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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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 Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Perhaps one or two a year of people not being able to leave for family emergencies... |
I've occasionally known of people having difficulty leaving the country, but this has more to do with beaurocratic inefficiency than any deliberate intent to prevent their leaving. The only person I know who was actually refused permission to leave in a family emergency was a male colleage - and he was referring to an incident when he was working in Korea.
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| or having to pay their employer ridiculously large bribes to provide the exit visa and passport |
I've never EVER encountered this. It may happen in one of the sleazy langauge schools who barely even pay their staff but never in any semi-respectable place.
Just about anything can - and no doubt does - happen, and I can understand how the need for an exit visa makes people nervous. It certainly did the first time I came to KSA. But I do think it sounds worse than it - usually - really is. All I can do is repeat my standard advice: Ask any potential employer if they grant multiple exit visas. If they do not, you might want to reconsider. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:02 pm Post subject: |
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| The recruiter is not necessarily the sponsor. In the case of KSU I think you are recruited by Bell which is a UK-based outfit. Your sponsor in KSA is Obeikan who run a chain of bookshops in Nejd. How they got involved in KSU is a mystery that I do not wish to understrand. |
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Mia Xanthi
Joined: 13 Mar 2008
Posts: 955
Location: why is my heart still in the Middle East while the rest of me isn't?
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| Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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I do know of at least two cases at PMU where employees had to pay to get out. It was not a bribe, but it was clearly stated in the contract that if you left early, you would have to pay the admin three months salary to get out. One person wanted to leave in the middle of a contract, and the other had renewed his upcoming contract but then decided to accept another job. Both were required to pay large sums to get out.
On the other hand, in the case of just plain old inefficiency, there is the problem that no amount of money would be enough to get you out. Several people (at least three that I know of) were caught with family emergencies at the same time when their iqamas or visas had to be renewed. In this case, you are just s****ed if your government relations department cannot manage to efficiently get the Iqama or the visa renewed. Where I worked, it could literally take months to get a renewal, so people were unable to just up and leave if they wanted to. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:34 pm Post subject: |
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Mia
This was at one particular institution which is new and has a reputation for incompetence. I name no names but it should be simple for people to figure out which one.
I have been here on and off since October 1970 and have never had the nightmare problems you describe. Once I workewd for an employre in the private scetor, but my other jobs have been in governement institutions.
The moral again is CHOOSE YOUR EMPLOYER WITH GREAT CARE !
Last edited by scot47 on Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:42 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Never Ceased To Be Amazed
Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 3500
Location: Shhh...don't talk to me...I'm playin' dead...
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| Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:38 pm Post subject: |
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...and yer words...
NCTBA |
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