Dry Saudi lets booze flow as it eyes more tourists, investors

Saudi Arabia has expanded access to alcohol by allowing a special category of foreigners to buy it from a designated outlet, according to Semafor.

The Saudi government has allowed foreigner non-Muslims holding a ‘Premium Residency’ visa —often called the ‘Saudi green card’— to purchase alcohol from the Diplomatic Quarter outlet in Riyadh previously reserved for foreign diplomats.

In recent years, the Saudi government, torn between attracting foreigner talent and tourists and sticking to Islam’s prohibition on alcohol, has gradually relaxed its alcohol policy. The latest development has come without any formal announcement at a time when Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince and the de facto Saudi ruler, has sought to make tourism a key pillar of the kingdom’s economic diversification away from dependency on oil.

So far, only foreign diplomats were allowed to buy alcohol from the designated outlet in Riyadh. Before that, diplomatic missions could bring in alcohol through diplomatic shipments and anyone wanting to buy alcohol had to get it from diplomats willing to part with their stash.

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What is Saudi Premium Residency?

Saudi Arabia’s ‘Premium Residency’ is a visa programme that is referred to as the ‘Saudi green card’. It was launched in in 2019 as a way to attract high-earning foreign workers and investors. It is open to expatriates earning more than $21,000 a month or those working in certain professions.

In recent years, MBS —as the Saudi crown prince is widely called— has sought to attract foreigners specialising in technology and finance to the kingdom and prop Saudi Arabia as a regional economic hub like the United Arab Emirates (UAE). But the kingdom’s conservative culture has meant that neither professionals nor tourists have sought it like they have sought the UAE over the decades.

Under the programme, visa-holders get multiple-entry privilege with permission to bring in spouse and children under 25 years of age. They are allowed to own residential, commercial, and industrial property with exceptions for Mecca, Medina, and border areas, and are allowed to move freely between private sector jobs and do not need a Saudi sponsor.

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