Makkahمكة المكرمة
Inside the designated zones, and only for Muslim non-Saudis. Which zones, what share may be held and for how long are all on the REGA portal rather than here.
O My bondmen who believe! Lo! My earth is spacious. Therefor serve Me only.Qur'an 29:56 · Pickthall
In build
A free, independent guide to relocating to Saudi Arabia, centred on Makkah and Madinah. It sells nothing, gates nothing and collects nothing.
The four routes into Saudi Arabia, each ending at the iqama.
Four ways in, and that is how people arrive and how they describe themselves. Underneath there are only two permits, and it is worth knowing which one you are heading for before you start.
An employer sponsors you, and the permit is an iqama tied to that employer. The route cannot be started alone: the employer holds the quota, obtains the authorisation and issues the iqama.
You pay for the right to reside. No employer, no company. This is Premium Residency, applied for directly.
You set up or move a company, and the company qualifies you. The permit at the end is Premium Residency.
You put capital in, including into property, and the holding qualifies you. The permit at the end is Premium Residency.
Source Premium Residency service, Saudi National Portal checked 2026-08-30
Source Premium Residency Permit Law, Article 2, Ministry of Investment checked 2026-08-30
Source REGA, non-Saudi real estate ownership, Saudi Properties — link and check date still to be recorded
Royal Decree M/14 was issued on 14 July 2025 and came into force on 22 January 2026. The Council of Ministers approved the Executive Regulation and the Geographic Scope Document on 23 June 2026 — the regime only became usable on that date.
Muslim non-Saudis may hold title in Makkah and Madinah, resident or not. That is the real change: the position before was effectively leasehold only.
Ownership in the two cities is confined to zones designated by the Council of Ministers and mapped by REGA. Registration, payment and title issuance all run through one REGA platform.
A non-Saudi resident may also own one residential property outside the designated zones for personal use. Makkah and Madinah are excepted from that allowance. Someone living abroad is confined to the zones.
For a company, what matters is where it is incorporated, not who owns it. A company incorporated in Saudi Arabia is not treated as non-Saudi under M/14 even if it is wholly foreign-owned, so it may hold property in the two cities. The purpose is limited: business use and staff accommodation, not investment. That is a wider permission than any individual non-Muslim has, which is why how you are structured sits upstream of the property question.
REGA has left the door open to designating further zones, and has not said when.
Source Real Estate General Authority (REGA), Saudi Properties — link and check date still to be recordedThe portal holds the official interactive zone maps, the permitted ownership percentages, the rights types and the duration limits. It is the authority on all of them; property blogs are not.
Inside the designated zones, and only for Muslim non-Saudis. Which zones, what share may be held and for how long are all on the REGA portal rather than here.
The same rule as Makkah: designated zones, Muslim non-Saudis, and the portal as the authority on the boundaries.