Job Discussion Forums

Lookin4Gud · Joined: 18 Jul 2010 Posts: 8

I have heard that it is illegal to work for an employer - and by extension apparently, teach at university - under a business visitor visa, rather than an employee visa. if this is the case, where does it say this in the Saudi Labor Law?

and, is this basically a form of deception?

if all this is the case, why do so many people do it and are authorities lax on it?

Additionally, if anyone has a handy pdf available of the Labor Law, that would be nice.

Cleopatra · Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 6:19 pm Post subject:

Lookin4Gud · Joined: 18 Jul 2010 Posts: 8

i meant is it deception, in regards to dealing with the government. it appears so, obviously.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

You must be very new to the field and the board. You ask for a pdf of Saudi laws... rather than just googling it up yourself... or just reading the stickies sitting at the top of this page. Two of them... titled Saudi Labor Law. You can also spend a few hours and read the endless debates on the issue here on dozens of threads over the last couple years alone. Some prefer the illegal visa system... most do not.

What it comes down to is... do you want the job? If you have decent credentials, it is easy enough to avoid the employers that hand out business visas instead of legal work visas. If you don't have great credentials and think the pay is good... you take what you can get.

I'm not sure what "deception" has to do with it.

VS

Lookin4Gud · Joined: 18 Jul 2010 Posts: 8

i guess what i meant by the deception part, is that if it is understood upon acceptance of the business visitor visa that one is agreeing not to work, then working is not complying with what one agreed to and stated one would do.

i do have a question though, if a person can not "work" on a business visa, what can they do? is it a terminology, like one can not "work" as an "employee" say teaching, or something else? the following link gives a list of examples at the top and then ends with "..., etc.", and obviously, "businessmen, investors, representatives of U.S. companies, managers, sales managers, sales representatives" are working people:
http://www.saudiembassy.net/services/business_visit.aspx

also, is one allowed to actually simply look for new work/jobs while in the country on a business visitor visa?

also, can a person go to Mecca/Madinah on a business visitor visa, or will they have to travel in/out of the country or go through some other hoop?

Thank you so much all of you for taking the time.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

"Guide us to the straight path," is what is said in the prayer. To go on Pilgrimage you need eitrher a Pilgrim's Visa or Residence in KSA (ie an Iqama). A business visitor has neither.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Lookin4Gud · Joined: 18 Jul 2010 Posts: 8

Thank you all for the assistance.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

lookin4Gud

I would appreciate it if you stopped sending me PM's asking for assistance in breaking the immigration laws of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

I do not take kindly to complete strangers who ask me for help in conspiring to break the law.

Cleopatra · Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 4:41 pm Post subject:

... and so say all of us!

johnslat · Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 4:45 pm Post subject:

Dear scot47,

"I do not take kindly to complete strangers who ask me for help in conspiring to break the law."

Darn - and I have this lovely bank job just about all set up. Oh well, guess I'll have to find another accomplice.

Regards,
John

Lookin4Gud · Joined: 18 Jul 2010 Posts: 8

I understand your position, however, that is exactly what I intend not to do, which is why I want to understand all the laws and rules. My apologies, and once again, thank you all.

johnslat · Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 7:52 pm Post subject:

Dear Lookin4Gud,

Well, one problem is that there are among the faithful in the Kingdom, there is a wide range of "harams" حرام - meaning what is believed to be forbidden by Islam.

While most are not too "fundamentalist," there are those who think that music, TV and the Internet are all inventions of Shaitan. Therefore, it's impossible to guarantee what you'll encounter.

"I want to understand all the laws and rules."

That's simply not possible. Some of the most important "rules" are unwritten and very variable while some of the "written laws" are circumvented everyday by "wasta."

Regards,
John

Lookin4Gud · Joined: 18 Jul 2010 Posts: 8

Regarding a "wasta", what is it exactly, and is it a valid part of the legal system, or an acceptable permission/concession granted by people in position/authority?

Also, what would be the legality of traveling to Bahrain, somehow getting an employee visa while there and then traveling to Saudi? Is this a valid/legal approach, or another one in which laws are broken or the system is circumvented? How does the process work with that approach?

Thank you so much, once again.

trapezius · Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2010 12:40 am Post subject:

How would you get an employee visa for Saudi from Bahrain being a citizen of [X] once hired on a business visa from Saudi? That's not possible. The only thing that can happen in Bahrain is an extension of the business visa.

If you are hired on a business visa from Saudi, and you decide to come, you have to come here and work on that visa, there is no other option. Yes, it is illegal to work on a business visa, but as many people have said, thousands of business visas are given out each year for this purpose as it is easy for companies to get a business visa for new employees. Once you are here and prove your worth and the university/institute wants to keep you, they will get you a proper work visa.

I have heard of no government 'raid' anywhere, to catch people working on business visas. The government turns a complete blind eye to it, and is a safe option from that point of view. However, from the benefits and job security point of view, the only good/acceptable option is a work visa.

You choose.

P.S. Wikipedia has everything you have ever heard of, and never as well:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasta