Article 12 of the Saudi Privileged Residency Law

This article deals with a practical question: what happens after privileged residency is cancelled or terminated?

• Its scope: it covers the cancellation or termination of the residency, whether of its holder or of any member of his family.
• The responsible body: the Privileged Residency Center, in coordination with the relevant authorities, considers the effects that may follow from the cancellation or termination, and addresses them.
• The reference: the handling is carried out in accordance with what is stated in the Law and what the Implementing Regulations specify.

The article does not itself state what these effects are or how they are addressed; rather, it makes the Center the party with the coordinating role and leaves the details to the Regulations. This is understandable because a residency holder may have various situations that arose from the benefits the Law gives, so a body is needed to coordinate among the authorities concerned.

This article complements what is stated in Article 11, which provides that the cancellation or termination of residency does not result in the transfer of the rights and benefits its holder enjoyed under Article 2 to his family, although any member of it who meets the conditions may apply for privileged residency, and that privileged residency does not entitle its holder to obtain Saudi nationality.

Anyone whose privileged residency has ended and who has existing obligations or property would do well to consult a lawyer specialized in residency and foreign investment affairs to learn what the Regulations provide in his case.