What is the minimum capital to open a company in Saudi Arabia?

It depends on your activity. Many service activities have no fixed statutory minimum, while trading, contracting and some regulated activities carry substantial requirements, often far higher than people expect, and it's the most common surprise in this process. Capital is declared at registration and must be demonstrable. We confirm the figure for your specific activity before you commit to anything.

What happens after I have the CR?

ZATCA and VAT registration, Qiwa, Muqeem and GOSI setup, your bank account, and then quarterly VAT filing and an annual zakat or corporate tax return. This is where most companies get caught out, and it's why we do bookkeeping and tax as well as formation.

Can you handle our accounting afterwards?

Yes. We handle bookkeeping and tax compliance in-house, which most providers our size do not. Statutory audit sits with a licensed audit firm; we prepare your statements and coordinate it.

No. We're a Saudi trading and services company that handles registration, government portals, bookkeeping and tax compliance. Where something requires a lawyer or a licensed audit firm, we say so and bring one in.

What's the difference between a MISA licence and investment registration?

They're the same thing under a new name. Before February 2025 foreign investors obtained a MISA licence. Under the Investment Law it's now investment registration, evidenced by an Investment Registration Certificate. Most people still search for "MISA licence," and providers still advertise it that way. Registration is the gateway; it isn't authority to trade on its own. You still need the Commercial Registration from the Ministry of Commerce.

Can I open a branch of my foreign company instead of a new LLC?

Yes. A branch, an LLC, or a joint stock company are all available, and the right one depends on liability, tax treatment and what your clients or tenders require. A branch keeps the parent liable; an LLC ring-fences it. We'll walk through which fits before you file.

Do I need an office in Saudi Arabia to register?

You need a verifiable national address, and many activities require actual premises before the municipal licence is issued. A co-working arrangement is workable for some activities and not for others. This is worth settling early; it's a common cause of delay at the municipal stage.

Do I need a separate registration for each activity?

No. Under the previous regime you needed a separate licence per activity type. Since the Investment Law took effect in February 2025, one Investment Registration Certificate can cover activities across multiple sectors. Activity-combination rules and sector restrictions still apply, so some pairings are not permitted and some activities remain restricted or need a sector regulator's approval. We confirm your combination before filing.

Register your company
in Saudi Arabia.

Alliant Co. sets up foreign-owned companies in Saudi Arabia; most investors are trading within two to three months. We did it ourselves, and we handle the tax and government filings after the CR.

Government fees published on this page
Foreign-owned Saudi company, registered here ourselves
Dammam office, 45 minutes from Bahrain

Get your market entry assessment

Four questions, and we'll
tell you where you stand

Do you already have a company outside Saudi Arabia?

What's your activity?

Country

WhatsApp number

By submitting, you agree to our Privacy Policy.

We'll ask a few questions and come back with what your setup involves.

CR 7003521841registered with the Ministry of Commerce

Established 2016Dammam

VAT registered311217994300003

What company formation in Saudi Arabia actually involves

These are the ranges the process actually runs to, not a promise. Your file moves faster or slower depending on your activity, your sector, and how clean your documents are when they arrive.

01

Documents

2–4 weeks. Depends on your country, not on us

Your trade licence, financials, board resolution and Articles attested in your home country

01

Documents

Your trade licence, financials, board resolution and Articles attested in your home country

2–4 weeks. Depends on your country, not on us

02

Investment registration

3–10 business days

Registration with the Ministry of Investment

02

Investment registration

Registration with the Ministry of Investment

3–10 business days

03

Name reservation

Same day to 3 days

Bilingual trade name reserved with the Ministry of Commerce

03

Name reservation

Bilingual trade name reserved with the Ministry of Commerce

Same day to 3 days

04

Articles of Association

1–3 days

Drafted and notarised

04

Articles of Association

Drafted and notarised

1–3 days

05

Commercial Registration

1–7 business days

CR issued, Chamber of Commerce enrolled, company seal

05

Commercial Registration

CR issued, Chamber of Commerce enrolled, company seal

1–7 business days

06

National Address

1–2 days

Registered premises recorded with SPL

06

National Address

Registered premises recorded with SPL

1–2 days

07

Portal activations

3–7 days

ZATCA, GOSI, Qiwa, Muqeem, Absher Business

07

Portal activations

ZATCA, GOSI, Qiwa, Muqeem, Absher Business

3–7 days

08

General Manager Iqama

1–3 days, once the GM is in the Kingdom

Iqama processing, once the GM is in Saudi Arabia

08

General Manager Iqama

Iqama processing, once the GM is in Saudi Arabia

1–3 days, once the GM is in the Kingdom

Stage one is where most of the time goes, and it's the part we can't speed up. The faster your home-country documents are attested, the faster everything after it moves.

