Exceptional talent makes up 49% of premium residency holders

Ghannam AlGhannam, the Official Spokesperson and Director of Strategic Communications for the Premium Residency Center

Ghannam AlGhannam, the Official Spokesperson and Director of Strategic Communications for the Premium Residency Center, said that exceptional talents account for the largest share of premium residency holders, representing about 49% of the total.

Business investors make up nearly 28%, with the remaining portion falling under other premium residency categories, he told Argaam in an interview at the ninth Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh.

AlGhannam noted that the center currently has more than 40,000 applicants on its platform, representing over 140 nationalities.

He explained that the center aims to strengthen the national economy and create employment opportunities by attracting key target groups to premium residency. It serves as a strategic enabler, attracting investors and highly skilled professionals to live, work, and invest in the Kingdom.

The center also supports vital sectors in attracting exceptional talents, investors, and sports professionals, enhancing knowledge exchange and transfer across industries.

AlGhannam said that the center’s participation in the Future Investment Initiative seeks to attract investors, exceptional talent, entrepreneurs, and other target groups for premium residency.

The center’s pavilion drew strong interest from investors, entrepreneurs, professionals, and prospective business partners during the conference, he said.

Premium residency holders across all categories enjoy a wide range of benefits, including residency in Saudi Arabia with their families (parents, spouses, and children under 25), freedom of movement between establishments, exemption from expatriate and dependent fees, multiple-entry and exit privileges without the need for a visa, the ability to issue visit visas for relatives, access to fast-track lanes for citizens and GCC nationals at entry points, employment in private-sector entities with the freedom to change employers, the right to engage in business activities under the investment law, as well as ownership and use of real estate, according to Argaam’s data.