The law of Saudi Arabia rests on Islamic law (Sharia), with the Quran and the Sunnah serving as the constitution and the King holding final authority over legislation. Written statutes called Anzima fill in subjects the religious texts do not cover in detail, and since 2016 the Vision 2030 program has produced a wave of codification across family, commercial, labor, and procedural law. The system still looks very different from Western jurisdictions, and the gap between the rule on paper and how it plays out can be wide, particularly for foreign residents and visitors.
Where Saudi Law Comes From
The Basic Law of Governance, issued under Royal Decree No. A/90 in 1992, is the foundational legal document. Article 1 declares Saudi Arabia “a fully sovereign Arab Islamic State” whose constitution is “the Book of God and the Sunnah of His Messenger.” Article 7 sets the hierarchy: the Quran and the Sunnah govern the Basic Law and every other law of the state.1University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Basic Law of Governance Any legislation has to clear this religious filter before it becomes enforceable.
For modern subjects the religious sources do not address directly, like traffic, telecommunications, corporate governance, and banking, the government issues Anzima. These regulations take effect through Royal Decrees, issued by the King as head of the Council of Ministers, and Royal Orders, issued in his capacity as head of state. Anzima sit below religious sources but carry full legal force over everyone in the Kingdom.2Shura Council. The Basic Law Of Government
There is no elected parliament. The Consultative Council (Majlis al-Shura) advises the King on proposed regulations, and the Council of Ministers drafts legislation, but the King alone decides whether a proposal becomes law.3Washington University Global Studies Law Review. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Background and Legal System
Vision 2030, launched in 2016, treats legal reform as economic infrastructure, replacing judge-by-judge interpretation with written codes. The Personal Status Law (2022) codified family law for the first time. The Law of Evidence, issued under Royal Decree No. M/43 in late 2021, created uniform rules for civil and commercial proceedings.4Ministry of Commerce. Law of Evidence A draft Penal Code for discretionary (ta’zir) crimes has been under legislative review but, at the time of writing, had not been formally enacted.
The Court System
The Law of the Judiciary organizes the courts into three tiers. At the base are the Courts of First Instance, split into six specialized branches: General Courts, Criminal Courts, Personal Status Courts, Commercial Courts, Labour Courts, and Enforcement Courts. Appeals go to the Courts of Appeals, which review both the legal reasoning and the procedural accuracy of lower rulings. At the top sits the High Court, often called the Supreme Court, which does not retry cases but checks whether lower courts applied the law and followed procedure correctly. Criminal matters involving the most severe penalties go before a five-judge panel; other cases use three-judge panels.5Ministry of Justice. Ministry of Justice – Supreme Court
Running parallel to the ordinary courts is the Board of Grievances, an independent administrative judiciary that reports directly to the King. Its administrative courts handle employment claims by civil servants and military personnel, challenges to administrative decisions, tort claims against government agencies, and government contract disputes. The Board has its own appeals courts and a High Administrative Court.6WIPO Lex. Law of the Board of Grievances
Anyone can represent themselves, but hiring a licensed lawyer is advisable for anything beyond the simplest matter. To practice law in the Kingdom, an individual must hold Saudi nationality, a Sharia or law degree from an accredited university, and at least three years of practical legal experience. Doctorate holders are exempt from the experience requirement. A license lasts five years, with an initial fee of SAR 2,000 and SAR 1,000 for each renewal.7University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Code of Law Practice Non-Saudi lawyers may practice only when a bilateral agreement exists between the Kingdom and their home country.
The Three Categories of Criminal Offense
Criminal law divides offenses into three categories based on how punishment is determined. The category drives everything: the evidentiary standard, the role of the victim’s family, and whether a judge has any sentencing discretion at all.
Hudud
Hudud offenses carry punishments prescribed directly in the Quran. They include theft, highway robbery, certain sexual offenses, false accusations of sexual misconduct, and apostasy.8Philippine Consulate General Jeddah. Hadd or Huddud and Tazir Crimes Penalties are fixed and mandatory once the evidentiary threshold is met. That threshold is deliberately high, often requiring multiple eyewitnesses or a formal confession, so courts impose hudud penalties relatively rarely compared with the ta’zir category.
