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bigdurianthesecond
Joined: 16 Jan 2016
Posts: 62
Location: The Base
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 Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 7:15 pm Post subject: Bringing family to KSA as of December 2015 |
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This is the current process for bringing your family to KSA. It's all from fairly recent, so hopefully quite relevant.
After you get your Muqeem card, you will need to make an online account with the Ministry of the Interior (MOI). You will then need to activate your account at the local passport office, or at some malls there are machines where you can do it too. It only involves a fingerprint check, and you have to verify your mobile number by entering a code sent to that number. Very straightforward. You pay the 2000 SAR fee for the visa.
The days of the company doing it all for you are now gone. Everything is online and you have to apply for your family's visas themselves. In theory it's a good idea, and the website is very straightforward. However, after going through the steps to apply on the website, around step three, you will get to a message where it says that your work occupation needs to be manually verified at the MOI. Which is pretty crazy, as all the information they have on you comes from your Muqeem card anyway.
So you will have to apply online to make an appointment at the MOI in Riyadh. You may be able to do this in Jeddah I don't know. The only problem is that every time you apply the website will say that there are no appointments available. This wasn't just me. Through speaking to other people I know it's the same for everyone. Also if you do a Google search on problems applying for online appointment KSA, you can see that many people have the same problem.
I must have been trying 20-30 times a day for three or four weeks before I got an appointment. I had read online that a good time to try was early on Sunday morning between 7-8:30. This worked for me. I woke up one morning, logged on and a choice of ten appointments pop up. This was such a relief, because this whole process was quite disheartening, and did put a strain on our relationship.
So you're now ready to go to the ministry. You will need:
Copies of all passports.
Original marriage paper
Translated into Arabic marriage paper, stamped by the chamber of commerce.
Birth certificates of children
Translated into Arabic birth certificates, stamped by the chamber of commerce
Letter from the company stating your salary, stamped by the chamber of commerce
Whatever educational certificate you used to get your visa, you will need to provide the original, the attested copy, and a copy of the attested copy stamped by the chamber of commerce
Copy of Muqeem
Copy of your visa(i think)
Photos? Can't remember, sorry.
On the plus side, my appointment was at 8am, and I was out of there by 8:15. A long as everything is in order it's very quick.
So you have your yellow piece of paper. Your name will be at the top, there's a load of Arabic, and your dependants names are further down. It's worth checking with someone that the nationality of the person coming is correct, as to the passport they will be arriving on, and that the place of application is correct. As an example, my children were coming on a British passport, but applying from Bangkok.
To put a timeline on this, and I did everything as quickly as I could. I arrived in Saudi on the 26th of October, I received my Muqeem after a week. My appointment at the ministry was on the 28th of December. If I wasn't working then I could have done things quicker regarding translations and stamps etc.
So I just returned from Thailand, having applied at that end. The requirements there, which may or may not be the same as in other countries were that they needed to see, in English
Marriage certificate
Birth certificates of the children
All of the above stamped by the MOFA
Wife's medical
Vaccination record of the children
Probably local to Thailand, but name change paper from when we got married translated into English and stamped by the MOFA.
all passports
My Muqeem copy
Photos
Money
Got the visas in two days.
So quite a lengthy process overall, but worth it as my family will be joining me in sunny Buraydah next week.
I hope this helps people in getting their loved ones into the Sandpit. |
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murray1978
Joined: 02 Dec 2008
Posts: 84
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| Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 7:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Thank you for posting this. Very informative. |
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mnruman
Joined: 30 Mar 2015
Posts: 93
Location: Manchester, UK
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| Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 11:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Ditto, thanks for sharing. This will be very helpful when I come around to bringing family over. |
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paul.conlong
Joined: 31 Mar 2015
Posts: 84
Location: Rochdale, UK
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| Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 11:26 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you bigdurianthesecond for such a detailed explanation. So it took about 3 months for the whole process.  I have spoken to the recruiter who has advised the same time scale. The only other way around this is probably government universities via direct hire I suppose. Or does anybody know any different?
P.s. I have been told I will be offered employment visa. |
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bigdurianthesecond
Joined: 16 Jan 2016
Posts: 62
Location: The Base
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| Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 7:25 am Post subject: |
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| paul.conlong wrote: |
Thank you bigdurianthesecond for such a detailed explanation. So it took about 3 months for the whole process. I have spoken to the recruiter who has advised the same time scale. The only other way around this is probably government universities via direct hire I suppose. Or does anybody know any different?
