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Business Visa VS Work Visa (advantages and disadvantages)

 
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murray1978



Joined: 02 Dec 2008
Posts: 84
PostPosted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 2:09 pm    Post subject: Business Visa VS Work Visa (advantages and disadvantages) Reply with quote
Hi,

I have been reading a lot of threads and I have had the opportunity to read posters discussing visas.

It seems like a lot of teachers first come here on a business visa. For the record, that is what I am on now and I am currently working at one of the TVTC colleges in KSA. It sounds like the reason I was put on this visa was that my company doesn't have the pull to get Igamas.

I have been told that if I want to come back in September for year two, I would have to come in on an employment visa. It would then be switched to an Igama.

Right now, I prefer the business visa. My company takes care of sending my salary home to Canada and I have the freedom to fly in and out as I please. It sounds like the employment visa/Igama his a hassle. I have to ask for permission to fly in and out, I have to send money home myself and I don't see any benefits to having one.

My question is this: What benefits does the work visa/Igama actually have? I find it more restrictive and not worth the hassle. I want to come back for my second year on a business visa. I am trying to get that but it sounds like my company won't bite.

For the record, I am from Saint, John New Brunswick, Canada and I have heard that it can take a few months to get your documents ready to be attested and then you have to play the waiting game. I don't want to wait around for several months while someone in an office takes their sweet time attesting my documents.

I heard that to get a work visa you need the following:

-CRC check
- Medical check
-Attested diplomas and documents
-Passport with six months left on it.

Any posters here from Canada who can tell me how long the process takes? Any why is the work visa better then a business visa?

Thank you for reading my topic.

Cheers,

Murray
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
PostPosted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 4:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
It is illegal to work on a business visa. Would you encourage foreigners to come and work in Canada on a tourist visa ?
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murray1978



Joined: 02 Dec 2008
Posts: 84
PostPosted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 6:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
You are right that it is illegal. However, a majority of companies bring their teachers on one.

I also find it a lot more flexible then a work visa.

If it is so illegal, why would so many companies bring teachers on one? I never knew it was illegal when I got one in Canada. I was told that is common to bring teachers on it and to switch it once you are here.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
PostPosted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 6:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
murray1978 wrote:
It seems like a lot of teachers first come here on a business visa.
....

My question is this: What benefits does the work visa/Igama actually have? I find it more restrictive and not worth the hassle. I want to come back for my second year on a business visa. I am trying to get that but it sounds like my company won't bite.

Any why is the work visa better then a business visa?

For starters, a lot of teachers are more likely to enter the Kingdom on a proper employment/work visa. And no, having an iqama doesn't make life more restrictive.

Those arriving on a business (visit) or work visit visa are not permitted to work per the labor law or hold legal residence. That means you have zero legal protection if the company sponsoring you decides to screw you over. Plus, working illegally puts you at risk of being booted from the country if found out by the Jawazat during one of their random sweeps.

Anyway, regardless of what you want, your sponsor has informed you that you're required to have an employment/work visa if you expect to return.
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
PostPosted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 6:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
No bank account. No driving licence. No contract of employment. No medical cover. You want to hear more ?
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rollingk



Joined: 23 Jul 2006
Posts: 212
PostPosted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 7:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Murray, you've read the threads and you have some experience in this matter, so all the warnings you're getting here you've read before from the same people. There is no new information. As far as I know, ESL teachers aren't now, nor have they ever been deported for working on these visit visas. A while back when immigration began their crackdown of irregular workers in the service industry many by-the-book folk were happily blowing their clarion horn of almost certain deportations to come . . . all this from the land of law and integrity. Of course nothing happened.

You've been here a year, which should be long enough to inform you of the relevancy or legality of any contract if things go south with your employer.
As for phones and bank accounts, I'm sure you've managed to resolve these issues, and in the end they've been of negligible importance. Despite all the doom and gloom predictions nothing terrible has happened to people on visit visas.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
PostPosted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 8:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
rollingk wrote:
As far as I know, ESL teachers aren't now, nor have they ever been deported for working on these visit visas. A while back when immigration began their crackdown of irregular workers in the service industry many by-the-book folk were happily blowing their clarion horn of almost certain deportations to come . . . all this from the land of law and integrity. Of course nothing happened.

You've been here a year, which should be long enough to inform you of the relevancy or legality of any contract if things go south with our employer.

It's moot at this point since the sponsor is requiring a proper employment/work visa. It's non-negotiable. If that's not favorable to the OP, he/she can scour the job boards for companies still willing to sponsor foreigners on visit visas and then apply with them. Those companies may not be so tolerable compared to the OP's current sponsor, which is where the biz visit visa comes in handy if the OP decides to make a hasty exit.

By the way, the OP has a sponsor and not a Saudi employer nor a Saudi company that he/she's a part of. Business visit visas are for those already employed with a company in their home country. The "visitor" gets contracted through his/her home-country employer to consult, fix widgets, sell widgets, etc., on a short-term basis for a Saudi client. The Saudi client then pays that employer and not the visitor.
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murray1978



Joined: 02 Dec 2008
Posts: 84
PostPosted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 7:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thank you for the replies.

I am working for Mondragon/ Wintech in one of the TVTC's and they have treated me quite well. I was issued a phone, router and they take care of sending my finances back to Canada.

We were told recently that they would like us to be on work visas. However, it sounds like our company doesn't quite have Wasta yet.

I haven't been hassled on my visa and was just curious what people thought of the pros and cons of business vs work visa.

I do read these threads semi regularly and they are a great source of information about life here in the KSA.

Thank you for reading and replying to me.

Cheers,

Murray
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
PostPosted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 8:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
rollingk wrote:
Murray, you've read the threads and you have some experience in this matter, so all the warnings you're getting here you've read before from the same people. There is no new information. As far as I know, ESL teachers aren't now, nor have they ever been deported for working on these visit visas.

But for those with business visit visas, there have been other ways to get deported, as a couple of my friends quickly found out in early 2012:
"Avoid Saudi British Centre at all costs" http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=95035

And then there's this rather interesting thread:
"K A Uni (ELI) or Education Experts (King Saud Uni) or ICEAT" http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=106153

Having an iqama gives one a sense of security.
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