Branch office registration in Saudi Arabia, under your company’s own name.

Yes, for activities it already carries on that are open to foreign investment; Article 236 of the Companies Law provides for it. The parent registers with MISA and the branch receives a Commercial Registration from the Ministry of Commerce.

No. It is the parent company operating in Saudi Arabia. The parent signs the branch’s contracts and answers for its debts and claims.

No. Only a company can have a branch. Individuals use a foreign-owned LLC.

The parent’s name, recorded on the branch CR with an Arabic form.

No. A branch carries on the parent’s activities. A new line of business needs an LLC.

No. A branch earns revenue. A scientific and technical office only supports a Saudi agent or distributor and may not trade.

No. It belongs entirely to the parent, so there is nobody else to bring in.

Yes, within its registered activities, from its registered address and any premises licensed for it.

A branch, if the job is delivering the parent’s own contract under its name. For anything that will win its own Saudi clients and hire its own team, an LLC.

Not on the headline rates. Both pay 20% on profit and 5% when profit goes abroad. The difference is liability, not tax.

The LLC. Its liability stops at its capital; a branch’s liabilities are the parent’s.

Saudi clients split by what they are buying. A client buying the parent’s track record may prefer the branch; a client buying local presence often prefers an LLC.

Yes. Some groups keep a branch for the parent’s contracts and an LLC for local business.

Not by conversion. The usual route is to form an LLC, move contracts and staff, then close the branch.

A MISA registration for a foreign company carrying out a government or semi-government contract. It ends with the contract, and Article 241 of the Companies Law gives it a matching temporary entry in the Commercial Register.

A few weeks once the parent’s papers are legalised and translated, and those papers are the slow part. MISA estimates ten working days for a complete registration.

The parent. It registers its investment with MISA before the branch CR is issued. See MISA registration.

National Address, ZATCA, GOSI and Qiwa, the bank account and the manager’s residency.

No. Under the Commercial Register Law in force since 3 April 2025, its data is confirmed every 12 months instead, and a CR not confirmed within 90 days of its due date is suspended.

Not to register. Banking and the manager’s residency usually involve a visit.

Yes. We review what was filed and quote to complete it.

A board resolution that doesn’t match the activities filed, and parent documents older than a few months.

Opening the branch, its activities, the capital allocated, the branch manager and their powers, and who signs for the parent.

MISA asks for the last fiscal year’s statements, legalised. Most parents provide audited ones, and banks expect them.

We work to three months; older extracts are often questioned.

Yes, or embassy legalisation if the parent’s country is outside the Convention. See attestation and apostille.

Banks and the beneficial ownership rules need the individuals who ultimately own or control the parent, so we map the ownership chain up to them before filing.

If they are recent, yes. We order extra certified copies at the start.

Certified translators, with every name checked against the originals.

20% corporate income tax on taxable profit in Saudi Arabia.

Withholding tax on profit the branch sends to its parent, treated like a dividend. A treaty may reduce it with a residency certificate.

Yes, within 120 days of its financial year end. Separately, Article 238 of the Companies Law has the branch deposit its Saudi financial statements and the auditor’s report within six months of the year end.

Costs that relate to the branch’s Saudi income and are documented can be. ZATCA examines them closely.

Once registered. Registration is mandatory above SAR 375,000 of taxable supplies in 12 months.

Often, at rates from 5% to 20% depending on the payment, paid by the 10th of the following month.

No. A foreign company’s branch pays income tax; zakat applies to Saudi and GCC ownership.

The branch manager, within the powers the parent grants, or other people the parent authorises.

Yes, after GOSI and Qiwa registration, with Saudization targets applying as for any employer.

Yes, as branch employees with work visas and Iqamas, subject to the foreign worker levy.

A branch needs a National Address in every case. Whether it also needs leased premises depends on its activity and the municipal licence, and we confirm that at the planning stage.

If its activity is regulated, yes. The CR alone doesn’t authorise construction, health or food work, for example.

Yes, with the parent’s file and the manager present. See corporate bank accounts.

CR confirmation, MISA’s annual update, the audited accounts deposited within six months, and the tax return within 120 days, plus VAT, GOSI and Qiwa records.

Only activities the parent itself carries on, through a MISA amendment and a CR update.

By parent resolution, then updates to the CR, MISA, Qiwa and the bank mandate.

Staff, tax and contracts are settled, the CR cancelled, then the MISA registration cancelled.

A change in the parent’s name or ownership is reported to MISA and reflected on the branch CR.

No, because it isn’t separate from the parent. Its contracts and assets can be transferred to another entity.

The parent’s resolution allocates capital to the branch. The amount follows the activity and any MISA condition attached to it.

Close the branch, or keep it if more work follows. Running costs continue while it is registered.