Can a tenant be banned from travel over unpaid rent?

Under Article 46 of the Execution Law issued by Royal Decree M/53 dated 13/8/1433H, a tenant who neither complies nor discloses enough assets within 5 days of notification is a defaulter, and the judge immediately orders a travel ban along with other measures, including attachment of assets and notice to the credit information bureau. The implementing regulation lets the landlord ask for the ban not to be applied (paragraph 46/1), and the circuit may let a banned tenant travel against a guarantee, a guarantor who assumes the debt, or a medical report showing they need treatment abroad (paragraph 46/2).

Under Article 19 of the Execution Law issued by Royal Decree M/237 dated 3/11/1447H, the court bans the tenant from travelling abroad at the landlord’s request once the enforcement deadline passes without payment: 5 working days from notification, plus 10 more if the tenant provides a sufficient bank guarantee (Article 18). The ban lasts up to 3 years, can be extended on a new request as long as all bans together do not exceed 6 years, and ends when the execution request ends, for example when the debt is paid, the landlord closes the request under an agreement, or releases the tenant (Article 43). In an eviction, if the competent force cannot carry it out, the court orders the ban at the landlord’s request plus a daily fine of up to SAR 10,000 (Article 36).

The court lifts the ban in these cases, with the details set by the implementing regulation (Article 19):

A travel ban does not stop a deportation decision being carried out under the current law (Article 46 as amended by Royal Decree M/52 dated 22/4/1444H), nor, under the new law, does it limit the authorities’ power to end a non-Saudi’s residency, order them to leave or deport them (Article 19).

If the dispute is heard as a lawsuit rather than an execution request, the claimant may, during the case or immediately before filing it, bring an urgent claim to ban the other party from travel. The judge orders it if there are grounds to believe the defendant is likely to travel and that this would endanger or delay the claim, provided the claimant gives security set by the judge to compensate the defendant if the claim proves unfounded (Article 208 of the Law of Civil Procedure issued by Royal Decree M/1 dated 22/1/1435H).