Job Discussion Forums

[pearl_1212]

Has anyone experienced a denial from the embassy in Ottawa? They had me waiting for 90 days for my visa along with all other Canadian teacher applicants and we were all denied. Apparently the reason is that ALL Canadian teachers must posses a background in English or Linguistics.

I'm wondering if employers have sent teachers to other countries to obtain visa? Such as the past few months....

[lcanupp1964]

To be a little off-topic...

I don�t think Canadian citizens are being discriminated against in this regard, though I am aware of the tiff that KSA and the Canadian government are currently involved in over visa processing times.

I have seen this way of thinking (being more selective with basic requirements) coming for the past few years. I believe that Japan went through a similar cycle. In the mid 80�s, Japan was THE place to go to teach ESL. If you were a native speaker of English, you could get a job and make a lot of money. Many were hired. When I worked there (in the JET program back in 1991), a native speaker of English could move to Tokyo and do nothing, but have �English conversation� at a coffee shop with a Japanese student and charge 100 USD an hour. I always had my coffee paied for to boot! As the market became more saturated, the basic requirements were raised. After that, pay was slowly lowered in keeping with supply and demand. Now, Japan is no longer the best place to work in terms of pay and it's much harder to get a great gig there teaching ESL.

For the past few years, the Middle East has become "the new Japan" and it offers some of the highest paying ESL teaching positions in the world. I�m too not surprised that applicants with university degrees in �Agriculture and Environmental Sciences� with no experience in teaching would be turned down at the embassy. I am suppried that some Canadian teachers were stopped at the embassy-stage of visa processing for not having a degree in English. Maybe there are other reasons?

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[Deeman15]

I spoke about this a while back. This rule has been in effect since early this summer, and it is indeed true. People here didn't believe it and speculated that it must have been the university or the recruiter or this or that. Its not, its the embassy.

The only puzzling thing is that it seems to be only Canadians that have been stuck with it. People with a bachelor of Arts or Sciences or Medieval Cobblestone Architecture have been awarded employment visas everywhere else. It has to be a political issue.

[pearl_1212]

Yep, I am sure it is a political issue and its for Canadians ONLY. Teachers with the same qualifications from the US, UK, Australia so forth have gotten their visas. It seems there is an issue with the Canadians and Saudis. Making it a diplomatic battle between the 2 countries.

Apparently, there is a loop where employers are sending visas to other countries. Has anyone heard of this?

[wantok]

A simple search tells what started it all.

Published: Wednesday, 11/30/2011 12:00 am EST
Saudi Arabia is deliberately prolonging the processing of Canadian visas in a retaliatory move to protest what it says are too-slow processing times of Saudi visas to Canada...

http://www.embassymag.ca/news/2011/11/30/saudi-arabia-slows-canadian-visa-processing/41029?absolute=1

As of September 1st, Canadians must wait 30-45 days for a Saudi visa, reports Embassy magazine. This is the �same amount of time it takes Saudi citizens to obtain a visa from the Canadian embassy in Riyadh�, according to a Saudi embassy spokesperson.
The head of the consular section of Saudi Arabia�s Ottawa embassy told the magazine that the move sent a �clear and strong message� that Canada�s current waiting times were unacceptable...

