Most founders who call us still ask about "the MISA license". That's fine. Everyone in Riyadh still says it, and so do we.
On paper, though, it's gone. Under the updated Investment Law, which came into force on 12 February 2025, the Ministry of Investment (MISA) moved from licensing to registration. A foreign investor now registers the investment with MISA before doing anything else in the Kingdom, and one registration can cover activities across different sectors.
So what actually changed for a company in Dubai or London planning a Saudi entity? Less than people hope, and a few things they don't expect.
The application is quick. Getting ready for it is slow
MISA's own Investor Guide (13th edition, February 2026) gives an estimated processing time of 10 working days for a new registration. The Invest Saudi service page says the same.
Ten days sounds great. The catch sits before you press submit. As of November 2026, the standard list for a foreign company is:
- the commercial register of the parent company, certified by the Saudi Embassy
- the parent's financial statements for the last fiscal year, authenticated by the Saudi Embassy
- ID for any GCC national partner who isn't already in Absher
- whatever extra your activity needs under section 5 of the guide
Holders of a Special Residency permit are exempt from the first three.
Embassy attestation is where weeks disappear. A UK parent whose accounts for the last year aren't signed yet can't attest them. A UAE group that restructured last quarter may find its trade licence no longer matches the shareholder names it plans to put on the Saudi application. We see both regularly. Our own KSA Business Guide puts a commercial registration at three to four months from the start, and much of that time goes on translations and attested papers from home.
Check your activity before anything else
Registration covers activities that are open to investment, and MISA sorts them into available and restricted. Some carry their own conditions.
Trading is the one that surprises people. The guide sets a minimum capital of SAR 26,666,667 with at least 25% Saudi participation for commercial activity with a Saudi partner. For 100% foreign-owned trading it's SAR 30 million, plus presence in at least three regional or global markets, and further investment and Saudization commitments over five years.
If your plan is "set up an LLC and import our products", that table changes the conversation early.
The fee arrives after approval
There's no fixed price list to quote. MISA decides the registration fee when it approves the application. The service page says you then have 15 business days from notification to pay. Miss it and the registration is treated as void.
That's a real risk in groups where payments need two signatures in another country. Decide in advance who pays and from which account.
After registration, the dates keep coming
The registration needs an annual update, and that update carries a fee MISA sets too. Some other deadlines in the guide are worth putting in someone's calendar:
- Change ownership in your MISA registration, and you have 30 days to amend the partners' resolution and update the commercial registration. Otherwise MISA can revert the record.
- Moving office or changing the account manager without telling MISA within 10 working days is listed as a violation.
- MISA may send a questionnaire, to be answered within 14 working days.
None of this is hard. It just tends to land on a general manager who already has the CR, GOSI, Qiwa and ZATCA registrations on his desk, and that is usually where a date slips.
Where FCG fits
We advise foreign companies on the MISA step and the company formation that follows. We check the activity first, build the document list for your case, and walk you through MISA's platform. MISA reviews and decides every application.
Read more on our MISA license service page or our Saudi company formation page.
Book a free consultation and we'll go through your documents before anything goes for attestation.