Qisas and Diya
Qisas applies to crimes causing physical harm or death. The victim or their heirs hold significant power over the outcome: they can demand equivalent retribution, accept financial compensation known as diya (blood money), or grant a full pardon.9JSTOR. The Modern Interpretation of the Diyat Formula for the Quantum of Damages – The Case of Homicide and Personal Injuries The diya amount varies with the nature of the offense and the victim’s circumstances. Settlements become final only when the heirs provide a formal waiver, and negotiations can run for months or years. Many criminal cases effectively turn into civil negotiations between families.
Ta’zir
The vast majority of criminal cases are ta’zir, where judges have discretion to decide whether conduct is a crime at all and to set the sentence. Penalties range from fines and imprisonment to lashes. The Law of Criminal Procedure governs how these cases are investigated and tried, including baseline protections like the right to counsel and the prohibition on torture and degrading treatment.10University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Law of Criminal Procedure
Drug, Alcohol, and Cybercrime Offenses
These three areas account for most of the serious trouble foreign nationals get into. Alcohol is completely banned. Possession, consumption, importation, and sale all carry criminal penalties, including fines, imprisonment, and lashes. Non-citizens convicted of alcohol offenses face deportation on top of the criminal sentence. Importing alcohol, items containing alcohol, wine-making kits, or distilling equipment is prohibited at the border.
Drug offenses are treated more harshly still. Since 1988, the Kingdom has imposed the death penalty for drug trafficking and manufacturing. Courts retain discretion to reduce a death sentence in some cases, but trafficking significant quantities of a banned substance remains a capital offense. Drug possession for personal use carries lengthy prison sentences. Foreign nationals have been executed for drug smuggling, and diplomatic intervention after conviction is rarely successful. Prescription medication is not automatically safe; some drugs prescribed routinely elsewhere are classified as controlled substances in Saudi Arabia, and travelers should confirm the status of anything they carry before arrival.
The Anti-Cybercrime Law, issued under Royal Decree No. M/17 in 2007, has been applied aggressively against online activity. Online defamation, including posts that damage someone’s reputation, is punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of up to SAR 500,000. Unauthorized access to a website with intent to alter or destroy it brings up to four years and SAR 3 million. Producing or sharing content the government considers harmful to public order, religious values, or public morals carries up to five years and SAR 3 million. Accessing systems holding national security data pushes the maximum to ten years and SAR 5 million.11WIPO Lex. Anti-Cyber Crime Law Social media behavior tolerated in other countries, including criticism of the government, religious commentary, or sharing indecent content, can be prosecuted as a crime here.
Family Law After the 2022 Reforms
Before 2022, family law was almost entirely unwritten. Judges applied their own reading of Islamic jurisprudence, so divorce, custody, and inheritance outcomes varied widely depending on who heard the case. The Personal Status Law, issued under Royal Decree No. M/73, codified 252 articles across 25 chapters covering marriage, divorce, custody, wills, and inheritance.12Ministry of Justice. Saudi Personal Status Law Enhances Transparency and Protects Human Rights
The law sets 18 as the standard minimum marriage age. Courts can grant exceptions, but only after the prospective spouse appears personally to consent and a medical, psychological, and social assessment confirms the marriage would not cause harm.13Family Affairs Council. The Personal Status Law Divorce now requires formal documentation. Alimony and child custody decisions follow written criteria rather than individual judicial interpretation. Inheritance still follows traditional Islamic apportionment but is now documented in statutory form.
Standalone reforms have changed women’s legal status as well. Women gained the right to drive in 2018. In 2019, Royal Decree M/134 amended the Travel Document Laws and the Civil Status Law to let women obtain passports and travel abroad without a male guardian’s permission, and to register births, marriages, and divorces independently. An earlier 2013 change had already removed the formal requirement for guardian consent before accepting employment. The guardianship system has not been eliminated, but its practical reach has narrowed considerably.
