Opening a School in Saudi Arabia? The MISA Licence is Only the Beginning.

Every week, I speak with UK and international school founders who want to expand into Saudi Arabia. And almost every time, the conversation starts the same way.

"We've looked into the MISA registration."

Good. That's the right first step. But here's what catches people off guard: the MISA registration gets you through the front door. It does absolutely nothing for the room you actually need to be in.

If you're opening a school, the Ministry of Education is the authority that grants your operational licence. And that process is entirely separate, with its own requirements, its own timelines, and its own rules that most market entry guides completely skip.

What the Investment Registration Actually Gives You

Saudi Arabia overhauled its investment framework over the past year. The old system of applying for separate MISA licences based on activity type has been replaced by a single Investment Registration Certificate (IRC). One document. Multiple business activities consolidated under one roof. Processing takes five to ten business days. From there, you proceed to Commercial Registration, then tax, social insurance, and Chamber of Commerce registrations.

For most businesses, that sequence is the whole story.

For schools, it's the prologue.

What a School Actually Needs

Once your entity is registered and you hold your Commercial Registration, you still cannot open a school. You need a separate operational licence from the Ministry of Education (MoE), and this is where most international operators hit a wall.

The MoE has its own classification system. You must submit a detailed proposal covering your curriculum, staffing model, facility plans, and academic governance. International curricula (British IGCSE/A-Levels, IB, American) are accepted, but Arabic, Islamic Studies, and Social Studies remain compulsory for Saudi students.

Your school principal must hold a university degree recognised by the MoE, minimum three years teaching experience, and at least 12 hours of professional development in educational leadership.

Tuition fees must be registered and approved through the MoE's dedicated portal. Schools cannot set their own pricing without ministry oversight.

Saudisation quotas apply. Approximately 30% Saudi national teachers are required depending on school type, size, and region. For national curriculum schools, Arabic, Islamic Studies, and Social Studies teachers face a 50% Saudisation requirement.

And then there's the building itself.

The December 2025 Infrastructure Standards

The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing issued new municipal requirements for private educational facilities at the end of 2025. These apply to every school, nursery, and educational complex in the Kingdom.

Your building must sit on two streets, with at least one measuring 25 metres wide. Floor limits follow the national building code. Nurseries get a slight exemption: a single street of 15 metres width in a standalone building.

Here's the significant development for international schools: for the first time, on-campus residential facilities are permitted within licensed private school campuses, provided they are separate from academic buildings. For UK boarding schools looking at Saudi Arabia, this changes the feasibility equation entirely.

The Multi-Ministry Reality

Here is the full sequence for a UK school entering Saudi Arabia:

Register with MISA and obtain your IRC. Secure Commercial Registration. Complete tax, social insurance, and Chamber of Commerce registrations. Apply to the Ministry of Education for your school operational licence. Obtain municipal approval under the new infrastructure standards. Pass Civil Defence safety and fire inspections. If applicable, secure TVTC approval for any vocational training component.

That is a minimum of four government authorities beyond MISA. Each with its own documentation, review timeline, and compliance standards.

Why This Matters

The streamlined IRC process is genuinely impressive. Saudi Arabia has made it faster and simpler for foreign companies to establish an entity in the Kingdom.

But for education providers, the operational licensing layer is where the real complexity lives. The school founders who struggle treat MISA registration as the finish line. They incorporate, celebrate, and then discover the Ministry of Education process requires a level of preparation and relationship they had completely underestimated.

The ones who succeed arrive with their curriculum already mapped against MoE requirements, their principal's credentials pre-authenticated, and compliant real estate identified before submitting their MoE application. And they have someone in the room who already holds relationships at the Ministry of Education, because a cold application without prior engagement sits in a queue.

Saudi Arabia wants quality international schools. The demand has never been higher. The regulatory pathway is there. But understanding the full picture before you commit is the difference between a smooth entry and a very expensive lesson.

R Consultancy Group is here to support international schools entering the Kingdom. We coordinate the full licensing pathway from MISA registration through MoE approval and government engagement. Contact us at rconsultancy.co.uk.