Job Discussion Forums

[The_Penguin]

Hi,

I have an offer from a university in Saudi which will allow my wife to come with me as a dependent. My wife is also a teacher and would rather work than play the role of housewife for the next couple of years, therefore I'm trying to find out how difficult it is to transfer from a dependent's visa to a sponsored visa if she is able to secure a job when in country.

I've done the usual Google searching, but I haven't found anything absolutely conclusive on this, so I thought I'd ask on here to see if anyone has direct experience of doing this.

Also, if anyone could tell me if being in country automatically makes you eligible for jobs classified as 'local hire', it would be really helpful.

Thanks for any help!

[MI6agent]

It is possible.

Procedures to transfer the dependent's sponsorship to employer.
http://life-in-saudiarabia.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/procedure-to-transfer-dependents.html

Another article may be useful for you:
Dependents can work without transfer of sponsorship:
http://life-in-saudiarabia.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/dependents-can-work-without-transfer-of.html

[nomad soul]

It's better that she apply now while still abroad and not when she arrives in country.

What city in KSA will you be in?
What are her specific qualifications, experience?

[The_Penguin]

Thanks for the responses!

We'll be based in Dhahran. My wife has an MA in TESOL (bricks & mortar) and 4 years of experience, most of it working at public schools in Korea and China. Ideally she'd like to move into University work, although we realise that may be hard with her lack of experience with adults, so a good school setup would be fine.

She is applying from home at the moment, I'm just trying to find out what her options are if she doesn't secure anything before we fly out. We've noticed some places only have vacancies for ´local hires', would being in country as a dependent make her eligible for those?

[MI6agent]

[nomad soul]

[mrpianoman]

Teaching adults in the Gulf is not as hard as you'd imagine. There are a lot of beginners when it comes to writing, although they may be at a better level speaking for some reason. That's the level of students who were at ADU anyway. The army were beginners mainly too.

That was the dept for continuing education though. I don't know the level of students on the undergraduate courses.

[veiledsentiments]

[hash]

[nomad soul]

[hash]

[nomad soul]

[I-forgot]

To answer Penguin's initial questions:

1. It is possible for women to transfer from their husband's sponsorship to company sponsorship. The difficulty rating depends entirely on how co-operative the companies involved are willing to be. They can smoooth the road or throw up roadblocks depending on which way the wind is blowing.

2. being in the country does not automatically make you eligible for local hire.

There are benefits to your wife being under your sponsorship. For example, you will be able to grant her exit and entry visas. That means you don't have to worry about synchronising holiday dates, fliights etc with two companies (if she works, she can say 'but my husband is leaving and I have to go with him' - you'd be surprised at how much mileage you can get based on what your husband says).

Additionally, she may be able to find work for companies that cannot offer an iqama. Yes, this is illegal. However, it is very common. The problems that arise from not having an iqama can be solved by the fact that you will have one (i.e. Share a bank account. actually, as her husband, you could probably authorise her to have her own account even if she isn't 'officially' working). If she is your dependent, she will not have to do the visa runs that people complain about when working on a business visa.

These benefits may make up for a salary that might be slightly lower as a local hire. In fact, if you run the numbers on any potential offers, you might find that she earns a little more because her employer doesn't have the admin costs of iqama fees, health insurance, flights and housing.

Please remember that job hunting within Saudi doesn't preclude her from leaving and then returning under company sponsorship once she has found a job. If she isn't able to secure something satisfactory before you fly over, she will have options when she is in KSA.

[nomad soul]

Good points.

The_Penguin:

I assume you're a direct university hire (i.e., the uni and not a company is listed on your contract as "employer"). If so, your wife should only shoot for direct-hire uni opportunities too. However, if you've been hired by a company, then she should see about working for them as well, if they have opportunities for women. But obviously, direct hire is the way to go and is quite possible with her MA TESOL.

[MI6agent]

hash wrote:

nomad soul wrote: [color=red]But seriously, dude, it ain't the 1950s anymore. (Does anyone else sense a "woman problem" here?) "Hash covers his smirking mouth with his hand and sorta giggles" while observing silently: "I kinda figured the Menad would comment". Actually, Dudette, in KSA the current year is 1427 AH.....America hasn't been discovered yet.....where'ya you been all this time?

Well, dude, the current KSA Hijri year is 1437AH, not 1427!
Where have you been all those 10 years?

Well, America was discovered in 1492 G (= 897 AH).