Saudi Arabia introduces ‘investor visa’ to attract foreign investments

Saudi Arabia has announced a new business visa for investors in a bid to attract foreign funding into the economy. The “visiting investor” visa has been developed by the Ministry of Investment in collaboration with the Kingdom’s Foreign Affairs department. The move is part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative to diversify the economy away from oil and streamline the process for investors and international companies looking to expand their portfolios within the Kingdom. Foreign investments in Saudi Arabia rose by 2% in 2022 to SR2.4tn ($640bn), up from SR2.36tn in 2021, with foreign direct investments constituting 42% of the total inflow of international funds into the Kingdom.