Job Discussion Forums

[gelynch52ph]

The following is pasted from the website of a Canadian visa procurement company.

SHORT TERM VISIT WORK VISA (BUSINESS)

This visa applies to an applicant who has a short term work contract with a Saudi partner.
The sponsor in Saudi Arabia must apply for a visa authorization through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Once the application is approved, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will send the authorization directly to the Consular Section. The sponsor must provide the applicant with a copy of the visa slip.

Please Submit:
Number and date of your visa authorization.
Visa application form (Typed out or hand written in block letters).
A valid passport for six months at least from the application date, including the place of birth and two blank pages side by side. (Original Only).
Two recent (4 x 6 cm) photographs taken against a plain white background. (Name written on the back).
A letter addressed to the Consular Section from the applicant�s firm signed and stamped, including information about the applicant and purpose of the trip.

Is there such a visa and if so, why do I not find any mention of such a visa in either the KSA Embassy website in USA or the KSA Embassy website in Manila?

[veiledsentiments]

The visa by many names exists. It is just not legal to be a teacher... as none of us are "short term."

As it says, it is a (BUSINESS) visa... to come over and work at some sort of commercial position for a special project.

VS

[nomad soul]

[gelynch52ph]

[nomad soul]

No need to copy/paste the whole process...

Anyway, a business visit visa (sometimes referred to as a work visit visa) is for business purposes---specifically, business and sales people whose companies/employers are based in their home country. They are "visiting" the Kingdom for sales deals, training, etc. These visas can be issued for up to 6 months. As such, they are not valid for teachers on year-long teaching assignments. However, Saudi contracting companies like them because they can get teachers in country within a short amount of time and quickly earning money for both the company and teacher. By contrast, the process for a proper employment visa can take up to a month or more because it entails obtaining academic documentation, medical lab and exam results, and a criminal background report just to get the ball rolling.

A temporary work visa is for skilled workers, contractors, or experts providing whatever services to a Saudi company (not an employer) for a short-term period of time with specific start and end dates as indicated on both the visa and temporary work contract.

[Sirens of Cyprus]

So are there 3 visa types we are taalking about here? Is the temp work visa different from the business/work visit visa? If so, how long can a temporary work visa be issued for? Can there be extensions?

[nomad soul]

[scot47]

It is a business visa.

[Sirens of Cyprus]

There do appear to be 3 visa types being issued to English Teachers:

1. Temporary Work Visa

2. Business Visit Visa

3. Employment Visa (leading to work permit and Iqama)

I believe #1 and #2 can be had with the involvement of only one Saudi ministry, namely, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I'm not sure what the policies are on time limits, extensions, or renewals of #1 and #2. It appears that #2 (possibly also #1?) can be had from a Saudi embassy in a country not your own. I think #1 and #2 also might not have age limits. Visa types #1 and #2 might be of interest to teachers whose names have been placed on blacklists used by the Ministries of Labor or Interior.

I believe #3 involves 3 Saudi ministries: Labor, Interior, and Foreign Affairs.

In practice, however, business visit visas are very commonly used to
facilitate rendering short term or intermittent contractual services
(e.g., managerial, professional, technical or consultancy services) and
the practice has been historically tolerated by the Saudi authorities.

Recently, Saudi Arabia introduced a new type of visa � the temporary
visit work visa. The purpose of this visa is to allow the employee of a
foreign entity, which has no presence in Saudi Arabia, to perform
temporary work for its clients in Saudi Arabia.

I took the two paragraphs just above from the online "global mobility handbook" for the international law firm Baker and Mckenzie. The last paragraph refers to visa type #1, the word "visit" being apocryphal.

[scot47]

The reality is that teachers should be on a work permit and employment visa.

[nomad soul]

Right-O, Scot47. We can't say it enough here. (But is anyone listening???)

Sirens of Cyprus:

Direct-hires are issued proper employment visas (leading to a residence permit); whereas, teachers working on behalf of contracting companies could be issued any one of the three (almost always determined by the company and not by the teacher), with biz/work visit visas apparently being the most "popular." Temporary work visas don't seem to be requested as much by contracting companies, however, probably because these visas require specific, short-term start/end dates and a temporary work contract for visa processing, and they don't allow for extension.

Anyway, as it's been said ad nauseam in this forum, temp work visas, work visit visas, and biz visit visas are not valid for the typical teaching situation. By the way, it doesn't matter what entity does the issuing and where certain visas are issued, know that visa regs and requirements can change.

[Sirens of Cyprus]

Dear Nomad. You are confused. The 3 visas you refer to here:

"...temp work visas, work visit visas, and biz visit visas..."

are in fact only 2 visas. The fist two in your list are approximate terms for the same thing.

[johnslat]

Dear Sirens of Cyprus,

I'd say nomad soul isn't confused or confusing. Nomad isn't confused because it's the recruiters who are confusing, using a number of different (and very misleading) terms for what is the same thing: a business visa.

Some recruiters call it a "work visa." others call it a "temporary work visa,"
still others call it a "work/visit visa" when actually all of them are talking about a "business visa." But since it's illegal to work in Saudi as an EFL teacher on a business visa, the recruiters are deceptively giving it different names that misleadingly imply it's the sort of visa that makes it OK to work in the Kingdom.

Teachers using recruiters need to be made aware that all these false visa names all really mean a "business visa."

Regards,
John

[Sirens of Cyprus]

Dear Mr. Slat,

You and Nomad have a mutual admiration society going on here, and I suppose VS is a member, too. Read the Baker and Mckenzie handbook. There are THREE different animals here. You guys keep assuming those horrid recruiters have a zillion names for the business visa. There really are two different visas besides the employment visa.

[johnslat]

Dear Sirens of Cyprus,

Yup, we do have a "mutual admiration society" - we both admire good, honest posts that may help prevent unwary EFL job applicants from getting suckered into dreadful jobs.

VS is also a member,

Perhaps you'll be able to join someday. Hope so.

Regards,
John