Foreigners who wish to live in the country of Saudi Arabia used to find it difficult to do so. The country has very strict requirements and they don’t allow foreigners to visit easily unless it is for work or if they are Muslim. However, they are now shifting their policies to become more open as seen in their latest program.

Permanent Residency Program

On Wednesday, November 13, the Saudi government issued 73 “premium” residency to foreigners under its new program. The program aims to bring in overseas investment by allowing foreigners to buy property in the country and do business without a Saudi sponsor.

The announcement of the program led to the application of thousands of foreigners who wish to get in the country. Permanent residency can be acquired for 800,000 riyals or a one-year renewable permit for 100,000 riyals. The lucky foreigners who got the program came from 19 countries. They come from various professions as well according to the Premium Residency Center’s statement on Monday, November 11. However, it is visible it did not include how many got the permanent residency status.

The new program was introduced in May and shows Saudi’s changing perspective on how the economy can stay afloat. So far, the country has been heavily reliant on oil, but the prices have caused some importers to move to cheaper suppliers.

The program or the “priviledge iqama” system will provide eligible residents the chance to build their business, own property, and go in and out of the country without sponsorship. They will also get family status and use the processing services for Saudi nationals in the airport.

Interested foreigners must have their valid passport, financial requirements and be at least 21 years old and older.

In an interview in 2016 with Bloomberg, Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman said that the government has been considering a special Green Card system for expats. This can generate billions of dollars for the national economy should the program be successful.

Saudi Arabia Tips

For those interested to travel to Saudi Arabia, there are a lot of guides available to help. You can visit the official tourism website of the Kingdom through this link. The site also has details about how international tourists can get visa to visit the country. You may also check with your local Saudi Embassy for more details about traveling to the country.

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A good way for foreigners to get a residence permit is by giving an investment to the country. It could vary in terms of how much it will be and how the investment can help the country. Some require it to be placed in a bank, while a few have to be given to a specific industry. In Uzbekistan, new rules are established for these foreign investments.

How to Avail the 10-Year Residence Permit

On Tuesday, the country’s Justice Ministry changed some of the government’s regulations for foreign citizens to get the permit. If a foreign citizen invests $3 million US dollars in the Uzbek economy, they will qualify for the 10-year permit.

Previously, residency permits only covered 5 years.

Aside from the investor, their families will get several benefits from the visa once the new regulations are active. Children will now be able to study at any of the country’s universities, receive scholarships and postgraduate education. 

Last month, Uzbekistan introduced a new three-year investor visa for foreigners and stateless people if they invest $183,000 USD or more to the country’s economy. This is in light of the government’s goal to attract both foreign investment and tourists to the country. Aside from that, they also introduced a new “Silk Visa” this month to help regional trade and investment come into the country and the region.

Uzbekistan has been working on ways to bring more foreign investment to the country. For the last two years, several economic reform projects are helping Uzbekistan reach its goals. For this year, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev aims to get the country’s foreign investment volume up to 4.2 billion dollars.

They are also looking for investors who can support their manufacturing, energy, agriculture and infrastructure sectors which is at risk to the growing US-China trade war.

Uzbekistan Travel Tips

If you like to visit Uzbekistan anytime soon, there are a lot of articles online to help you organize your travel plans. A great resource is the government tourism agency of Uzbekistan website.

For those who wish to work in the country, we have a guide on Tashkent’s salary and where you can stay. You may also ask your local Uzbek Embassy to find out how you can work in the country and get your working visa. Licensed job agencies can also assist with your inquiries and documentation.

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Retaining one’s residence permits, as well as applying for one, often entails several rules and regulations for holders to follow. For some countries, their requirements are very strict and often leads to foreign residents to give up their permits. However, Qatar intends to change that with their new measures.

New Rules on Residence Permits

The announcement of the new measures was done during the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs press conference on October 9. The new measures will enable the sons of residents to work in the private sector without changing their sponsorship. They will only need to present a written approval from their family head and obtain their work permit from the ministry.

New temporary work visas for certain professions and jobs will also be available, as well as reduce MoI’s service fees to 20%. These new visas will be valid for one to two month and will be around QR300 to QR 500 respectively. Visas up to 6 months will be QR 200 each month.

The new measures aims to get the sons of expatriate residents to help the country’s economy. Currently, only daughters are ok to work without changing their sponsorship.

Meanwhile, the new temporary work visas will be made available to private companies, commercial establishments and other licensed entities who handle emergency, temporary and seasonal work. The reduction of fees will also help pave way to change the services of government and make them online. It will also reduce paperwork for the government to review, as well as reduce the recruitment and housing expenses for employers.

Currently, work is underway to create the legislative tools necessary to get the proposal through. It is possible that the proposal to let sons of expatriates work without changing sponsorship will under the amendment for Article No. 17 of Law No. 21 of 2015. Meanwhile, the measure for temporary visas will be under Labor Law No. 14 of 2004 and its other amendments.

Qatar Travel Tips

If you want to check out Qatar, there are a lot of tips in this site that you can use. We have a guide on where you can stay while in Doha. If you are in a layover at Doha International Airport, we have a guide here for you.

You can check out the site of  Visit Qatar for other great travel tips.

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