Is it allowed for a woman in Riyadh to have a job in finance?

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Hello,
Private companies, yes you can try your luck, but if you are on dependent visa, they will ask you for a sponsorship transfer, which at times can be troublesome.

pkmusd wrote:

Hello,
Private companies, yes you can try your luck, but if you are on dependent visa, they will ask you for a sponsorship transfer, which at times can be troublesome.

well,then it's a dead end. i mean most women in Riyadh are with husbands and dependent visas so? will private corporates accept that anyway?

Plenty of positions in banks there. I have a friend who is working for one and she is on her fathers sponsorship. It all depends on negotiations with the company.

live.ali wrote:

Plenty of positions in banks there. I have a friend who is working for one and she is on her fathers sponsorship. It all depends on negotiations with the company.

i understand it's possible to work for a bank but i was hoping for a corporate job,so are you saying the "negotiations" could land me a job there?

Yeah am telling u that it can. Bank or other corporate job. You just have to be a little flexible while negotiating rates and benefits because you are yer spouses visa.

Yes you can, but you will have to look hard.  Try multinational companies such as Unilever, Proctor and Gamble, Danone, logistics companies, etc.  And banks too, even if you don't really want to work there.

Regardless of where, they will ask you to transfer your sponsorship to the company.  Until last year July, the government turned a blind eye to the problem of expat employees working for someone other than their sponsor and dependents working.  Since then, the government for the first time is enforcing the law.  You missed it as you weren't here, but ask around, they will tell you the chaos that reigned here from about May 2013 till early this year.  Police raids, deportations, public protests, and some of those raids and protests turned violent, both in Riyadh and Jeddah.  More than a million were deported.

So now, both government and employers are enforcing the rules.  This is not to say that there aren't people anymore flouting the rules, but those are cases where it is with mutual agreement and due to connections or friendship.  You wouldn't want to take the risk.  When you are here, go visit companies, search online, etc.  Once you have a job, transfer your sponsorship, and enjoy your 20-50k (riyals/month) salary!

whoa! i asked around in Danone and it looks like they have forgotten to mention that small detail to me!!! we discussed business and they left that one out to the day i'm hired maybe??? that's awkward! i'm sorry but are you sure that i must transfer my sponsorship to my new employer if it happened and they hired me? and if i'm sponsored by my employer that leaves my husband basically outta the picture like when it comes to things like exit visa? it's fair to say i'm flattering in the breeze right now

I know how frustrating it is when you have to consider changing sponsor, too many things you have to know like, would you get the same benefits as you can get when you're under your husband's sponsorship? If not? forget it! It's just not worth it!

Another thing, depending on your nationality, here in the Middle East they still have discriminations. If you are from a Western countries, you may be able to get a good package deal but from Asian countries? I doubt it! SLAVE DRIVERS still exist here unfortunately, even with Western Managers. I never had to change sponsorship and I will not consider it either. I used to work under my husband's sponsorship in Bahrain & Qatar as they allow women to work under their husband's/father's sponsorship. But not here in Saudi Arabia. If you work with someone else apart from your husband's sponsor, be very careful, it is very risky. Also, they can be nasty sometimes with local hires. Some of them don't receive their salary on time and nothing they can do but wait patiently and hope they can get paid eventually, as they are working illegally they have no rights to complain to Ministry of Labours.

peyton evans wrote:

whoa! i asked around in Danone and it looks like they have forgotten to mention that small detail to me!!! we discussed business and they left that one out to the day i'm hired maybe??? that's awkward! i'm sorry but are you sure that i must transfer my sponsorship to my new employer if it happened and they hired me? and if i'm sponsored by my employer that leaves my husband basically outta the picture like when it comes to things like exit visa? it's fair to say i'm flattering in the breeze right now

If you work for a company without transferring your sponsorship to them (assuming of course the company is ok with it), you are BREAKING the law.  It is ILLEGAL.  Just because it happens -- albeit, at a much reduced rate than a year ago, as I explained in one of my posts -- does not mean the authorities will go light on you IF they catch you.  The company can be fined SR. 100,000 for each illegal employee, and the illegal employees will be deported.  Of course, since you are a Western woman they may go light on you and not deport you, but that's for you to find out if you dare!  What are the chances of getting caught, I don't know also.

With regards to exit visas and such, you will be under your company, so it will have nothing to do with your husband.  They will handle are exit visas, health insurance, etc for you. 

ASK them what they want to do.  If they say you can work with them without transferring, tell them it is illegal.  Ask them how they intend to protect themselves and you if their illegal employment practices are discovered in a raid.

Also, instead of transferring to them, ask them if they will give you more/better benefits if you were to leave on final exit and they were to bring you on their visa.  You might not want to go that route even if they agree, but it is good to have a choice.