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Can you sit on a board there?
Pick a market. You get the residency test, the nationality test, the work-authorisation position, the appointment steps in order, and the frictions that actually delay appointments — each cited to the instrument that creates it.
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Approval or registration requiredSA
Foreign nationals serve on Saudi boards, and the framework does not bar it — but sector licensing, the four-year election cycle and, for regulated firms, SAMA or CMA approval shape the route in.
- Residency test
- No general residency requirement for a non-executive director of a listed joint stock company; some regulated sectors and executive roles do carry residency conditions.
- Nationality test
- Certain licensed and strategic activities carry Saudi-national requirements at board or management level. Check the sector's licensing conditions before assuming the general position applies.
- Work authorisation
- A non-resident non-executive director attending board meetings travels on a business visit visa. Resident and executive roles require an iqama and are subject to Saudization requirements.
- Board language
- Statutory documents and general-assembly process are in Arabic; board discussion at internationally owned entities is often in English.
- Tenure limit once appointed
- Board terms are limited to four years and are renewable. Independence is reassessed each cycle against the CMA's criteria rather than capped by cumulative years.
- Time commitment
- Boards typically meet four to six times a year, with committee cycles and a general assembly; giga-project and transformation entities meet considerably more often.
- What a seat pays
- SAR 200,000 – 500,000 a year for an independent director of a Tadawul-listed company, with banks and the largest groups above that.
- Tax on your fees
- There is no personal income tax in Saudi Arabia on directors' fees for individuals. Withholding tax can apply to payments to non-resident parties depending on characterisation — take advice before invoicing through an entity.
The appointment steps, in order
- 1Nomination and election by the general assembly, within the four-year board cycle
- 2CMA disclosure of the board's composition and each member's classification as executive, non-executive or independent
- 3For a bank, insurer or finance company, SAMA fit-and-proper approval before the appointment takes effect
- 4For a capital-market institution, CMA approval of the relevant registered person or board appointment
What actually gets in the way
- The four-year cycle means appointments cluster; entering mid-cycle usually requires a casual vacancy
- Arabic is the language of statutory documents, and general-assembly process is conducted in Arabic
- Saudization requirements shape senior appointments, and are a real consideration in how a board composes itself
The instruments behind these answers
- Companies Law (Royal Decree M/132 of 2022) — The modernised corporate statute, in force since January 2023, governing company forms, board duties, and shareholder rights. (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
- CMA Corporate Governance Regulations Art. 16 — The board must have between three and eleven members, a majority non-executive, and independent directors numbering not fewer than two or one-third of the board, whichever is greater. (Capital Market Authority)
- CMA Corporate Governance Regulations Audit committee provisions — The audit committee must have between three and five members, must include at least one independent director, and may not include an executive director; its chair may not be the board chairman. (Capital Market Authority)
- CMA Corporate Governance Regulations Board term — A board term may not exceed four years, after which directors stand for re-election. Independence is reassessed on each cycle. (Capital Market Authority)
Reviewed against primary sources in August 2026. This is governance decision-support, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and transitional provisions frequently apply — verify against the primary instrument before you rely on it.
Eligibility is only the first question
Being allowed to sit on a board there is not the same as being read for one.
The mobility index answers the second question: whether your record is legible to a board in that market, whether you hold what it is currently short of, and whether you can do the job in the language its board works in.