P.s. I have been told I will be offered employment visa. |
It won't make any difference who your employer is, it's the same process for everyone. You'll still have to have your online account with the MOI regardless. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 8:40 am Post subject: |
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| On another forum I read a complaint from a female teacher in KSA that she has been refused permission to sponsor her husband. Any thoughts on that ? |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 9:42 am Post subject: |
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| paul.conlong wrote: |
| I have spoken to the recruiter who has advised the same time scale. The only other way around this is probably government universities via direct hire I suppose. Or does anybody know any different? |
Yes, some universities have flown both the (direct hire) teacher and family members over at the same time. |
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Karitos
Joined: 05 Oct 2010
Posts: 55
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| Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 9:47 am Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| paul.conlong wrote: |
| I have spoken to the recruiter who has advised the same time scale. The only other way around this is probably government universities via direct hire I suppose. Or does anybody know any different? |
Yes, some universities have flown both the (direct hire) teacher and family members over at the same time. |
I have heard specifically of KFUPM doing this. I've seen mentioned on the board here that some others may do that too, but I do know someone at KFUPM who has had that happen. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 9:49 am Post subject: |
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KFUPM are civilised employers and treat their teachers well. They do not overpay them but treat them properly. This is not the case with all employers in Al-Saudiya !
Bringing the employee and dependants to KSA at the same time is one aspect of this. |
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bigdurianthesecond
Joined: 16 Jan 2016
Posts: 62
Location: The Base
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| Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 9:59 am Post subject: |
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| scot47 wrote: |
| On another forum I read a complaint from a female teacher in KSA that she has been refused permission to sponsor her husband. Any thoughts on that ? |
I believe that unless she is a professor it is impossible to do, as per regulations. |
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bigdurianthesecond
Joined: 16 Jan 2016
Posts: 62
Location: The Base
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| Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 10:05 am Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| paul.conlong wrote: |
| I have spoken to the recruiter who has advised the same time scale. The only other way around this is probably government universities via direct hire I suppose. Or does anybody know any different? |
Yes, some universities have flown both the (direct hire) teacher and family members over at the same time. |
That may have been the case in the past, but since the start of the Absher account last year, I can't see how it's possible. There is no other option than applying online to bring your family.
You need to have the account, and you need to be in the country to make it.
Who knows though? Maybe someone who has done that in the past nine months can explain how it happened. |
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bigdurianthesecond
Joined: 16 Jan 2016
Posts: 62
Location: The Base
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| Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 10:07 am Post subject: |
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| Karitos wrote: |
| nomad soul wrote: |
| paul.conlong wrote: |
| I have spoken to the recruiter who has advised the same time scale. The only other way around this is probably government universities via direct hire I suppose. Or does anybody know any different? |
Yes, some universities have flown both the (direct hire) teacher and family members over at the same time. |
I have heard specifically of KFUPM doing this. I've seen mentioned on the board here that some others may do that too, but I do know someone at KFUPM who has had that happen. |
Was that after the start of the Absher online service or before? |
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Karitos
Joined: 05 Oct 2010
Posts: 55
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| Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 10:39 am Post subject: |
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| bigdurianthesecond wrote: |
I have heard specifically of KFUPM doing this. I've seen mentioned on the board here that some others may do that too, but I do know someone at KFUPM who has had that happen. |
Was that after the start of the Absher online service or before?[/quote]
Not sure when that started. The KFUPM report was from late 2014 or early 2015 I think. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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| bigdurianthesecond wrote: |
| nomad soul wrote: |
| paul.conlong wrote: |
| I have spoken to the recruiter who has advised the same time scale. The only other way around this is probably government universities via direct hire I suppose. Or does anybody know any different? |
Yes, some universities have flown both the (direct hire) teacher and family members over at the same time. |
That may have been the case in the past, but since the start of the Absher account last year, I can't see how it's possible. There is no other option than applying online to bring your family.
You need to have the account, and you need to be in the country to make it. |
I was referring to direct-hire situations that provide dependent benefits (e.g., visa support, annual airline tickets for up to four family members, etc.) as opposed to for-profit contracting companies. |
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bigdurianthesecond
Joined: 16 Jan 2016
Posts: 62
Location: The Base
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| Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 8:58 pm Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| bigdurianthesecond wrote: |
| nomad soul wrote: |
| paul.conlong wrote: |
| I have spoken to the recruiter who has advised the same time scale. The only other way around this is probably government universities via direct hire I suppose. Or does anybody know any different? |
Yes, some universities have flown both the (direct hire) teacher and family members over at the same time. |
That may have been the case in the past, but since the start of the Absher account last year, I can't see how it's possible. There is no other option than applying online to bring your family.
You need to have the account, and you need to be in the country to make it. |
I was referring to direct-hire situations that provide dependent benefits (e.g., visa support, annual airline tickets for up to four family members, etc.) as opposed to for-profit contracting companies. |
I think you misunderstand the state of play today. And I think you're out of touch with what is happening on the ground. When was the last time you worked in KSA? I am a direct hire for an American company, with a $4000 a year flight allowance, it will make no difference as to your status, contact, whatever, everyone now goes through the online application process for bringing your family. There is no way around this that I am aware of. Maybe you know better though. Perhaps you could give some information about your recent work experience in the kingdom.......
As I said in a previous post, your employer, or your employment status makes no difference. This is the way it is in KSA today.
As far as I am aware, there is no way of getting a family visa without having an Absher account.
I know people jumping through the same hoops on salaries far more than what a teacher earns. |
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