Job Discussion Forums

[TTwinTTurbo]

After accepting a position to teach in Saudi Arabia, I began the process of acquiring an initial employment visa that will later lead to an Iqama. I wanted to write this because I felt that there wasn't enough information on the net to feel comfortable taking on the visa process alone. By no means is the depiction of my visa process all-inclusive but it will at least serve to help those in need of some tips. I decided NOT to use a visa agent which proved to be much more stressful but also more rewarding in the end. I wanted to describe the steps that I took so that future teachers who want to get the visa themselves can do it in an effective manner. The visa process is long, drawn-out, confusing, stressful and at times can be overwhelming. It took me 1 month and 3 weeks to have the visa in my passport and in my hand. This is fairly quick and I was busy almost everyday with something.

The first thing that I did was visit the Saudi Embassy website. http://www.saudiembassy.net/services/Employment-visa.aspx This lists most of the requirements but is definitely not up-to-date and is missing a few things. The visa process apparently changes all the time so when you read this, it might not be current (depending on the date you read it). It's always good to contact a visa agency if you have questions. I should add that I have US citizenship. Country of residency affects the requirements etc.

Make sure you have a valid passport with two blank pages adjacent to each other. Get formal passport pictures (8-16) of them. Not all of them will be used for the visa process but it's good to have them. I filled out my application form last. Do not purchase a plane ticket before you get your visa. This is one error that I made. It did not cause any delays for me because I took every precaution possible and was very detail-oriented and pro-active throughout the whole battle (I mean process). You can put a tentative flight in that section. One box on the online form was linked to another box, so I filled out as much as I could and printed it out.

You need your company to send you a contract that you will sign and also initial each page. Send this back and the company will will sign it and send it back to you. They should also send you a copy of the visa that they have. It basically states in Arabic the number of teachers that they are authorized to provide a visa to. Along with this document they should also send you a letter of sponsorship with two stamps. One stamp should be from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the other is from the Saudi Chamber of Commerce. There should be various information on it that is listed under bullet number 6 on the website. My sponsor sent me a copy of his ID as well. I am not sure if this is required but in my experience, the more the better. The contract, employer visa and sponsor letter were e-mailed to me.

A certified and notarized copy of your university degree. I should note that my degree is unrelated to English and I was still provided a visa. I also did not submit a TESOL/TEFL certificate because I felt it wasn't necessary. I was also very confused because it states that, "professional certificates" need to be authenticated by the department of state. This is a VERY lengthy process and definitely is unnecessary. I chose not to send it in. It was a risk, but it didn't matter in the end. I have heard of teachers sending in their TEFL's unauthenticated and not having any problems. The process of getting your degree authenticated is like a miniature version of the entire visa process as a whole. It can be stressful as well, but I had a contact at the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission who was VERY good to me.

You will follow this link for the details of the authentication of degree process. I won't describe every step of this document but will describe the ones I felt slightly ambiguous. http://www.sacm.org/pdf/Applicationauthentication.pdf The SACM knew of my university. You will have to get your university to give you a letter stating the number of online classes taken, location of school, etc. SACM had an agreement with my university, so all I had to do was give my university permission to release my records to them. I did this by faxing my school a permission letter. You will send all the requested documents to SACM and they will send you back a stamped copy of your degree. The number inside of this stamp is important for the document ratification fee that is located on the ENJAZ website. Exclude any letters from this number when entering it. I will discuss this later. After you get your degree back you can move on to the next step. SACM is fairy fast by the way.

I was trying to do as many of these steps as possible at one time which I felt sped up the entire process. I already mentioned the signed copy of the employment contract (by employee and employer) but I am trying to go down the list from number one to the end.

The medical was intense for me. My doctor decided to leave the state 2 days before signing my documents which caused increased stress for me as I waited so long for all the blood work to be done. Also, it is necessary to get the original doctor to COMPLETELY fill out 3 separate medical forms in black pen. You will also need 2 copies of each of the labs. I used a private company to do my testing which turned out to be a nightmare for me, but it all worked out in the end. It cost me 500 dollars to get everything done. Make sure you get e-mail quotes as proof. If they try to raise the price on anything, you can ask them if it is necessary to seek legal advice. Bring the quote in as proof. They usually will try to jack up the prices, especially on the Malaria, Stool and TB tests. I should mention that I did NOT get any stool tests, malaria film or bilharziasis testing done. My doctor felt it was unnecessary.

I took a risk by doing this, but it didn't turn out to negatively impact my visa. My white blood cell count was .1 out of range so the doctor wrote a letter stating that it was still normal and I was fit to work. Each clinic will use a different range and the fact that I was fasting that day (for the blood test) and had lots of coffee probably had something to do with my blood count being strange. Just make sure that if anything on the labs is off or out of range that you get a signed, typed note from the doctor. You will need to make sure that the doctor signs all 3 of these forms and puts his medical licence number. You will also need to make sure that the company or hospital puts a stamp on the document that states its name, address and phone number. The last thing I did was take all of that to the state department of health and have them put an embroidered seal on it (after they authenticated that the doctor was in fact a licensed, practicing doctor with no legal issues).

The doctor was unable to give me a physical copy of my chest x-ray but was able to give me a disk with the files on it. I also have paper copies of it. Normally, they will give you plastic copies. I am not 100% sure if the state seal is completely necessary as a friend of mine got through without it. I think the embassy is mostly looking for the stamp from the company doing your medical tests. I did it anyways because I didn't want any hold ups. The lady that did it was very nice and came on very short notice (same-day).

