You didn’t read wrong.

Even as a non-Saudi, you’re now able to own 100% of your company in the Kingdom.

Since before announcements for the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 has come up, many expatriates have wondered about the legalities of setting up your venture here. However, Saudi’s market is ever-changing and ever-growing -especially with the recent reforms that have taken place in the last year.

So if you’re confused, worried and agitated about the whole process of setting it up- fear not and keep on reading…

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Step 1: Get SAGIA Entrepreneurial License issued

As a new company in Saudi Arabia, you’d need to issue your SAGIA Entrepreneur License first. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority is the government entity that provides licenses for foreign-owned companies to operate in the Kingdom- without a partner.

Starting with this basic means you’ll be able to set up the bank account, sponsor shareholders and basically start doing business legally in the Kingdom.

Step 2: Sign Articles of Association and get your CR & Chamber of Commerce registration

The other things a new company in Saudi Arabia would need is a Commercial Registration or a CR. The CR is issued by the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Industry and is obligatory to give you permit to operate activities within the Kingdom.

It should be noted though that other licenses may still be needed for certain activities.

Then you’ll need the certificate from the Chamber of Commerce, this is another mandatory document that goes along with your CR. It’s commonly used when saving official company signatures for formal documents that are needed for use.

The process of obtaining all of the above may take time

Does this sound hard to you?

Fret not, AstroLabs is here to help. Keep on reading to find out how.

Step 3: Set up your office

After completion of documentation and etc, the most commonly asked question of foreign owners is ‘Do I have to come to Saudi Arabia to finalise the process?’

And the answer to that is, yes. But only once.

Imagine that.

Yes, as part of the company registration in Saudi Arabia, you will only need to come in person one time for attestation at the Notary. Just one of the better perks of setting up with AstroLabs, as most expats will find all this almost impossible to do on their own.

Setting up an office in KSA

Obtaining your SAGIA license and all the other documentations necessary for your business doesn’t mean you need to lease an office yet. This can be done at a later stage, once the aforementioned documents have been issued.

AstroLabs, however, can help with that too, since they’ve got their very own co-working space based in Riyadh.

Then, you need to do a few other gov’t registrations afterwards..

There are still a couple more documents needed to ensure the company formation in Saudi Arabia is done right. Some of these include the Municipality license, Labor Office File, General Organisation For Social Insurance File (GOSI), and General Authority of Zakat and Tax File (GAZT).

How AstroLabs in KSA can help you with all this

AstroLabs, is a Google for Entrepreneurs & IBM partnered tech-hub based in Dubai, and now with a presence in Riyadh. They streamline the process of helping you setup your business. They’ve set up an easier process that helps foreigners & expats who want to set up their very own business in the Kingdom and give them a place to work at through their co-working shared office space.

AstroLabs has set up a fast-track process with SAGIA and is currently achieving SAGIA license, CR, and Chamber of Commerce certification within 2-3 weeks only.

Not to mention, they can help you obtain your government visa (for when you need to visit the Notary) and a plethora of other services that make the process of starting up in Saudi easier.

To get started all you have to do is contact them through this link, and they’ll follow up to get you started on the process.