Job Discussion Forums

[zazm]

Hi all!!!

I am a teacher in Korea and got a job offer in Saudi Arabia at a training center.
I think the offer is fair and all.
But the director wants me to go to SA on a tourist visa and work on getting a work permit.

I'm an American, yet studied in England.
Whats the procedure for those getting a work permit?
Is it better to try to get it from Korea or is it easier to get it from SA?

Much appreciated in advanced~~

[Stephen Jones]

Officially it is illegal to work on a business visa (I am presuming it is this and not a tourist visa they are giving you). Many do it though, and there are very few cases of EFL teachers in jail as a result.

Normally, to get a work visa you would have to return to your country of nationality, and collect it from the embassy there. You won't be able to collect it from KSA.

I would ask for more details from your employers as to how they are going to go about it. There are considerable practical disadvantages to being on a business visa, including the inability to rent an apartment, get a telephone, or open a bank account or send money outside the kingdom easily.

[zazm]

Hi all

Zazm again...

I just got a call from the director of the school in SA and here is where things take an interesting twist.

He wants me to come on a visitors visa (which is already at the embassy in Seoul).
He says the visa can be renewed for up to 9 months.

What are the repercussions of getting busted on a visitors visa?

And I need some information on some things too...

1. Does anyone know Dr. Al-Shaya? he is the guy who is contacting me via email and phone.

2. Has anyone ever heard "Educational City Co."?
They claim to have many schools around the capital.


Any assistance would be greatly appreciated so I don't make a grave mistake regarding my career.

[veiledsentiments]

Did you read Stephen's post above? You will be working illegally if you do not have a legitimate 'work visa' and have no rights or recourse... did you note that he mentioned the word 'jail'?

Sorry, but I think it would be extemely foolish for anyone to take a job under these circumstances.

VS

[Stephen Jones]

There are thousands of cases of Westerners working on a visitors visa and I have only heard of a couple that have ended with jail.

Also, you have the advantage that you can pack up yuur job and get another without a no-objection certificate, so there are advantages to make up for the downside.

There are some other posts here about "Educational City Co"; check them up. I suspect they may be a new organization. That can be dicey. At least if you are working on a visit visa for a well-established contractor you know you are pretty likely to get paid.

My advice is that it depends on what you are giving up. If you have a good job in Korea, paying maybe two-thirds of what you would earn in Saudi, I would think twice, and consider staying with your Korean job until something more solid turns up. If you are umemployed, or only working part-time, then you are not going to be risking a great deal.

[veiledsentiments]

So Stephen, above you said that someone without the proper work visa can not open a bank account... so how does one get paid?

If he can't rent a flat without it, shouldn't he be making sure that his housing is provided by the company?

Seems lots of risks with an unknown company in an unfamiliar country for our OP.

VS

[scot47]

If you are in a setup like this they pay you in cash. Next problem - what do you do with the cash ? With no local ID you cannot transfer money through a bank.

Well you could keep it in a box under your bed until you leave.

I would not do it - but then I am an old-fashioned stick-in-the-mud. And I have seen the facilities in the local calaboose.

[grahamb]

Were you there as a visitor or a guest? How did it compare with Bar-L?

[Stephen Jones]

You get a colleague to transfer the money for you if they won't let you buy a money order with your passport.

The fact that the institution appears to be new is what raises the alarm bells more than the visit visa per se. Most EFL teachers who want to come to Saudi are in Asia, and often the very reason they want to come - a need for an injection of cash - precludes them from going back to their home country and waiting a couple of weeks or much longer to get the work visa.

Many long-standing contractors have people working on visit visas, often at respectable institutions. However a new institution may well not know the ropes, and is much more likely to receive an inspection - and of course may have miscalculated its income so it will find itself without money to pay salaries (and on a visit visa you have no recourse to the labour courts)

[veiledsentiments]

Stephen,

On the other thread, zazm mentioned the problem of his spouse and in passing mentioned that the could easily come and go - or something like that.

But, could he come and go easily? Wouldn't the employer take his passport? Are these temporary visas multiple entry?

VS

[Stephen Jones]

He can say goodbye to the spouse.

Business visas are usually multi-entry. He may have to go in and out to get them renewed.

He'd best hold on to his passport. He has no other form of ID