Job Discussion Forums

hotsands · Joined: 30 Mar 2005 Posts: 4

Hi guys,

I have been selected for an interview for a teaching position in the UAE and I am over the moon!

I note that a 'medical' check will take place on my arrival in the ME if I should be successful in attaining a position at interview. All sounds a bit sinister....does anybody know what this 'medical' consists of and what they check for?

matttheboy · Joined: 01 Jul 2003 Posts: 854 Location: Valparaiso, Chile

As a guess and taking into account the kinds of tests most countries subject people to in order to obtain a visa i'd say:

Blood tests for hepatitis and other diseases communicable through fluid interchange. HIV will almost certainly be on the list of diseases.

Chest x-ray to check for TB

Dangerous signs of radical free thinking (most schools frown on thinking outside the box Very Happy

)

If you're in the UK or Australia (maybe canada and NZ too?) you could get all the tests done for free to check you're not going to fail anything beforeyou arrive. I guess it'd cost a fair bit to do this in the states.

Good luck with the interview.

dyak · Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 630

Snoopy · Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 185

For what it�s worth, the second time I went to Saudi (1993), I paid for a rubber stamp from a private medical practitioner. When I went Qatar (2002) the medical was an after-you-get-there affair, when they were checking for TB and AIDS and we were fingerprinted. The requirements for Saudi nowadays are a bit more stringent: a visit to Harley Street to have a blood-test and X-ray and a second blood test to check my liver function. Surprisingly, I passed but have yet to hear about the post which had been due to start in Dammam over three months ago, and the b@0ds have still got my passport. That�s somewhere in London, and what it has been used for in the meantime is a matter of conjecture. I have politely requested its return. Being stuck in one�s own country is not a joking matter, and somewhat illegal.

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124

Who's still got your passport. It takes 48 hours to get a Saudi visa. If your employer hasn't sent a job contract then they can't apply, but in that case why are you leaving your passport with them.

And who are they?