Saudi Residents Report Booze Ban Eased For Select Foreigners

Diplomats and premium visa-holders in Saudi Arabia told AFP that the conservative kingdom has quietly eased restrictions on purchasing alcohol for select foreign residents.

While the government has not made any statements regarding the sale of alcohol in recent days, the sources said non-Muslim individuals with so-called premium resident status are now able to buy booze at the country's sole liquor store in Riyadh, which was previously reserved for diplomats.

AFP spoke with four people who said the rules had changed, including two diplomatic sources and a couple of residents with premium visa status.

"I heard about it from friends who tried it. I went there two days ago and it actually worked," one premium visa-holder told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"It saved me a lot of money rather than buying from the black market. Prices are reasonable and we finally can buy alcohol."

AFP reached out to Saudi authorities for comment on the reports, but they did not respond by the time the story was published.

Started in 2019, premium resident status in Saudi Arabia is available to a select group of foreigners who meet a variety of requirements, including making a one-time payment of 800,000 riyals ($213,000).

The visa allows people to live, work and invest freely in Saudi Arabia without a local "sponsor" -- a kind of guarantor required for other non-nationals to live in the kingdom.

A premium residency-holder told AFP that he went to the liquor store and saw a man with the same status purchase alcohol before buying bottles himself.

"It actually worked for me, it's so easy," he said.

- 'Walking out with 30 bottles' -

A Western diplomat told AFP that acquaintances of his with premium residency had managed to buy alcohol in the past few days.

"Expats WhatsApp groups are being flooded with the news," he added.

A diplomat told AFP that "the (liquor) store was packed" on Saturday, when she saw "people walking out with 30 bottles".

The apparent loosening of the liquor regulations comes nearly two years after the kingdom opened its first and only liquor store in January 2024 in the capital's diplomatic quarter, catering exclusively to non-Muslim foreign envoys.

There was no official announcement at the time, with two sources confirming the reports to AFP at the time.

Since the rise to power of Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom has undergone steady changes in accordance with its plan to diversify the economy and attract tourists and international business.

Women are now allowed to drive, foreign tourists are being welcomed and cinemas have reopened.

Booze, however, remained a sticking point in the kingdom -- the birthplace of Islam and home to two of its holiest cities.

Alcohol has been banned in Saudi Arabia since 1952, shortly after the son of then-King Abdulaziz got drunk and, in a rage, shot dead a British diplomat.

The ban on alcohol is still in place, a measure not uncommon in Muslim countries, where alcohol use is often restricted.
-AFP