🏠 Family Residence Visa Saudi Arabia 2026

1️⃣ What Family Residence Sponsorship Means

Family residence sponsorship lets an eligible resident add qualifying family members as dependents under their own residency, so those family members can live in Saudi Arabia on a dependent Iqama tied to the sponsor's status.

2️⃣ Four Things That Are Often Confused

3️⃣–4️⃣ Who May Submit a Request, and the Current Official Starting Platform

The sponsor — the resident already in Saudi Arabia — submits the request, not the family member being sponsored.

📍 Process Flow (General Pattern — Not a Guaranteed Sequence)

This reflects commonly reported stages, not a confirmed or universal sequence. Your own case may show a different order, additional stages, or fewer stages.

1. Confirm sponsor conditionsIqama validity, occupation, and any salary/profession condition — as shown by the official portal for your case, not a fixed number.
2. Gather relationship documentsMarriage/birth certificates and identity documents for each dependent.
3. Country-specific attestationDocuments are commonly reported to require an attestation chain that varies by the document's country of origin, plus Arabic translation.
4. Submit the sponsorship requestThrough the current official starting platform confirmed for your case (see section above) — not assumed to be one single portal for everyone.
5. Appointment / office stage, if requiredSome sources describe an in-person office stage; this may not apply to every case or location.
6. Government fee, as displayedPay only the amount the official process displays for your case — not a figure from this or any other guide.
7. Visa issuance / country-of-origin processingSome sources describe a confirmation document (sometimes referred to as a "yellow slip") historically issued at this stage — we could not confirm this is still issued in this exact form, or under this name, in every case or location.
8. Arrival — insurance, medical, biometricsHealth insurance, any required medical check, and biometric enrollment at Jawazat.
9. Dependent Iqama issuedFollowing successful biometrics and processing.
10. Ongoing dependent levyA separate, ongoing government charge — see our dedicated dependent levy page for the current estimate rather than any figure here.

5️⃣–7️⃣ Sponsor, Dependant, and Relationship-Document Preparation

8️⃣ Translation and Country-Specific Attestation

Documents are commonly reported to need Arabic translation by a certified translator and an attestation chain confirming their authenticity. The exact chain (which offices, in which order) varies by the document's country of origin and was not confirmed as one universal route for every country. This guide does not describe a single attestation chain that applies everywhere — confirm the chain specific to your document's issuing country with the relevant Saudi embassy/consulate or a licensed professional.

9️⃣ Application / Appointment Stages

Some sources describe an appointment or in-person office stage as part of the process; whether this applies to your case, and how it is booked, is shown by the official portal rather than assumed here. We do not provide exact menu navigation for any platform, since interfaces change over time — use the platform's own current navigation and help text.

🔟 Visa Issuance and Country-of-Origin Processing

After a sponsorship request is processed, some sources describe a confirmation document (sometimes called a "yellow slip") being issued, which the family member's home country then uses at the relevant Saudi embassy/consulate or an authorized visa-stamping service to get the visa stamped on their passport. We could not confirm this document is issued in every case, location, or form — check what your own case actually produces rather than assuming this description applies.

1️⃣1️⃣ Arrival — Insurance, Medical, and Biometrics

After arrival, dependents are commonly reported to need health insurance and to complete biometric enrollment (and, in some cases, a medical check) before a dependent Iqama is issued. Reported prices for insurance and medical checks vary considerably by source, provider, and coverage level — this guide does not state a fixed price for any of these. Record the figures your own official process shows in the cost worksheet below.

1️⃣2️⃣ Dependant Iqama Issuance

Following arrival and biometric processing, a dependent Iqama is issued through Jawazat. Reported card-issuance fees vary by source — this guide does not restate a fixed figure. Record the amount your own case shows in the worksheet below.

1️⃣3️⃣ Ongoing Dependant Levy

A separate, ongoing government charge applies to dependents in many cases. We do not restate a levy amount or a free-period claim on this page — that figure has been separately researched and verified on our dependent levy page. Use that page for the current estimate.

1️⃣4️⃣ Status Checking and Corrections

Check your sponsorship request's status directly through the official platform confirmed for your case (my.gov.sa or Absher), rather than assuming a fixed number of days for it to appear. If a confirmation document you receive contains an error, report it through the official channel that issued it as soon as you notice — this guide cannot correct or verify your documents for you.

🔁 In-Country Status Conversion

🧾 Cost Worksheet (Your Own Figures — No Official Total)

✅ Optional Preparation Checklist

🚫 What This Guide Cannot Determine

• It cannot check my.gov.sa, Absher, Istiqdam, Jawazat, or any government system, and cannot confirm your actual eligibility.
• It cannot guarantee approval, an exact fee, insurance price, processing time, or that any specific document will be accepted.
• It cannot confirm whether your specific occupation, salary, or relationship meets current requirements.
• It cannot confirm whether in-country conversion is available for your situation, or under what conditions.
• It cannot determine the exact attestation chain for your document's country of origin.
• It never asks for or stores an Iqama number, passport number, names, birth dates, employer number, login details, or document uploads.

📐 Scenarios

🔒 Privacy

This guide, its optional checklist, and its cost worksheet never ask for an Iqama number, passport number, names, birth dates, employer number, login details, or document uploads. Any answers or figures you enter are processed only in your browser and are not stored in localStorage or sent to any server.

📥 Unofficial Preparation Checklist (PDF)

Generates a PDF version of the same preparation items and worksheet categories shown on this page — labeled clearly as an unofficial preparation checklist. It includes no fixed fee, no promised processing time, and no country-specific attestation route.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

📖 Official Sources and Source-Confidence Table

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