Photo by Oualid Lakhrouti on Unsplash
🇸🇦 Middle East & North Africa
Moving to Saudi Arabia from the US
Saudi Arabia for American digital nomads: no dedicated nomad visa, and a tax-friendly regime once you become tax resident. Tourist entry for US passports: eVisa available, 90 days, multiple entry (tourist eVisa launched 2019, well-established).
Middle East & North Africa 🧾 tax-friendly
Saudi Arabia in numbers
At a glance
| 🛂 Tourist entry | 🇺🇸US90d🇪🇺EU90d🇬🇧UK90d🇨🇦CA90d🇦🇺AU90d |
| 🛂 Digital nomad visa | No dedicated digital nomad visa |
| 🏠 Path to permanent residency | Premium Residency IS effectively the long-term status; no lesser nomad path exists |
| 🌍 What gets taxed | No income tax No personal income tax at all. |
| 📈 Top income-tax rate | 0% Brackets: 0% (personal) |
| ✨ Special regime | No personal income tax regime needed |
| 🇺🇸 US tax treaty | ➖ No income-tax treaty (none needed for personal income) No local income tax, so there is nothing to be taxed twice. |
| ⚖️ Family-law exposure (payer) | Obligation 4/10 · cross-border collection 3/10 |
| 🗣️ English | Very low proficiency (EF index 404) National average from the EF English Proficiency Index 2025; big cities and tourist areas usually run higher. |
| 🏥 Healthcare access | Very high (WHO coverage index 83/100, 2023) How well essential care reaches the population. Most Americans abroad use private care and insurance; this measures the public system. |
| 👩 Women's safety & rights | Moderate (WPS index 0.737) Women, Peace and Security Index 2023/24 (Georgetown GIWPS): safety, legal rights and inclusion. |
| 🏳️🌈 LGBTQ+ equality | Very low (Equaldex index 13/100) Equaldex Equality Index (equaldex.com, CC BY-SA): laws plus public attitudes. |
| 🛡️ Safety (hard stats) | Homicide 0.8/100k · road deaths 16/100k |
Full detail with ratings and sources: visas & residency · tax breakdown · legal exposure · safety & crime
Data last updated · Source: Compiled from the visas, tax and legal datasets
Cities we cover in Saudi Arabia
Photos from Unsplash: Riyadh by Oualid Lakhrouti on Unsplash
Month-by-month weather: Riyadh climate
⭐ Saudi Arabia on our best-of lists
🕌 Other countries in Middle East & North Africa
Moving to Saudi Arabia: common questions
Can Americans move to Saudi Arabia?
There is no dedicated nomad or passive-income visa, so most Americans need work, study, investment or family routes. Path to permanent residency: Premium Residency IS effectively the long-term status; no lesser nomad path exists.
How long can Americans stay in Saudi Arabia without a visa?
About 90 days visa-free as a tourist on a US passport. Saudi Arabia has no dedicated digital nomad visa, so living there longer needs another residence route.
Will I pay tax in Saudi Arabia as an American?
Little or no local tax on income earned abroad once you are resident. What gets taxed: no income tax; the top rate is 0%. As an American you also keep filing with the IRS wherever you live; the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and foreign tax credits usually stop you paying twice.
What does it cost to live in Saudi Arabia?
About $2,012 a month for one person, all-in (everyday costs plus a 1-bedroom city-centre rent), across the 1 city we cover.
Is English spoken in Saudi Arabia?
Rarely. The country ranks "very low" on the EF English Proficiency Index; you will need the local language or a translation app day to day.
Is Saudi Arabia safe?
Saudi Arabia's homicide rate is 0.8 per 100,000 people a year (the US is roughly 6), and road deaths are 16 per 100,000. On our country scale that's "mixed".