Is court permission needed for polygyny in Saudi Arabia?

No. Saudi law does not require court permission and does not require the existing wife's consent to marry again, with a limit of four wives. The Personal Status Law 2022 (Royal Decree M/73, based on Hanbali fiqh) requires every akad, including a second marriage, to be registered like an ordinary akad (Article 8); the official text of the law contains no special polygyny procedure other than the duty of fairness (Article 42); the forms in the Najiz system have not been checked (check with the authorities of the country concerned). The husband must be just in the rotation and maintenance, but that justice is not examined before marriage; the wife can only claim it by complaining to the court. The wife's main protections are conditions in the akad and judicial dissolution (fasakh) for harm. However, for a Malaysian man, marrying again in Saudi Arabia without the permission of the Syariah Court is still an offence in Malaysia. See Saudi Arabia.