal Democracy Index
- 0.05 / 1 2025 · #152
- Life satisfaction
- 6.82 / 10 2025 · #21
Tax considerations
- Personal income tax
- 0% top rate
- Corporate tax
- 20%
- VAT / GST
- 15%
- Tax basis
- Territorial
Relocation & living
- Internet penetration
- 100.0% 2024
- Driving side
- Right-hand
- Climate
- Desert
- Time zone
- Asia/Riyadh
Where the Saudi Arabia passport can travel
Each dot is a destination colours show what you need to enter.
- Visa-free
- Visa on arrival
- ETA
- e-Visa
- Visa required
Europe
5 visa-free · 1 ETA · 2 e-visa · 37 requiredAmericas
10 visa-free · 2 ETA · 6 e-visa · 17 requiredAsia
25 visa-free · 13 on arrival · 8 e-visa · 4 requiredAfrica
10 visa-free · 11 on arrival · 2 ETA · 18 e-visa · 13 requiredOceania
3 visa-free · 3 on arrival · 1 ETA · 2 e-visa · 5 required- Visa-free
- Visa on arrival
- ETA
- e-Visa
- Visa required
- No admission
Alternative paths to Saudi Arabia citizenship
Beyond standard naturalisation, these routes may apply to you.
Residency → naturalisation
Naturalisation is discretionary here, so most applicants work through a residency or marriage route first. An advisor can map the fastest option for your situation.
More citizenship guides
Türkiye
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 5 years; dual citizenship is permitted; citizenship by investment is available.
- Capital
- Ankara
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 5 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Allowed
Jordan
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 15 years; dual citizenship is generally not permitted; citizenship by investment is available.
- Capital
- Amman
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 15 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Restricted
United Arab Emirates
The UAE passport is the world's strongest, but citizenship is tightly restricted largely by Emirati descent or rare nomination.
- Capital
- Abu Dhabi
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- Restricted
- Dual citizenship
- Restricted
Bahrain
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation is restricted; dual citizenship is generally not permitted.
- Capital
- Manama
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- Restricted
- Dual citizenship
- Restricted
Latest Saudi Arabia immigration news
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Saudi Arabia immigration & citizenship sources
Official government portals and reference pages for Saudi Arabia citizenship and immigration rules.
Law
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Overview of citizenship-by-descent, naturalisation and dual-citizenship rules.
Jobs
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International job board with local listings.
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International job board with local listings.
General data sources & licenses
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Visa-requirement matrix and passport mobility scores.
Visa data derived from passportindex.org, via imorte/passport-index-data (MIT License).
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Country metadata: names, capitals, regions, flags, currencies, languages, calling codes, borders, tld, lat/lng, UN/independence status.
Country metadata from mledoze/countries (MIT License).
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Country polygon geometry plus population, GDP (total), income group, economy, and continent classifications.
Made with Natural Earth (public domain) naturalearthdata.com.
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Raster basemap tiles for the interactive visa-access maps.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0).
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GDP per capita (current US$) and inflation (CPI annual %).
GDP per capita and inflation from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) data.worldbank.org.
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Human Development Index (HDI) values and ranks.
Human Development Index from the UNDP Human Development Report (CC BY 3.0 IGO).
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Intermediate distribution of the Corruption Perceptions Index, V-Dem Human Rights Index, and V-Dem Liberal Democracy Index.
Indices sourced via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0).
Our World in Data states that third-party datasets remain subject to the original publisher’s license see the individual sources below.
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Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) scores.
Corruption Perceptions Index 2024, Transparency International (CC BY-ND 4.0).
Restrictions: No derivatives
CPI scores are reproduced as factual data points, unmodified.
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Human Rights Index and Liberal Democracy Index.
Human Rights Index and Liberal Democracy Index from V-Dem (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
Restrictions: Non-commercial · Share-alike
⚠ Non-commercial license: confirm commercial use is permitted before monetising the site.
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Freedom in the World scores and status.
Freedom in the World 2024, © Freedom House (used with attribution for informational purposes).
Review Freedom House republication terms before commercial use.
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Reference for personal income and corporate tax rates.
Tax rates cross-checked against the Tax Foundation.
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Reference for personal income tax, corporate tax, and VAT/GST rates.
Tax rates cross-checked against the OECD Tax Database.
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Reference for personal income tax, corporate tax, and indirect tax rates.
Tax rates cross-checked against KPMG Tax Rates Online.
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Reference for citizenship-law rules (descent, naturalisation, dual citizenship, fees).
Citizenship-law facts compiled from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Law facts are human-curated approximations; always verify with official government sources.
Citizenship Hub is an independent resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of the organisations above. Informational only not legal, immigration, tax, investment, or travel advice. Requirements, scores, fees, and tax rates change frequently; always verify with the relevant official government source before acting.