Saudi Arabia post setup compliance: The first 90 days for foreign companies
The first few months after establishing a foreign company in Saudi Arabia involve a particularly concentrated period of compliance. Requirements are spread across different government systems and some only become relevant as the business starts operating, which makes it easy for individual steps to be dealt with later than intended.
The first 90 days after company incorporation are an important period for getting those arrangements in place before they begin to affect the company’s day-to-day operations.
Complete the tax registration
Following commercial registration with the Ministry of Commerce, ZATCA generates a Tax Identification Number for the new entity. Foreign establishments then need to complete their corporate income tax registration with ZATCA, so the tax account should be checked rather than assuming the initial registration has dealt with everything. Companies should complete corporate tax registration within 60 days of registering with MOC to adhere to tax deadlines.
VAT follows a different timetable because registration depends on the circumstances of the business. Where registration is required, it needs to be considered alongside when the company expects to start making taxable supplies. Mandatory VAT registration is required once the business taxable turnover exceeds SAR 375,000 while voluntary registration is available to businesses between the SAR 187,500 to SAR 375,00 threshold.
This is often where the commercial timetable starts to meet the compliance calendar. A new Saudi operation may be preparing its first customer contracts and invoices while its finance processes are still being established. If VAT applies, the accounting system needs to be ready to deal with it from the start.
National address
National address is required to be registered with Saudi Post (SPL). The national address must be tied to the company’s Commercial Registration and mandatory for key portals registration and bank opening documentation.
Corporate bank account
Although there is no specific legal requirement that newly incorporated companies must open a corporate bank account within a set number of days, in practice, this should be treated as an immediate post-incorporation task as the company cannot effectively operate without one. The corporate bank account is needed to inject share capital, receive customer payments, pay staff salaries and pay ZATCA and government portal fees. The company General Manager should have already obtained their Iqama card and must be physically present in the country to open the corporate bank account.
Prepare human resources for the first hires
Recruitment can begin quickly once a foreign company is established, particularly where staff are being transferred into Saudi Arabia or the business needs a local team before it can start operating fully.
It is important to note that after the companies General Manager, the first hire should be a Saudi National employee.
As people join, employment contracts are documented through Qiwa and the applicable GOSI requirements come into play. These systems are connected to the company’s wider employment position, so the employee records created during the first hires need to be accurate from the beginning.
There is an additional point for companies recruiting in 2026. Since 15 April, electronically documented employment contracts on Qiwa have been used in calculating Saudisation percentages under the Nitaqat programme.
That gives contract documentation a direct connection to the company’s Saudisation position. Nitaqat status can in turn affect access to employment services, including the ability to obtain work visas, which is particularly relevant for foreign companies planning to bring employees into the Kingdom.
The hiring plan therefore needs to take account of the company’s Saudisation position as the team develops. Waiting until an expatriate employee needs a visa can leave much less room to deal with an issue in the workforce structure.
Additionally, employers are required to obtain medical insurance for all company employees by a locally approved provider as Iqamas and residencies can’t be issued without it.
Get payroll compliance right from the beginning
The first employees also bring payroll and social insurance requirements into the company’s normal monthly administration.
General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) records need to reflect the employees working for the company, and payroll needs to be operated in accordance with the requirements applying to the workforce. Wage Protection System (WPS) requirements may also apply as the company begins paying salaries.
Responsibility also needs to be clear internally. Whether payroll is handled by the Saudi company, a local provider or as part of a wider group process, the Saudi records still need to correspond with what is happening locally.
Make sure the ownership record is current
Foreign companies should also check the beneficial ownership information held for the new Saudi entity. Saudi Arabia’s Beneficial Ownership Rules, introduced at the end of 2025, require companies to identify their ultimate beneficial owners and maintain a dedicated record of that information.
This can require some work for international groups. The immediate shareholder of the Saudi company may itself be another company, with further entities sitting between it and the individuals who ultimately own or control the structure.
The rules generally look first at direct or indirect ownership of at least 25%. Where this does not identify the beneficial owner, other forms of control are considered.
The information used during establishment should therefore be supported by the wider ownership and corporate records and kept current if the group structure changes.
Be ready before the first invoice
A company preparing to bill its first Saudi customer should already know how the transaction will be treated for VAT and how the invoice will be generated.
This can require changes to systems already used elsewhere in an international group. An accounting platform that works for the parent company does not automatically produce invoices that meet Saudi requirements, although in many cases the existing system can be configured appropriately.
Where the entity falls within the Saudi e-invoicing requirements, invoices need to be generated through a compliant electronic solution. Companies notified that they fall within a Phase Two wave will also need to integrate their solution with ZATCA’s Fatoora platform by the applicable deadline.
Sorting this out before invoicing begins avoids having the finance team redesign the process once transactions are already being recorded.
What should be in place after 90 days?
There is no single Saudi rule requiring every foreign company to complete the same set of actions within 90 days. The timing will depend on when the company starts trading, whether it has employees and which requirements apply to its business activities.
Some businesses will also have sector-specific licences or regulatory requirements that sit outside the general post-setup process.
Using the first 90 days to get these requirements working alongside the business can prevent routine post incorporation compliance issues from becoming obstacles as the Saudi operation develops.
Sovereign PPG supports clients with company formation, company registration and operational readiness in Saudi Arabia. We provide a full suite of services including hiring employees and ongoing compliance requirements around accounting, bookkeeping and government portals maintenance.
