Studying in Saudi Arabia

What a year costs

For most international students at public universities, the question is the scholarship, not the fee. The Ministry of Education describes three routes:

• Full scholarships: tuition plus the full package of benefits
• Partial scholarships: limited benefits, such as a study place or housing only
• Paid (self-funded) places

The full scholarship package at public universities includes health care for you and your family members, a financial payment on arrival, housing, annual travel tickets, and the same benefits as other students. Age limits apply: 17-25 for bachelor's degrees and Arabic teaching, up to 30 for master's, and up to 35 for doctoral degrees. You cannot hold two scholarships at once.

KAUST runs its own fellowship for master's and PhD students: full tuition and fees worth up to US$35,000 a year, a stipend of US$20,000 a year for master's and US$25,000-30,000 for PhD students, base accommodation, health insurance, and relocation support covering visa and travel costs. KAUST values the package at US$70,000-80,000 a year.

Self-funded fees are set by each university. Alfaisal University, a private university in Riyadh, publishes:

• Undergraduate: SAR 94,000 a year (SAR 47,000 a semester) for all degrees
• Preparatory programme: SAR 60,000 a year
• Master's: SAR 200,000 for the programme; PhD SAR 400,000
• Application fee: SAR 600, non-refundable; seat reservation SAR 20,000

Summer credits at Alfaisal are charged exclusive of 15% VAT, and all fees must be paid in Saudi riyals.

Living costs. The Ministry of Education and the Study in Saudi platform do not publish a student living budget, and we have not found an official figure. On a full scholarship, housing and health care are provided. If you are self-funding, ask your university for its own estimate and for the cost of on-campus housing before you accept.

The visa

The Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs launched a dedicated study visa service on 1 March 2024, run through the Study in Saudi platform. There are two types:

• Short-term visa: study, training or short programmes of up to six months, extendable for a further six months
• Long-term visa: degree study (bachelor's, master's, doctorate) or research of more than one year, valid for one year and renewable annually

Requirements for both:

• aged 16 or over, with guardian consent if under 18
• a passport valid for at least six months from the intended entry date
• an acceptance letter from an accredited Saudi institution
• financial proof or a guarantee

The long-term visa also requires a medical report confirming you are free of infectious diseases, medical insurance, and proof of language proficiency (not required for Arabic-language students).

The money. No fixed amount is published. You need financial proof or a guarantee; for scholarship students, the university's scholarship is the guarantee. If you are self-funding, ask your university exactly what evidence it will submit with your file.

The fee. The Study in Saudi platform does not publish a visa fee. Ask your university's international office or the Saudi mission handling your case. For KAUST fellows, visa costs are part of the relocation support.

Working while you study

No official rule is published. Neither the Study in Saudi platform nor the Ministry of Education's scholarship pages set out whether international students may work, for how many hours, or under what permit. Some private guides claim a general right to part-time work; we could not find an official source for that claim, so do not rely on it.

If you want to work, ask your university whether it offers approved roles on campus, such as research or teaching assistance. Get written confirmation from your university's student affairs office before accepting any paid work, and do not take work off campus on the strength of an agent's assurance.

After you graduate

There is no published post-study work or job-seeking visa. Your study visa is tied to your programme. To stay and work, you need an employer to sponsor a work visa. The route is employer sponsorship, not a graduate permit.

Language

Arabic is the language of instruction for many programmes at public universities, especially in the humanities, law, Islamic studies and education.

English is the language of instruction at KAUST, Alfaisal and in many engineering, science and medical programmes elsewhere. The long-term visa requires proof of language proficiency unless you are coming to study Arabic.

The Hamza test, developed by the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, measures Arabic proficiency from A2 to C1 on the CEFR scale across listening, reading, writing and speaking. Universities and Arabic institutes can use it to assess non-native students; check whether your programme asks for it.

When to apply

Applications run through Study in Saudi Arabia in fixed windows. The window for semester two of 2026 runs from 16 September to 6 October 2026, for international and resident students. After you submit, your application goes to the institution you chose; you cannot edit it afterwards except for contact details.

Scholarship applications at public universities can also go through the university's own website or the Saudi Cultural Attaché in your country (or the Saudi embassy where there is no attaché), and open according to each academic year's schedule. KAUST and private universities such as Alfaisal run their own admissions.

What to watch out for

Age limits on scholarships. Under the Ministry's rules the undergraduate limit is 25, and the master's and PhD limits are 30 and 35. Ask your university which date it measures your age from.

You cannot hold two scholarships at the same time. If you have more than one offer, choose deliberately.

Medical and insurance paperwork. The long-term visa requires a medical report on infectious diseases and insurance. Get the medical done early, from a clinic your university or the Saudi mission accepts.

Annual renewal. The long-term visa lasts one year at a time. Keep your enrolment, insurance and passport in order so that renewal is routine.

Unverified claims about work and fees. Many commercial guides state visa fees, living costs and part-time work rights for Saudi Arabia without citing an official source. Where this guide says no official figure exists, ask your university in writing and keep the answer.

Where these numbers come from

Rules change, sometimes at short notice. Every figure above carries the date we checked it. Check the official source before you rely on it, and note that no official figure is published for the visa fee, proof of funds, student work rights or living costs.