What's included, and what it depends on

Three levels of engagement. Which one fits depends on your activity, your entity structure, and whether you want the ongoing compliance handled as well. We quote in writing once we know those, usually within 24 hours.

Package	What's included
Formation	Investment registration, Commercial Registration, Articles of Association, government portal activations, ZATCA and accounting setup
Formation + PRO	Adds Qiwa, Muqeem, GOSI and Absher Business setup and first-year support
Formation + PRO + accounting	Adds monthly bookkeeping, VAT returns and annual zakat or corporate tax filing

Formation

Investment registration
Commercial Registration
Articles of Association
Government portal activations
ZATCA and accounting setup

Formation + PRO

Adds Qiwa, Muqeem, GOSI and Absher Business setup
First-year support

Formation + PRO + accounting

Adds monthly bookkeeping
VAT returns
Annual zakat or corporate tax filing

What changes the number: your activity and entity type, how many shareholders, and whether ongoing compliance is included. Quoted in writing, fixed for the engagement, nothing added later.

Request a quote

Government fees

Last verified: September 2026

These are the fees paid to Saudi authorities, not to us. Ranges reflect activity, entity type and city. Verified September 2026. We re-check them quarterly and date this table.

Item	Fee
Investment registration (MISA)	Currently suspended. See note
Commercial Registration	SAR 1,200 – 2,000
Chamber of Commerce membership (annual)	SAR 2,000 – 5,000
Municipal licence (Balady)	SAR 500 – 5,000
Articles of Association, notarised and published	SAR 500 – 3,000
Company seal and stationery	SAR 200 – 500
Typical first-year government total	SAR 4,400 – 15,500

Why is the MISA fee suspended?

A note on the MISA fee.

You'll find providers quoting SAR 2,000 for the investment licence plus SAR 10,000 and SAR 60,000 for Investor Relations subscriptions. Those figures come from the 2022 Service Manual and were suspended under the investor-facilitation package. The fee is currently under Ministry review, so we don't quote a number we can't stand behind; we confirm the live position with MISA when your file is prepared. If someone quotes you the old figures, ask them when they last checked.

A note on the MISA fee.

You'll find providers quoting SAR 2,000 for the investment licence plus SAR 10,000 and SAR 60,000 for Investor Relations subscriptions. Those figures come from the 2022 Service Manual and were suspended under the investor-facilitation package. The fee is currently under Ministry review, so we don't quote a number we can't stand behind; we confirm the live position with MISA when your file is prepared. If someone quotes you the old figures, ask them when they last checked.

What's included, and what isn't

Included in every formation engagement

• Investment registration with the Ministry of Investment
• Trade name reservation, Arabic and English
• Articles of Association drafted and notarised
• Commercial Registration and Chamber of Commerce enrolment
• Company seal
• National Address registration
• ZATCA, GOSI and labour file activation
• Handover pack with every credential and login

Not included, quoted separately or paid by you

• Government fees (the table above)
• Share capital deposit
• Document attestation in your home country
• Legal translation
• Office lease or co-working agreement
• Statutory audit, prepared by a licensed audit firm; we prepare your financial statements and coordinate with them
• Trademark filing, managed through accredited SAIP agents
• General Manager Iqama processing, quoted with PRO

You already run a company in the UAE, Bahrain or Kuwait

You have a client, a tender or a distributor that needs a Saudi entity. You know why you're doing this; you're choosing who does it. You'll need PRO support immediately after the CR, and we do that in-house.

You're an industrial, trading or contracting business

Manufacturing, building materials, oilfield supply, logistics. Possibly already selling into Saudi Arabia through an agent and now you want your own entity. We import and distribute here ourselves, so you won't be explaining your business to us.

