Job Discussion Forums

[jumpingmonkey]

Hi everyone, I need your input on a job offer.

I got an email offer of a job from KAU ELI. I emailed them back accepting the offer and they said that they would process the visa request letter within 3 weeks. It's been over 3 weeks now and I still have not received the visa request letter. They say they are still processing it and it will take a few more weeks.

I guess I have enough time to get my visa in time for the beginning of the Academic year in August/Sept. But I'd rather attend to visa processing now rather than later.

But what IS making me nervous is the following disclaimer in their email offer which said:

*Please be advised that this preliminary job offer is binding ONLY upon receipt of visa request letter.

Should I be nervous? Or should I just wait patiently till I receive the visa request letter?

Any/all advice would be greatly appreciated.

[lcanupp1964]

Don't be nervous and wait patiently. They need about 75 more teachers for the September start. You need to be very Zen when it comes to KSA and how they do things.

It takes about 30 minutes to type up the letter/form, email you and the embassy/SACM a copy. This would be the visa request (with the visa block number) form along with your offer letter. There is a chance that they had to go back and ask the higher-ups for more visa block numbers. This year, the ELI at KAU had a limit placed on them regarding the number of visas they could request per school year. That might be the reason it is taking longer.

[nomad soul]

You have to be patient, Jumpingmonkey.

Plus, be aware this is a busy time of the year for employers since just about every Saudi university, language school, contracting company, etc. is requesting approval of visa letters at their end from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It also makes sense for employers to try to process their potential new employees all at the same time and not one by one.

You can get the employment visa process rolling at your end by requesting your criminal background report as well as contacting your university for the documentation required by the SACM for degree authentication. Your lab test results and medical exam are valid for only 3 months, so you may want to wait until next month to have that done.

[jumpingmonkey]

Thanks Icanupp and Nomad Soul. I guess I have no choice but to be patient

Both your explanations makes sense. I just wish the folks at ELI would give me an explanation....any explanation..... for why it would take 6 weeks to issue a letter. All I've gotten so far is "we are still processing it".

I need to find my innner zen to be better able to deal with mysterious/unexplained bureaucratic delays on routine paperwork. It's not easy knowing if somebody just completely forgot about your existence or if your paperwork is slowly grinding its way through the mill.

[rollingk]

It's unlikely you've been forgotten if they need you, as they seem to. Contracts and offer letters have all manner of odd clauses added for sometimes forgotten reasons. Also, any clause in the offer letter wouldn't really make a difference as your real contract usually begins only when you arrive. If there's any such thing as a binding contract in KSA, and there's not really, it would be this one.

Some outfits do send out copious offer letters, with many applicants never hearing back from the prospective employer again. However, seeing as they've responded to your query about the delay it's unlikely they're stringing you along. Patience and then some is crucial here as organization and efficiency are both in short supply. Good luck.

[scot47]

String comes in varying lengths. This is the Nature of Things. So too with the time required for any procedure. You cannot influence the outcome.

Good training for this is to participate in gambling on horse races. It will prepare you for the unpredictable outcomes that plague us all - in KSA and elsehwhere.,

[jumpingmonkey]

rollingk wrote:

"Some outfits do send out copious offer letters, with many applicants never hearing back from the prospective employer again."

Yikes! You put your finger there on a nameless fear I was harboring.

"However, seeing as they've responded to your query about the delay it's unlikely they're stringing you along."

Thanks. That is comforting. They have been very professional and prompt in reply to my queries so far.

"Patience and then some is crucial here as organization and efficiency are both in short supply."

And transparency it seems.