Job Discussion Forums

[johnslat]

Dear Captain Willard,

"If some serious conditions occur, natural disaster, war, civil unrest, etc., it is not wise to be dependent on a local employer who may want to keep you in the country despite the fact that the King has granted an exit visa."

Could you clarify this for me - how can "the King" grant you "an exit visa" when it's your employer who has to apply for the exit visa and a government official who issues it?

I mean, you just can't walk into the office with your passport, stand in line, and get an exit visa.

Regards,
John

[It's Scary!]

...how can "the King" grant you "an exit visa"...?

Anyone who can procure more than one visa at the time can always count on his buddy, the King, to personally grant him a visa!

It's Scary!

[Deeman15]

I'm new to this forum so excuse my naivety, but is there actually a 'good' company to work for in Saudi Arabia? If one believed all the comments in every posting, there aren't any halfway acceptable employers in the entire country and all of their employees are being whipped and chained while working in slavery. 'Avoid this company' seems to be the motto of this forum.

I'm not saying that all of it is untrue, but I have yet to see people endorsing or vouching for companies without all the other posters turning on them and calling them a inside rat.

[Middle East Beast]

There are a lot of bad ones, but by searching you'll find a couple of good ones--ARAMCO direct hire, maybe BAE and KFUPM.

MEB

[It's Scary!]

There are NO great companies in Saudi, but from all reports, KFUPM is a great uni.

It's Scary!

[Captain Willard]

Johnnie, me old son,

The "K" in K.S.A. stands for kingdom, as it is ruled by a king. He is an absolute monarch ungoverned by any constitution. As such, the king can issue visas to whom he pleases, whenever he pleases. The standard practice of an employer making a request of the king's minister for the visa does not preclude the king from dispensing with such formalities, or the exit visa itself, should he consider it wise.

So riddle me this: if the employees cannot leave without an exist visa, then why is it necessary to keep the passports they bear? Since the exit visa is normally required for foreigners to leave the Magic Kingdom, the practice of an employer holding the passports of its employees, should be completely unnecessary. I suspect that the reason is to keep their employees from jumping to other employers with more "wasta" with the royal family who can easily obtain visas and circumvent standard procedures for those without such connections. Of course, some people may be inclined to leave the country illegally as well. For them, obtaining a new passport from their consulate is usually only an inconvenience and additional expense.

The Captain

[johnslat]

Dear Captain Willard,

I'm sorry if this seems insulting, but I really have to ask: Have you ever been in Saudi Arabia?

The reason I ask is that your comments seem so totally uninformed about that country (where I spent nineteen years.)

King Abdullah is just a bit beyond the pay grade an "exit visa issuer."

"So riddle me this: if the employees cannot leave without an exist visa, then why is it necessary to keep the passports they bear?

There's should be no "if" in that sentence; no expat can leave legally without an exit visa. It's not "necessary" for employers to keep their employees passports (some/many don't,) but some/many do - probably because it gives them a feeling of even more control over their employees.

"I suspect that the reason is to keep their employees from jumping to other employers with more "wasta" with the royal family who can easily obtain visas and circumvent standard procedures for those without such connections."

How would keeping the passports stop employees from "jumping to other employers with more "wasta" with the royal family who can easily obtain visas and circumvent standard procedures for those without such connections."? If another employer had that much wasta, it wouldn't make the slightest difference who had the passport. However, we're talking about EFL teachers here, not corporate CEOs. We're a dime a dozen, Captain; headhunters don't seek us out, trying to entice us to switch jobs with promises of seven figure salaries, palaces on the coast, etc.

Regards,
John

[It's Scary!]

[Middle East Beast]

[blackwellben]

[7168Riyadh]

Excuse me, but foreign passports do exactly disappear into back offices all over Saudi Arabia. Employees do not "ignorantly trade them for iquamas"; everyone is perfectly aware that the surrendering of passports is both an illegal and a controlling practice, but what do you do when you face a choice of handing it in or losing your job?

Do you know actually what an iquama is? It's a residence permit. With that residence permit, and your passport, you could, in theory, go off and get another job. Or you could, very irresponsibly, leave the country with your iquama in your pocket, and your employer is left to pick up a hefty fine.

[Deeman15]

Any teachers know what is going on with ICEAT? It seems they have completely bungled the recruiting process again this year.

[teach star]

I worked for KSU on the Preparatory Program last year for Bell and Obeikan, who KSU has sacked. I was very unhappy there. In a nutshell, I just wanted to teach to the best of my ability, act and be treated as a professional, but felt undermined and sabotaged by the management, all of it, including Bell, Obeikan and KSU. I would imagine if you sign up to work there for ICEAT you will probably go through some of the same crap I went through.

This post is to give you a bit of ammunition if you're considering working there. Considering the instability in the region, I think it would be really stupid to hand over you passport, especially when it's been so well established in print, by lawyers and international figures that YOU DON'T HAVE TO. See this recent expose in the EL Gazette of Obeikan and Bell and their admitted lies about Saudi law on the retention of passports:
[url]http://mag.digitalpc.co.uk/Olive/ODE/ELGAZETTE[/url][/url]

[Fernwood]

[Mysterious]