Job Discussion Forums

[JerkyBoy]

If you are employed on a single entry work visit visa, as opposed to a multiple entry, does that mean you cannot holiday outside the Kingdom?

I am hearing a lot of negative stuff about holidays.

In fact, I am hearing a lot of negative stuff full stop.

[nomad soul]

That's correct. If your visa is single entry/exit, once you leave KSA, that's it. Khalas! You'd need a new visa to re-enter the country. However, if your visa is about to expire, your recruiting agency is responsible for getting it renewed, which may entail sending you to Bahrain for a day or two over a weekend. BTW, you're not legally employed if you're on a business visit visa. This type of visa is solely meant for individuals going to KSA for business purposes and not for employment.

[JerkyBoy]

So until I get an iqama, I won't be holidaying anywhere.

Do they even do holidays? My contract says 30 days but people are telling me in that in practice you get nothing. WTF??

[nomad soul]

You may have one or two-week breaks off in between school terms but leaving the country would mean exiting for good if your visa is single entry/exit. And unfortunately, you're not eligible for an iqama; a work or business visit visa cannot be transfered or changed into a work permit/iqama. As for the yearly, paid 30-day holiday per your contract, I'd guess it depends on how reputable your recruiting agency is---"reputable" being the operative word.

[JerkyBoy]

[nomad soul]

[ultraman111]

[johnslat]

Gotta love the way recruiters/contractors have relabeled a business visa as a "work vist" visa, though.

If you don't think about it too much, you probably don't even see it's an oxymoron.

Regards,
John

[JerkyBoy]

[strangerthanparadise]

a temporary work visa allows you to work and comes with a multiple exit/re-entry visa which means you're off to the border every 30 days, exit ksa and re-enter...

[JerkyBoy]

[nomad soul]

A temporary work visa is just that---temporary. The time period indicated for this type of visa must coincide with the begin and end dates shown on the contract, specifically referred to as a temporary work contract. This differs from the usual contracts most teachers are presented with, which last a year and beyond and typically, don't show an end date. Depending on the contract dates, a temp work visa can be valid for up to 6 months; however, it can't be extended nor changed into a work permit/iqama. Once it expires, khalas! (That means done, finished, enough, stop it! You're likely to hear khalas quite often and will eventually use it yourself.)

[JerkyBoy]

What I want to know is can I leave the country for a weekend away within the term of the "work visit" visa by obtaining an exit visa, as the recruiter has asserted?

I have a feeling I'll be in need of short breaks before too long.

[JerkyBoy]

Or can I just work illegally for 3 months, head to the airport after night fall and fly to Thailand, before returning triumphally with a new "legit" job on account of the conspicuous WASTA of my new employer, shortly thereafter?

[ultraman111]