Job Discussion Forums

[a_ibrahim]

Hi everyone,

Ok, I got an offer which I accepted. I'm in the process of having my documents translated into Arabic. In the offer, it only mentions having these documents translated into Arabic and being attested to by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and authenticated by the Saudi Embassy and getting the medical exam. I've asked them questions and I've gotten responses to some of them. What I'm trying to figure out is what else should I be doing, if anything?

I've read through so many posts that I'm not alarmed, as this seems to happen often. I just want to know what else I could be doing to help speed up the process. I would have to give 30 days notice to our landlord prior to moving. There are other loose ends which would need to be tied as well. So, any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Amal

[Cleopatra]

[a_ibrahim]

Hi again,

How long would you say it normally takes to jump that hurdle?

Amal

[Cleopatra]

That's a bit of a "how long is a piece of string?" question.

There may be others here who are better informed as to how the whole "block visa" thing works, and they may be able to give you some idea of how long the process is likely to take. But as I say, it all very much depends on factors such as who your employer is, how much 'wasta' they have, how many visas they are allocated for your nationality and position and so on. I'll make a wild guess and say it shouldn't take longer than a couple of weeks start to finish, but I'm prepared to be corrected on this.

[a_ibrahim]

Thanks again.

Yeah, I asked about how long the visa process would take. They told me usually about 4 weeks. I thought I'd ask about others' experiences for more information. As I said before, I don't want to be twiddling my thumbs and then be told I need to be on a plane tomorrow.

Thanks,

Amal

[veiledsentiments]

The answer is that there is no answer. Whatever they tell is probably wrong. Whatever you guess might be right. And your chances of twiddling your thumbs for week(s) and then being told to be there yesterday are high.

The only way to avoid this problem is to avoid the Gulf in general and KSA in particular.

VS

[kanterbrau]

Amal,

Don't be too surprised if twiddling your thumbs for ages and then being told to get on a plane tomorrow is exactly what happens. In fact, from my past dealings with the Saudis I would agree with the previous contributor that they are just as likely to keep you dangling while they take their sweet time making up their minds and then tell you to be on a plane YESTERDAY. I don't mean to be flippant at what is obviously a trying time for you, but if youre going to work in KSA then the sooner you stop trying to second guess your employer's actions and motives the better. They do things when they're good and ready and not a moment sooner.

I agree wholeheartedly with the previous contributor who advised against laying out money on medicals etc. until you are sure that you do indeed have a position to go to. Further, I sincerely hope you have an assurance that all such expenses will be reimbursed by your employer on taking up the position.

Hope it all works out for you, Amal.

Good luck.

[a_ibrahim]

Well, that's what I needed to hear, or read. I'm not at all annoyed with what anyone has said. I wanted to know what it is I may be dealing with so that all surprises are no surprise.

Unfortunately, it's too late to avoid KSA for now. And KSA is actually where I want to be. I'm pretty much prepared for the people. As far as my employer, I don't know.

Thanks again to all of you for your informative posts.

Amal

[Cleopatra]

The above posters are right.

Saudi culture is very much a "here and now" culture. There is little or no planning for the future, and little concept of time managment. As kanterbrau says, trying to get people to speed things up is useless at best, and can cause a lot of mutual antagonism at worst. Also, don't neccessarily expect your employers to have a lot of understanding of the difficulties and time involved in the visa process, even if they have been employing foreigners for years. It's not unheard of for employers to make unreasonable demands for you to be in Riyadh yesterday. When you patiently explain that you would love to be on that plane now, but can't be because they didn't send you this or that paper on time, your words fall on deaf ears. Not a bad preparation for life here, BTW.

[a_ibrahim]

You've all been helpful. I can say that my contract doesn't say that they'll pay for the visa process but it does specify which expenses would be my responsibility. I do also have in writing that they would be taking care of travel to the kingdom.

I guess, based on all that I've read, that I should try to prepare myself the best that I can for whatever may happen.

For those of you who are in KSA, how do you cope? And for those of you who decided to leave, what was the main deciding factor?

Thanks,

Amal

[balqis]

Amal,

More or less your questions are mine. Why? I'm heading for the same, i.e., K.S.A entry, with all ''entry'' fears that go with it. So keep asking your questions. I keep reading the answers as if there were sent to me.
Let us enjoy the experience regardless of anything that we read...

Balqis

[Cleopatra]

[a_ibrahim]

Ok. I understand.

I have one more question. If I try to back out now, will I have any problems? At this point, all I have is the offer and my signature on an initial acceptance.

Thanks again,

Amal

[veiledsentiments]

There is not one single thing that they can do to you if you back out at any point along the way. You can do the whole procedure and change your mind in the airport... you wouldn't be the first.

The only result that would ensue is that it is doubtful that the particular employer you stiffed will make you another offer.

VS

[a_ibrahim]

Thanks!

That's all I need to know.

Amal