Saudi Arabia Grants Citizenship to Global Talents
This aligns with the kingdom’s Vision 2030.
Saudi Arabia has issued a Royal decree granting citizenship to a select group of scientists, medical doctors, researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs with unique expertise and specializations, as reported by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).[1]
In 2021, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued a decree to grant citizenship to highly skilled foreign professionals across various fields.[2]
At that time, citizenship was being granted exclusively to experts and exceptional global talents with unique competencies in religious, medical, scientific, cultural, sports, and technological fields.
This citizenship was set to only a small number of foreign nationals.
Once known for its vast oil reserves, Saudi Arabia is quickly becoming a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. This transformation is driven by the kingdom’s Vision 2030, aiming to create an environment that attracts and retains exceptional global talents in religious, medical, scientific, cultural, sports, and technological fields.
First announced in 2016, Saudi Vision 2030 is a blueprint to diversify the kingdom's economy away from oil. Spearheaded by Crown Prince HH Mohammed bin Salman, the roadmap aims to improve the resilience of the Saudi economy, make the kingdom a connecting hub between Africa, Asia, and Europe, and create new avenues for job creation.
Saudi Vision 2030’s targets include increasing the contribution of the private sector to GDP to 65% by 2030, increasing SME contribution from 20% to 35% of GDP, increasing FDI contribution to GDP to 5.8%, and increasing the contribution of non-oil exports to non-oil GDP to 50%. It also aims to increase women’s participation in the workforce from 22% to 30%.
Central to Saudi Vision 2030 is developing sectors such as tourism, entertainment, technology, and renewable energy as key drivers of economic growth.