Girlfriend moving to Saudi

Hi all,

I'm new on here so any help would be much appreciated.

I met my girlfriend a month after she had accepted a job offer in Saudi with KAUST.  At the time we never really thought about the long term but as time has gone on, things became more serious and the reality of her moving within 6 weeks from now is suddenly very real.  I'm at a point in my life where I am ready for a change and have no ties and would love to go with her or be able to join her out there but I can only see two possibilities, to get married or to find a job.  How complicated would it be if she returned to the UK after a few months to get married, would it require a lot of work on her behalf to change visas etc and a lot of red tape?

I've applied for a few jobs, but no success and imagine it would be easier to find work once out there, but obviously I can't get out there without a sponsor or being married, so are there any other avenues to finding work or is marriage the only real solution as I imagine the whole long distance thing would be tough as visiting would not be easy.

Hi,
Im in more or less the exact same position as you buddy. I am from Ireland and my girlfriend is already working in Saudi Arabia and ive been applyin for jobs to and no word yet. I know this message is not much help to you at the moment. If I hear anything I can let you know.
Kind Regards
Oisin Togher

Thanks man, it's not an idea situation but good to speak to someone in a similar scenario.  Did you have any plans about what to do, visit etc or are you just trying your best to get a job out there from the UK?  The frustrating thing is I'm not getting jobs which I'm easily qualified for, so I'm wondering how they view oversees applicants as I'm losing a little faith on the job front at the moment.

Ya im hoping to visit her as getting a job seems hard to be got. I work with autism and becuse im a man it seems hard to get a job there and Ireland and the UK I can find work no hassle. My girlfriend is from my hometown at home and she is trying to find a way for me to visit the country but it just seems very hard. Its so annoying really!! Im actually movin to dubai soon enough but id like to get to her asap,  its been hard on our plans and I find it so annoying that we just cant go and visit! What are you thinking yourself??

Even visiting seems to be an issue regarding the compound without being a direct relation, and it will be very restrictive meeting outside, so I'm wondering whether we would be better meeting up in another country.  That's good that you are moving to Dubai, at least it's in the same region and she can come to you as well I imagine?  How long has she been gone for?  The problem is that she doesn't know any time frames, or what it will be like for her, she may hate it and want to return home in a couple of months or see out the 2 years that she is aiming for if she likes it.  I don't think it will be possible to keep it going for a couple of years so really it may boil down to getting married to get a visa or breaking up and seeing what happens in a couple of years, which isn't the preferable choice to me, so I'm trying my best to find a way to make it work.

Guess its time to man up and marry the women

I think she'd prefer to meet you in Dubai than you meet her in Saudi! First of all there aren't any tourist visas for here - you are either working (or with immediate family who's working) or doing the Hajj. Secondly, if you aren't married then meeting up in public is dodgy, especially for her as her job's on the line.

Flights between Saudi and the Emirates are frequent and cheap; she can fly out Thursday night and return Saturday night. Hell, if she knows someone in Dubai with a roof she'll likely have friends who'll appreciate an invite.

Swan, sorry but without a sponsor or wife/parent/son/daughter out here you can't come and then look for work. You just need to apply to a lot of employers and recruiters and see what happens. If you did get a job then visiting her (or her, you) on a friendly compound wouldn't be a big issue.

My friend if you want to search for a job,   I help you if you want,Because the Saudi market need good experiences at the moment.

Full Monty

Dubai makes more sense now that you mention it, I hadn't really thought about that but it may be a good way of meeting whilst trying to find work from the UK in Saudi.  Yeah, the meeting part in Saudi when not married was a bit of a concern and would be highly restrictive so it would make more sense to meet outside of Saudi.  I have a couple of ex work colleagues living and working in Dubai so this would make sense as I could also stay with them when visiting.

Salman480

Any help would be great regarding finding a job.  My resume can be found on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminjedwards