Life in Saudi Arabia - Vision 2030

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So I have been living in Saudi Arabia since October 2016.

After spending almost an year I've seen drastic changes being made in policies due to economic turmoil currently being faced by Saudi Arabia due to various factors, including:

1) Decline in international oil prices: and
2) Engaging itself in various conflicts including war in Yemen

In order to overcome these economic challenges the Kingdom has come up with a "#Vision 2030".
This vision 2030 with all its good qualities comes with certain shortcomings.

Apparently, the major burden of this vision 2030 falls upon the expatriates coming from abroad.
It began with imposition of dependent fees starting from 100 Saudi Riyal which is proposed to gradually increase each year by further 100 Saudi Riyal per dependent.

Afterwards, we saw restrictions on employment of expatriates on certain sectors which was specifically and rightfully reserved for the Saudi nationals.

However, the drawback of these sudden changes was that a number of expatriates began to leave the kingdom which in return resulted in vacant hotels and fall in the rental income previously being earned through those expatriates.

I have personally witnessed an extreme fall in the rentals around my neighborhood and also through expatriates who shared their experiences through Internet in different cities.

Furthermore, The Kingdom is planning to introduce VAT that is value added taxation which in my personal opinion is a very good decision.

It might have an impact on the prices of consumable goods but will definitely increase the the reserves of the Kingdom and will reduce the expenses on luxury items.

The Kingdom also plan to give nationality to foreign individuals on payment of certain amount of fees annually or one time fees which may also be progressive by the passage of time and for me it's another good and constructive decision made.

Another, wise and timely decision currently being taken is that to promote the tourism in the kingdom and the introduction of driving licence for women.


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