http://thepienews.com/news/saudis-protest-at-canadian-visa-delays/

...�The Canadian government�s lack of response was not satisfactory,� said the head of the consular section of Saudi Arabia�s Ottawa embassy in an email to Embassy.�The Kingdom�s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to apply the principle of reciprocity in order to send a clear and strong message to our friends in Canada that the current situation is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue, hoping that they will understand and value the relationship the two countries share.�
The Saudi decision, which went into effect Sept. 1, means processing of Canadian visa requests takes between 30 and 45 days. A message alerting Canadians to the change appears on the Saudi embassy website.
�[T]he waiting period for issuing a visa to Canadian citizens wishing to enter the Kingdom has been prolonged to meet the same amount of time it takes Saudi citizens to obtain a visa from the Canadian embassy in Riyadh,� wrote the spokesperson, who did not give their name.
There are no other changes to the usual visa requirements for Canadians, which are already quite tight. Whatever a Canadian�s reason for going to Saudi Arabia, they must get a visa. Visas must be sponsored by a Saudi citizen, company or organization. Upon arrival, the Canadian must surrender their passport to their Saudi sponsor and receive a residency card [iqama], according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade website.
But the added delay is already having an impact on some Canadians, said one director of a company that helps facilitate the visa process, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to speak candidly about the situation.
�The Saudis were very blunt; they said this is retaliation,� said the director. �We used to be able to get visas same day�walk in at 10, pick it up at 2, at the Saudi Embassy.�
Now, the company says approved Saudi visas are being received weeks after drop-off, whose date stamps show they were processed in the same week the applicant submitted their documents.
�We have personally seen a drop to just about as low as it can get in Canadians seeking Saudi visas. It was never a rush, but it�s now down to almost nothing,� said the director...

http://www.cireport.ca/2011/11/8982.html


I wonder whether some Saudi students get rejected for a Canadian visa because their travel history shows contact with nations of dubious political quality in the ME.

It'll take yonks for the camel and the moose to straighten this out to mutual satisfaction.

Were I Canadian, I'd simply say Forget this political bs and apply elsewhere.

A job in the Kingdom, and all hassles therein, might be worth it to some devout who prefer the proximity to Mekkah. Otherwise, there are many many superior options in the Middle East.

[rdobbs98]

Sort of the pot calling the kettle black isn't it. The Saudis complain when even in the U.S. it is a nightmare trying to get someone on the phone or email to process your visa. Laughable at best.

[johnslat]

Dear rdobbs98,

"The Saudis complain when even in the U.S. it is a nightmare trying to get someone on the phone or email to process your visa. Laughable at best."

I'm a little confused - who's "in the US?" The Saudis? Can't be. The embassy in Riyadh (or the consulates) in the Kingdom handle visas for Saudis.

Or do you mean Americans? But they'd be dealing with the Saudi embassy in the US.

Regards,
John

[wantok]

Previous consternation expressed:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?p=987562

Oi! Here's a photo of what those illegal 3-month business visit visas look like (with one commandment in English)!

If you've been following my blog, you already know what "day 42" means--my 45 day visa wait (according to the Saudi embassy in Ottawa's time frame) is about to come to a close, inshallah (god willing). I am so incredibly anxious and excited. Anxious that everything will go through and there are no issues with my application, and excited that, any day now, I could be jumping on the next flight to Jeddah!...

http://pinkjeddahsunset.blogspot.ca/2011/11/day-42-why-we-wait.html

[pearl_1212]

Just when we thought things wouldn't get any worse...that is waiting the 30=45 days. NOW Canadian teachers do not have the same treatment as other western teachers. Over 100 teachers were recently denied employment and visit visas under the notion that they were not qualified. Whats even more disturbing is that the wait for a denial was ..90 DAYS!

[wantok]

Likely those applying for visit visas were justifiably denied for reasons other than being academically unqualified.

[Jessiemiles]

[rdobbs98]

Mine took 3 months, mainly because SACM and embassy are lazy. They barely work a full day, Friday they work about 3 hours out of 8, and take off 2 hours each day for noon prayers. I am Muslim and take 10 minutes to pray. The contact for me told me my paperwork sat for a month at the embassy and didn't move until I called and screamed at the person handling it.

Saudis are the most pathetic, lazy, and uncooperative people. They have no work ethic, no care for legal contracts, and consider anyone who isn't Saudi to be less than human. I am Muslim and have no use for these people.

[Jessiemiles]

[readytotravel]

[scot47]

If you believe this :-

"Saudis are the most pathetic, lazy, and uncooperative people. They have no work ethic, no care for legal contracts, and consider anyone who isn't Saudi to be less than human. I am Muslim and have no use for these people."

you might find it difficult to teach them ! My guess is that rdobbs will not last long in KSA.