The Enjaz website was a little confusing. I logged on and filled out the individual application and selected single-entry. I had to have my sponsor letter translated by a friend from Yemen to get the sponsor details such as the address, phone number, name, etc. There is mention of an eight dollar fee on the embassy site. This is unnecessary. You will fill out the application and pay 3 seperate fees. One is $16 (visa fees). One is $14 (bank and website fees). You will also need to pay a "document ratification" fee that is $10.75. This is where the number on your degree comes in. It confused me in the beginning but eventually I figured it out. No where on the website does it mention this. Do the Enjaz stuff towards the end of the visa process.


Also, the picture that you upload on that website has to be between 3kb and 18kb. I managed to get a picture to fit those narrow guidelines but regret not trying harder to get a higher quality one uploaded because this picture goes on your actual visa. This picture will be inside of your passport on the visa. I'm not good with making pictures that size but managed to figure it out. That is a very small picture size, though. Make sure you print receipts of all of those payments as you go along. They are required by the embassy. Also, make sure you print off the application form that has your picture on it.

I want to add that I sent in a copy of my resume that highlighted all of my experience. I feel this is very important for the embassy. I sent my resume in along with 2 recommendation letters from 2 previous schools. This also is very important and I recommend doing that. I have 2 years of experience at international, private and government schools (overseas) as well as at a 5-star resort and an IT company. I was working more than full-time during these two years. I asked my sponsor to send me an English and Arabic letter stating my credentials, experience etc. with a seal and signature as well. I forgot to add that pictures need to be attached to the medical forms and application fee. I sent a couple extras which they went ahead and stapled into my passport on the 2nd or 3rd page.

I purchased my plane ticket the day I sent in all of my documents which I DON'T recommend. I thought that this was necessary as it asks for a flight number on the application but it is not necessary and is actually not recommended. You can put "pending" or a tentative flight number (look one up and right it on there). You can check your visa status after you send everything away on the ENJAZIT website. Also, make sure you get tracking numbers and use at least priority mail. The faster it gets there and back the better.

I now have a visa and overall am pretty happy to finally be done with the process. A lot of things that you read on the internet are inaccurate or plain wrong. Some websites listed the minimum age as 28 which isn't true. The minimum age is 22 as per visa rules. It's good to be done with the visa. It is a huge weight off my shoulders and I hope that this helps someone in the future. Visa regulations change all of the time. Each staff member might have different requirements as well. I tried calling the embassy at least 30 times with no success. If anybody wants to chime in with any other information, please do. Also, I didn't list everything so please contact a visa agent if you have any questions. By no means am I a visa genius but hopefully one tip will help someone. Have a nice day.

[lcanupp1964]

Hi OP,

I wanted to thank you for this helpful post. I would like to please add that there are some steps that may, or not may be needed, or would be N/A if you are a direct-hire for one of the main government universities in KSA. For example, one would not need to have a signed contract from your “company” to be sent to the U.S. Embassy. I would image this step (as suggested in your post) would take a couple of weeks at best to complete. I'm glad I didn’t have to go through that step when I applied to KAU.

Once a person agrees to the terms of the offer letter via email, the hiring university will send a visa number to the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM). The mission, will help monitor your visa application process. Your visa application is first sent to the mission because they make sure everything is filled out and submitted correctly. If so, they will send it to the embassy for the visa stamp. Again, this phase of the overall visa application process is for direct hires that will be teaching at the major government universities.

[veiledsentiments]

Seriously... when I read that, I wonder why anyone would even bother to apply to Saudi. I worked in 3 other Gulf countries, 4 contracts... and didn't have to do 10% of that effort - total. Granted I was living in the DC area, so I could walk my papers through the authentication process, but each time it only took 2 half days... and BTW the State Department completed their part overnight - both times. (drop off in the afternoon, pick up the next morning)

The problem with the Saudi process is that they change the rules so often within each individual embassy/consulate, that it becomes impossible to know before you do it how it will go.

VS

[johnslat]

On the plus side, it really is an excellent "dress rehearsal" for what you'll be experiencing when you actually get there.

So, if the process strains your patience and has you gnashing your teeth in frustration, maybe a little warning light should go on in your head.

Regards,
John

[TTwinTTurbo]

Yes, very true.

[TTwinTTurbo]

I should mention that "no symptoms" was listed by my doctor inside of the stool, malaria and bilharziasis boxes. It was also listed inside of the pregnancy box. (Male). If anybody is actively engaging in the visa process and has a similar background, geographical location and situation, feel free to PM me. [/quote]

[RowanPike1]

This was an excellent post. I have one question, though: How far in advance should one begin the process of applying? I graduate in May and I am tempted to begin the process.

Also, would a letter of matriculation suffice? I won't get my actual diploma till August or so and hope I don't have to wait till then to even start applying.

[nomad soul]

[RowanPike1]

They want the transcript, too? Do they check your GPA?(!)

[nomad soul]

Scroll back up to the original post; it includes a link to a pdf document outlining what the SACM requires and the process for authenticating degrees (for US citizens).

[scot47]

Requirements vary depending on what Embassy you have to use. No one should expect the entry to Shangri-La to be simple. It is a character test. Those who fail cannot enter the Kingdom of Humanity.

[ttxor1]

[TTwinTTurbo]

I was a direct hire. I had the same exact problems. I had to call my credit card company and get everything authorized. It was nuts. I can't remember exactly what I did now but good luck.

[nomad soul]

[ttxor1]

thanks TTwinTTurbo and Nomad Soul!