MULKIYA · GUIDES
Buying Property in Saudi Arabia as a Turkish Citizen
Turkish citizens may buy Saudi property inside 100+ designated zones under the law in force since 22 January 2026. Here is the path, the costs, and the limits.
Turkish citizens may buy, inside the zones
Turkey is not in the GCC, so a Turkish buyer is treated as a non-resident foreign individual. That class may own residential and commercial property inside the designated zones. Royal Decree M/14 put the new ownership law in force on 22 January 2026. Council of Ministers Decision 43 of 23 June 2026 then approved the implementing regulations and endorsed the designated zones document, which is when buying became actionable. More than 100 designated zones now sit across the Kingdom. Your nationality does not rank you. Your buyer class and the zone decide.
Three prerequisites before you sign
The implementing regulations set three prerequisites for a non-Saudi individual. First, a digital identity, which non-residents obtain through Saudi embassies abroad and activate on the national platforms. Second, a Saudi bank account in your own name. Third, a Saudi mobile number registered to you and linked to that digital identity. All payments then move through official electronic channels. Registration in the Real Estate Registry is a validity condition of your acquisition, not a formality after it. An unregistered purchase does not bind.
Plan cash-first
Bank lending is structurally closed to non-residents today. Current lending systems have no identity field for a borrower who holds no Saudi residency record, so a mortgage application from abroad cannot enter the pipeline. This may change as banks adapt to the new law, but nothing published suggests a date. Plan your purchase as a cash transaction. If a developer offers instalments on an off-plan unit, read the payment schedule as a cash plan over time, not as financing.
Makkah and Madinah are open to Muslim buyers
The holy cities follow their own rule. Muslim individuals may own property directly inside the designated Makkah and Madinah zones, whether they live in the Kingdom or not. This applies worldwide, so a Turkish buyer who is Muslim can own in the designated holy-city zones on the same footing as any other individual buyer. Foreign companies may not own in the two cities at all. Buyers who are not Muslim cannot own directly there, whatever their nationality.
What it costs, in and out
At purchase, the real-estate transaction tax is 5% of the price. Legally it is the seller's liability, but in practice it is commonly priced into the deal, so treat it as a cost of buying. Brokerage commission is capped at 2.5%, plus VAT on the commission, and only applies if you engage a broker. When you later sell, you pay 5% as the transferor, plus a 2% disposal fee if the property is in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah or Madinah. Elsewhere the exit fee is 0%.
A cooling market, and your next step
Buy with clear eyes. The official residential price index fell year on year into 2026, so this is a cooling market, not a rising one. Gross rental yields in the main cities sit at roughly 7-9%, a rough figure that varies by district and building. Inside Riyadh's urban boundary, rents are held at current levels for five years, which caps near-term income growth there. None of this says do not buy. It says verify first. Mulkiya's eligibility check asks five questions, and a deterministic rules engine answers them against the current law, with citations. Licensed Saudi partners then execute the regulated steps.
Can a Turkish citizen buy property in Makkah or Madinah?
Yes, if the buyer is a Muslim individual. Muslim individuals, resident or not, may own directly inside the designated holy-city zones. Companies may not.
Can I get a Saudi mortgage as a non-resident from Turkey?
No. Bank lending is structurally closed to non-residents today because lending systems have no identity field for them. Plan the purchase as cash.
Who pays the 5% transaction tax?
The law puts it on the seller. In practice it is commonly priced into the deal, so a buyer should treat it as part of the total cost.
Do I need Saudi residency before I can buy?
No. Non-residents may buy inside the designated zones. You need a digital identity, a Saudi bank account, and a Saudi mobile number, none of which requires residency.