Alliant Co. is a foreign-owned Saudi company registered in Dammam, CR 7003521841, established 2016, providing company formation, PRO services, bookkeeping and tax compliance in Saudi Arabia.

Why us

Foreign-owned Saudi company, the same structure you're building.

Most providers selling you a Saudi company have never registered one for themselves. We have. Alliant Co. is a foreign-owned Saudi company, CR 7003521841, registered in Dammam in 2016. Same structure, same ministries, same portals you're about to go through.

We've done investment registration, Commercial Registration, ZATCA and VAT, SASO and SABER, Qiwa, Muqeem and GOSI as the company, not as the consultant. When we tell you which stage slips and why, that's from our own file, not a brochure.

We also handle bookkeeping and tax compliance in-house. That matters after the CR, when the filing deadlines start, and most providers our size have to send that work elsewhere.

Done it ourselves: investment registration, CR, ZATCA/VAT, SASO/SABER, Qiwa, Muqeem, GOSI
Bookkeeping and tax in-house, not outsourced
Dammam-based, running our own imports and distribution

What we won't claim:We're not the biggest firm in the Kingdom and we don't have a wall of client logos. We're a Dammam company that runs its own imports, distribution and compliance, and does the same for a small number of foreign clients. If you want a large advisory brand, there are several. If you want the people who will actually file your papers, that's us.

Alliant Co. is a foreign-owned Saudi company registered in Dammam, CR 7003521841, established 2016, providing company formation, PRO services, bookkeeping and tax compliance in Saudi Arabia.

Company formation in Saudi Arabia: common questions

Government fees for the first year typically run SAR 4,400 to 15,500, depending on your activity, entity type and city. The breakdown is above. The MISA registration fee is currently suspended. On top of that you'll have document attestation in your home country, Arabic translation, and our professional fee, which is a fixed quote.

Two to three months end to end for most foreign investors. The investment registration itself is usually 3 to 10 business days and the CR follows within a week of that. What actually decides your timeline is stage one: getting your home-country documents notarised, attested and legalised. That runs two to four weeks and it's the part nobody warns you about.

In most sectors, yes. The Investment Law that took effect in February 2025 replaced the old licensing regime with registration and removed the local-partner requirement. A limited list of activities is still restricted or reserved. Tell us your activity and we'll confirm before you spend anything.

No, not in most sectors. Since the New Investment Law came into force in February 2025, foreign investors register rather than obtain a licence, and the local-partner requirement was removed. Some activities are still restricted or require Saudi participation. Tell us your activity and we'll confirm before you commit to anything.

Not for the registration and the CR; we handle those. Your General Manager needs to be here to complete their Iqama and to sign at the bank in person.

From your home country: your commercial registration or trade licence, audited financial statements, a board resolution approving the Saudi entity, and passport copies for shareholders and the appointed General Manager. All of it notarised, attested by your Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and legalised by the Saudi embassy, then translated into Arabic by a certified translator. The exact set varies by country and entity type. Get this stage moving first, because it is where the time goes.

Prefer to talk first?

Message us on WhatsApp and we'll answer your questions directly.

Contact us on WhatsApp Back to the 4 questions

Alliant Co. · CR 7003521841 · Yazid Ibn Malik, Al Khalidiyah Ash Shamaliyah, Dammam 32231 · info@alliant.sa · +966 55 754 2748

About Alliant·Contact

Register your company in Saudi Arabia.

Four questions, and we'lltell you where you stand

What company formation in Saudi Arabia actually involves

Documents

Documents

Investment registration

Investment registration

Name reservation

Name reservation

Articles of Association

Articles of Association

Commercial Registration

Commercial Registration

National Address

National Address

Portal activations

Portal activations

General Manager Iqama

General Manager Iqama

What's included, and what it depends on

Formation

Formation + PRO

Formation + PRO + accounting

Government fees

What's included, and what isn't

Included in every formation engagement

Not included, quoted separately or paid by you

You already run a company in the UAE, Bahrain or Kuwait

You're an industrial, trading or contracting business

Why us

Company formation in Saudi Arabia: common questions

Prefer a written assessment?

Prefer to talk first?

Register your company
in Saudi Arabia.

Four questions, and we'll
tell you where you stand