Job Discussion Forums

[Sweaty Ted]

Is Saudi the hardest country to get a visa for? It seems like an endless paper chase. Are all the countries in the region like this?

KSA visa:
1. Urine, stool, blood tests, chest x-rays, exhaustive physical and the results must be handwritten in triplicate form. Also, the form has to be signed by someone else who can verify that your doctor really is a doctor.

2. Letter from the police proving you have no criminal record.

3. Your diplomas and transcripts notarized. Also, a letter from your university registrar confirming you went there; in addition, you have to have your degree verified by an on-line site.

4. Five passport photos.

Many other things too numerous to list here.

[johnslat]

Dear Sweaty Ted,

You know how, in the movie theaters, you get a Preview of Coming Attractions before the main film?

You are now part of the Preview. The main film is much longer and much more convoluted.

Regards,
John

[nomad soul]

[johnslat]

Dear nomad soul,

But only because they've never had to apply for a Saudi visa .

Regards,
John

[lcanupp1964]

My doctor looked up one of the many lab tests that are listed on the medical form that you print out from the KSA (American) Embassy website. He never heard of the test and had to look it up in one of his text books from medical school. He closed the book and asked me if I ever worked as a farmer in swamp areas located in parts of West Africa. I told him that I did not. We did the test anyway.

Now, turn your head and cough.

[veiledsentiments]

The reality is that most people skip many of the tests on the list... bilharzia/schistosomiasis being the one in question here. (if you ever go swimming in the rural canals of Egypt, you will get it... most farmers there do) I have a sneaking suspicion that no one ever even glances at these medical reports. All that it needs is a pretty stamp and some doctor's signature with lots of paper bits that look like medical reports. The TB and HIV seems to be the key... make sure that you don't have either. Other than that I'd just do a basic physical.

VS

[scot47]

One of my experiencers was getting a Saudi visa in Turkey. I was presented by the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul with a list of 12 requirements, in the Turkish language, a tongue with which I have limited ability.

I managed to decipher the first 11 with some common sense and a Turkish dictionary. Number 12 baffled me so I had to find a Turkophone to explain it.

Translation

"Item 12. The preceding 11 documents must under no circumstanmces be fixed together with a staple or staples !"

[veiledsentiments]