British expats in Saudi Arabia: what applies to your estate and your UK assets

If you have assets in Saudi Arabia, plan on the basis that Saudi inheritance law, which follows Islamic principles, will govern how your local estate is distributed, even if you're not Muslim. Your UK will can deal cleanly with your UK assets, but for your Saudi property, bank accounts and end-of-service money, sharia-based rules are likely to apply, and a foreign will only goes so far. Two practical realities make planning urgent: a Saudi bank account is usually frozen the moment the bank learns of a death, and only about a third of an estate can be freely directed by will. The sensible setup is a UK will for your UK assets, a Saudi-aware plan for your Saudi ones, and ready cash your family can reach.

Here's what that means in practice.

How inheritance works in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's legal system is based on Islamic sharia, and inheritance follows faraid, the Islamic law of fixed shares. Inheritance is treated as a matter of public order, so the courts apply these principles when distributing an estate. Under faraid, set fractions pass to specified heirs, spouses, children and parents among them, rather than being freely chosen. A surviving wife, for example, typically receives an eighth of her husband's estate where there are children, and sons generally take twice the share of daughters. This is a long way from English law, where you can broadly leave your estate to whom you choose.

You can still make a will, but its reach is limited. Under sharia, a will (a wasiyya) generally covers only up to a third of the estate, and not in favour of someone who is already a fixed heir. The remaining two-thirds follow faraid. So even with a will in place, much of a Saudi estate is distributed by the fixed-share rules.

Where non-Muslims stand, honestly

This is the genuinely uncertain part, so it's worth being straight about it. Historically, Saudi courts have tended to apply sharia to assets located in the Kingdom regardless of the deceased's religion. The Personal Status Law of 2022 codified much of this area and includes a provision that a bequest can be valid whether the beneficiary is Muslim or non-Muslim, which is a modest opening. But the overall framework is still sharia, a foreign will's recognition rests on judicial discretion, and provisions that cut across the fixed-share rules for Saudi assets are likely to be set aside.

The practical takeaway: don't assume your UK will governs your Saudi assets, and don't assume it will simply be ignored either. The position sits between those, it depends on the assets, the court and careful local drafting, which is exactly why this needs specialist advice inside Saudi Arabia rather than a guess from afar.

Your Saudi property

Saudi Arabia has opened up foreign property ownership considerably. A new law allowing non-Saudis to own real estate in designated areas took effect in January 2026, and Premium Residency (the "golden visa") carries the right to own property. Ownership in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah remains restricted to Muslims and Saudi companies, so non-Muslims cannot own property there.

Whatever the route in, the way out on death is the point that matters here. Freehold property in Saudi Arabia falls under Saudi inheritance law, so sharia principles are likely to drive how it passes, potentially overriding a foreign will. Usufruct rights and property held through a Saudi company each behave differently again. Before buying, it's worth understanding not just whether you can own, but how the asset will pass when you die.

The frozen-account problem

This is the issue most likely to hurt your family in the first weeks, and it's very practical. When a Saudi bank learns of an account holder's death, it generally freezes the accounts, including, in many cases, joint accounts. Releasing the funds usually needs a court document confirming the heirs under sharia, which takes time. A family relying on the deceased's Saudi account can suddenly find themselves without money for rent, daily costs or repatriation.

End-of-service benefits, the gratuity Saudi labour law provides, form part of the estate too and are distributed under the same rules, paid out to the legal heirs once the paperwork is in order.

The defence is liquidity planning: keep an accessible emergency fund outside Saudi Arabia, in the UK or elsewhere, that your spouse or family can reach immediately, and consider life cover with beneficiaries outside the Kingdom. This is not a substitute for a will; it's what stops a difficult time becoming a crisis.

The UK side

Saudi Arabia has no inheritance tax, so the tax question is a UK one, and the rules changed on 6 April 2025. Whether your worldwide assets fall within UK inheritance tax now turns on long-term residence: broadly, if you were UK resident for at least 10 of the last 20 tax years, your worldwide estate is in scope, with a tail of up to 10 years after leaving. Anything physically in the UK stays taxable regardless. The nil-rate band remains £325,000, with a residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000 where a home passes to direct descendants, and 40 per cent above the threshold.

The UK and Saudi Arabia have a double tax agreement, but it covers income, not inheritance tax, so there's no treaty relief on death taxes. With no Saudi death tax, that matters less in practice, but your UK exposure is real and worth planning around.

What the family actually faces

Expect two parallel processes. In Saudi Arabia, the Personal Status Courts issue a document confirming the heirs under sharia, which is what unlocks the local assets; a foreign will needs official Arabic translation and legalisation to be put before them, and even then its effect is limited. In the UK, your executors still need a grant of probate to deal with UK assets, regardless of anything happening in Saudi Arabia. Coordinating the two, and getting documents properly translated and legalised, is what keeps it manageable.

A couple of real situations

A British engineer on a Saudi contract has a UK house, UK accounts and a pension, plus a Saudi salary account and accruing end-of-service benefits. He assumes his UK will covers everything. It governs his UK assets, but his Saudi account and gratuity would be frozen and distributed under sharia, potentially leaving his wife short of ready cash and with less than he intended. He needs his UK will kept current and tax-efficient, an emergency fund outside Saudi Arabia, and local advice on a limited Saudi will for the local assets.

A family where one partner is the sole earner and all the money sits in his Saudi account is the cautionary case. If he dies, that account freezes, and the family can be left without access to funds while the estate is sorted under sharia. A jointly accessible fund outside the Kingdom and life cover payable abroad are what protect them.

Where this leaves you

For British expats in Saudi Arabia, the honest position is that your Saudi assets will largely follow Saudi inheritance law, your testamentary freedom there is limited to about a third, and your family's biggest near-term risk is frozen accounts. A UK will for your UK assets, coordinated with local advice and a Saudi will for the local side, plus accessible money outside the Kingdom, is the plan that holds up.

A clear, valid UK will is the anchor for the UK half of that. That's what Expat Legacy provides: a properly drafted UK will for British expats, in plain English, ready to sit alongside your Saudi arrangements.

Sources

• Family law in Saudi Arabia (GOV.UK)
• Law of Real Estate Ownership by Non-Saudis enters into force (Saudi Press Agency)
• Inheritance Tax if you're a long-term UK resident (GOV.UK)
• Inheritance Tax thresholds and rates (GOV.UK)
• Inheritance Tax: residence nil rate band (GOV.UK)
• Saudi Arabia: tax treaties (GOV.UK)

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. The non-Muslim position in Saudi Arabia is evolving and not always clearly documented, and your UK exposure depends on your own residence history, so it's worth getting advice tailored to you, on both sides, before you act.