Job Discussion Forums

EnglishDoYouSpeakIt · Joined: 19 May 2009 Posts: 151 Location: Saudi Arabia

I've read the list of everything you can't bring into the country and feel confident that I am not bringing any contraband. Will they be searching laptops and/or flash drives? If I bring over a DVD could it be taken if it appears to contain nudity? Like Titanic, not actual pornography.

Basically how worried should I be about what's on my computer? Are they going to have tech guys searching through each file, and the same for flash drives?

I don't want to get into any trouble first thing, ya know?

johnslat · Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:02 am Post subject:

Dear EnglishDoYouSpeakIt,

"Basically how worried should I be about what's on my computer? Are they going to have tech guys searching through each file, and the same for flash drives?"

99.99999999999999% Nope.

Regards,
John

Nochasauras · Joined: 16 May 2009 Posts: 15 Location: jubail, KSA

our filipino secretary said he got his flash drive checked, dunno how thoroughly, on his way back in from a visa run to Bahrain. Havent heard of any accounts from native speakers either entering or exiting.
on a personal note, i brought a bible in my suitcase, they never checked...

Citizenkane · Joined: 14 Jun 2009 Posts: 234 Location: Xanadu

Posts like this are the reason why we need an FAQ section on this board.

I've lost count of the number of times this - or very similar - questions have come up on this board. Adn the answer is always the same. I'm not really blaming the poster (though wouldn't hurt to do a search) just saying than an FAQ would streamline the board quite a lot.

Cuffs · Joined: 10 Feb 2009 Posts: 77

There is plenty on this topic in the expatsinsaudiarabia Yahoo group, which is simple to join.

To summarize what has been written there recently: some people get checked; some don't; and there is no particular profile of the type of people who do get stopped, unless you are a man, in which case it is slightly more likely to happen to you than if you are not.

Exactly how many times do you need to watch Titanic, anyway?

EnglishDoYouSpeakIt · Joined: 19 May 2009 Posts: 151 Location: Saudi Arabia

johnslat · Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 1:18 pm Post subject:

Dear EnglishDoYouSpeakIt,

" . . . some people get checked; some don't;"

I think the phrasing here might give the wrong impression. I'd put it this way:

A very, very, very few might get checked; almost all don't.

and, much as I hate to write this:

" . .. our filipino secretary said he got his flash drive checked."

a lot depends on one's nationality, too.

Regards,
John

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

Mia Xanthi · Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 3:37 pm Post subject:

I've been in and out of KSA, and across the border to and from Bahrain, more times than I can count. After a while, I quit worrying about what I was carrying. Unless you have OBVIOUS quantities of pork and alcohol, and provided you have white skin and a western passport, you are very unlikely to encounter a serious search.

Even if you do get searched, chances are that the offending articles will just be confiscated. The only thing I would absolutely never carry is opiate-based pain medication without a prescription. That one would land you in jail.

BTW, I have noticed that "western" women who cover their hair tend to get searched even less often. Just an observation...don't know if it is really true.

trapezius · Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 8:24 pm Post subject:

Find yourself on the scale below (which goes from most likely to be searched to least likely, and prepare accordingly:

Young single male Arab/South Asian ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Middle-aged/old Western female/couple

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Coming over the Causeway from Bahrain I have only been checked when in the bus. In private car or taxi they have never once examined my luggage. Next time I am going to bring in a case of Scotch and 20 kg of bacon.

I can then sell it to those expats who cannot live without these "haram" things. Truly the unbelievers are foolish !

The Lathe of Heaven · Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 12:15 pm Post subject:

007 · Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 12:48 pm Post subject:

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 6:02 pm Post subject:

And, after all those lashings, they keep the wonderful stuff...life's a bitch!

NCTBA

EnglishDoYouSpeakIt · Joined: 19 May 2009 Posts: 151 Location: Saudi Arabia

I made it through customs (and am teaching!) successfully. The biggest problem was figuring out which line to wait in, which wasn't much of a problem at all. While there were lines that said 'First time entry' (paraphrase) I went with the line that consisted of 90% white guys, the one that was labeled GCC (I think!).

They asked me my age and fingerprinted me. They took my picture and I was basically free. I picked up my luggage, put it through an x-ray, and I was done.