Article 1 of the Saudi Privileged Residency Law

This is the definitions article of the Privileged Residency Permit Law. It explains what the words that recur throughout the Law's articles mean, so that whenever one of them appears it is understood in the sense given here.

• The Law: the Privileged Residency Permit Law, and the Regulations: its Implementing Regulations.
• Non-Saudi: a natural person (that is, an individual, not a company or entity) who does not hold Saudi nationality.
• Privileged residency holder: a non-Saudi who has obtained this residency in accordance with the Law.
• Family: those whom the privileged residency holder supports, among spouses, children and parents, with the Regulations to specify the details.
• The Center: the Privileged Residency Center, and the Board: the Center's board of directors.

Two important amendments were made to this article: the first by Council of Ministers Resolution No. (555) dated 16/10/1443 AH, under which the definition "the Board: the Center's board of directors" replaced the definition "the Committee: the Center's supervisory committee", and the word "Board" replaced the word "Committee" wherever it appeared in the Law. The second was by Royal Decree No. (M/84) dated 11/6/1445 AH, which amended the definition of "family" to its current wording, which mentions the spouses, children and parents whom the residency holder supports.

The definition of family matters in practice, because Article 2 gives the residency holder the right to reside in the Kingdom with his family, and extends some benefits to its members, such as working in private sector establishments. It is not enough for a person to be a relative; he must be among those the residency holder supports, and fall within what the Regulations specify.