Legal help for foreign companies and investors in Saudi Arabia
We are a licensed Saudi law firm acting for foreign companies, investors and their advisers. We help with setting up a company, registering an investment, recovering money owed, and disputes with distributors, agents and contractors. Much of the work can usually be done without you travelling to Saudi Arabia. The table below shows where to start.
Published by RAED ALI ALJOHANI COMPANY FOR Lawyership and Legal Consultations · Last updated
General information about Saudi law — not advice on your situation.
Which page fits your situation?
Start with the row closest to your situation. Each link opens the page that explains it. The last column says whether the matter can usually be handled without travelling to Saudi Arabia.
| Your situation | Where to start | Can it be handled from abroad? |
|---|---|---|
| You want to set up a company in Saudi Arabia | Setting up a company in Saudi Arabia | Partly. |
| You are choosing between a branch, a Saudi subsidiary and a regional headquarters | Choosing a structure | Yes, for the choice itself. |
| You want to set up a Saudi company without travelling | Setting up a Saudi company from abroad | Partly. |
| You want to register a foreign investment (once called a “MISA licence”) | Foreign investment registration | Partly. |
| You want to know whether your business activity is open to foreign investors | Is your activity open to foreign investors? | Yes. |
| A Saudi customer has not paid your invoice | Recovering an unpaid invoice | Yes, in most cases. |
| You hold promissory notes or cheques from a Saudi party | Promissory notes and cheques | Yes, usually. |
| You hold a court judgment from another country against a Saudi party | Enforcing a foreign court judgment | Yes. |
| You want to know what the new Enforcement Law changes for companies owed money | The new Enforcement Law | Yes. |
| You want to end your relationship with a Saudi distributor or agent | Ending a distributor or agent relationship | Yes, usually. |
| The contractor above you has not paid for your work on a Saudi project | Unpaid on a Saudi project | Yes, usually. |
What do we handle for foreign companies and investors?
We handle 4 kinds of matters for foreign companies and investors in Saudi Arabia. They are setting up a company, registering and protecting a foreign investment, recovering money owed, and disputes with distributors, agents, contractors and suppliers. Much of this work can usually be done without you travelling, through a power of attorney signed in your own country. Before any work starts, we agree the scope and fee in a signed engagement letter. Each card links to the page that explains the work.
We help foreign businesses set up a company in Saudi Arabia, acting as your counsel and coordinating trusted licensed partners for the registration filings.
Company formationWe advise foreign investors on registering, structuring, protecting and exiting an investment in Saudi Arabia.
Foreign investmentWe recover money owed by companies and individuals in Saudi Arabia, including enforcing foreign judgments and arbitration awards.
Debt recovery and enforcementWe act in disputes with Saudi distributors, agents, contractors and suppliers, from ending a distribution agreement to unpaid project work.
Distributor, agency, contractor and supplier disputes
Is your company outside Saudi Arabia? We handle Saudi legal matters for people and companies outside the Kingdom, through a power of attorney and documents certified in their own country. See handling a Saudi legal matter from abroad.
Before you instruct any lawyer, check the licence. See how to check a Saudi lawyer’s licence, or Company details.
How does the first contact with the firm work?
It starts with a short outline from you. Work starts only after an engagement letter is signed. There are three steps.
Send us a few lines. A short outline is a few lines about what has happened. Send it by WhatsApp, phone or email. Do not send any documents yet.
Agree on the work and the fee in writing. We tell you whether we can help and what we need from you. If we can help, we send you a written proposal for the work and the fee.
Sign the engagement letter. An engagement letter is the written agreement between you and the firm. Work starts only after it is signed.
What to put in your first message
- Who you are: your company, and the country where it is registered.
- The other party: the person or company the matter is with, if there is one.
- What happened and when: a few lines, with the main dates.
- Where you are now: in Saudi Arabia or abroad, and in which country.
For more on remote work, documents and updates, see how we work with clients outside Saudi Arabia.
Can the firm work alongside your own lawyers or advisers?
Yes. We can act as Saudi co-counsel alongside your lawyers at home or your in-house legal team. Co-counsel means a lawyer in another country who works with your own lawyer on one matter. We can also work with your credit insurer.
We handle the Saudi side of the matter. That means advice on Saudi law, filings in Arabic and representation before Saudi courts. Your own lawyers keep advising on the law of their country.
We agree in writing who gives us instructions and who receives our reports. We keep client information confidential, as Saudi professional rules require. See working with foreign law firms, insurers and advisers.
Frequently asked questions
Can our company work with you without sending someone to Saudi Arabia?
Usually, yes. A person who can sign for your company signs a power of attorney in your own country. We tell you early if any step needs someone in Saudi Arabia in person. See power of attorney for Saudi Arabia, signed abroad.
Who sends the fee proposal and the engagement letter?
Fee proposals and engagement letters are issued by RAED ALI ALJOHANI COMPANY FOR Lawyership and Legal Consultations. Fees are agreed in writing before any work starts, and payment is arranged directly with the firm, never on this site. See how legal fees work in Saudi Arabia.
Set-up consultancy or law firm: what is the difference?
Either one can prepare registration applications and track their progress. A licensed Saudi law firm can also give legal advice, check the documents and represent your company before Saudi courts in a later dispute. Our page on setting up a company in Saudi Arabia explains how we work with licensed partners on the filings.
In which languages do you work with companies?
We work in Arabic and English. Court work in Saudi Arabia is done in Arabic. In your first message, tell us which language you prefer.
Is what our company tells you kept confidential?
Yes. Saudi professional rules require lawyers to keep client information confidential. Even so, send only a short outline until we agree to act.
General information about Saudi law, not advice on your situation. Contacting us does not create a lawyer–client relationship until an engagement letter is signed.