Working in Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Labor Law requires every employment relationship to be documented in a written contract specifying salary, job description, and benefits.14Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. Labor Law The rules apply to Saudi and foreign workers alike, though they operate differently in practice.
The Saudization policy, run through the Nitaqat program, requires private-sector companies to employ a minimum percentage of Saudi nationals. Companies are rated on a color-coded scale running Platinum, High Green, Medium Green, Low Green, and Red, with the required percentage depending on industry and company size. High ratings bring easier access to work visas and faster government services. Red-rated companies face restrictions on hiring foreign workers and difficulty renewing existing permits.
The kafala sponsorship system historically tied foreign workers to their employer, who controlled job changes, exits, and residency renewal. The Labor Reform Initiative, launched in 2021, loosened several of those restrictions. Foreign employees covered by the Labor Law can change jobs without employer consent after completing one year of their contract or when it expires. Workers may also transfer without waiting if wages go unpaid for three months or if the employer fails to appear at labor dispute hearings. Employer permission to leave or reenter the country is no longer required; workers submit exit and reentry requests through a government online platform and the employer is simply notified. Final departure from the Kingdom likewise no longer requires employer consent. Domestic workers and agricultural laborers remain excluded from the Labor Law and are still governed by the older kafala framework.
When employment ends, workers are entitled to a severance payment based on length of service. The benefit equals half a month’s salary for each of the first five years and a full month’s salary for each year after that. Three years at SAR 10,000 per month works out to SAR 15,000. Eight years at the same salary works out to SAR 55,000: SAR 25,000 for the first five years plus SAR 30,000 for the remaining three.
Taxes
Saudi Arabia imposes no personal income tax on individuals, which is a major draw for foreign professionals. The tax framework focuses on businesses, religious obligations, and consumption.
Saudi and GCC nationals who own businesses pay Zakat at 2.5%, calculated on items such as owner’s equity, retained earnings, and working capital. Foreign-owned companies pay a 20% corporate income tax on net adjusted profits instead of Zakat. Mixed-ownership companies split the calculation proportionally. Oil and hydrocarbon companies face rates between 50% and 85% depending on the arrangement.
Value Added Tax arrived in 2018 at 5% and rose to 15% in July 2020 to offset revenue losses from declining oil prices.15ZATCA. VAT – Value Added Tax The 15% rate applies to most goods and services, with exemptions for healthcare, education, and financial services.
Payments from Saudi-based entities to non-residents trigger withholding tax. Standard domestic rates are 5% on dividends, 5% on interest, and 15% on royalties. Other service payments fall between 5% and 20% depending on the type of service. Withholding tax must be remitted within the first ten days of the month following payment. Tax treaties with numerous countries can reduce these rates, so cross-border transactions should be checked against the applicable treaty.
Rights of Foreign Nationals
Foreign residents and visitors are subject to Saudi law with no special exemptions. The Law of Criminal Procedure provides baseline protections that apply to everyone. Article 2 prohibits torture and degrading treatment. Article 4 guarantees the right to a lawyer during both investigation and trial. Article 2 also requires that arrests, searches, and detention occur only as specified by law and in designated facilities.10University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Law of Criminal Procedure
After arrest, a suspect can be held for five days before the investigator must either release them or seek an extension. Extensions require approval from the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (now the Public Prosecution), and total pretrial detention cannot exceed six months, after which the accused must be transferred to a court or released. The gap between the written law and its application can be significant, so foreign nationals arrested in the Kingdom should request contact with their embassy or consulate immediately.
Foreign workers hold an Iqama (residency permit) that must be renewed annually through the Absher or Muqeem digital platforms. The Iqama is tied to an employer, and the registered profession must match the worker’s actual role under the Saudi Standard Classification of Occupations. Employers are responsible for registering contracts on the Qiwa platform and keeping job classifications accurate. Late-renewal fines are cumulative and must be paid in full before a new permit is issued. High-earning professionals and investors have an alternative in the Premium Residency program, which offers a five-year renewable residency independent of employer sponsorship, with a one-time fee of SAR 4,000; holders who maintain residency for at least 30 months over five years may qualify for permanent status.