Work vs Business Visa

Hey dnjsmom88,

You are technically not allowed to work on a business visa. The purpose of it is to come as a "businessman" looking to start a business with a partner, or consulting from an external company. It says explicitly on the visa that work is not allowed. Keep that in mind if you do this and get asked any questions.

As far as I know, there is no "transfer". Once your actual work visa is approved, you will have to go back to the US and get the new visa there.

Since you are not allowed to officially work, you will have no proper work contract.

For the length of stay, I hear its just by chance, but generally, for a 1-year you get 90 days and for a 2-year you get 180 day stays. You would have to leave and come back within that time. You can take a day trip to UAE or Bahrain, etc.

Not having iqama is a little bit of a pain. They will have to pay you under the table in cash, or transfer to the US. You can't get a post-paid mobile line or landline/fiber home internet, among other things. I don't think you're allowed to own a car.

One thing I would suggest is to go with the shortest one possible. While it will suck in terms of shorter allowed stays, it will force the employer to get your iqama/work visa done. If you get a 2 year, they may not care anymore. And it may actually be their intention in the first place. There is much less cost and burden on them to keep it as a business visa.

Hi dnjsmom88,

You seem to be one of the few westerners on this forum who's been able to get a work visa issued (at least to the embassy stage) this year. Can I ask how long it took? It would be super helpful! I've been waiting four months so far and others have been in the queue much, much longer.

Unfortunately all I have is the visa invitation from my employer in Riyadh.  My degree is stuck at the Cultural Mission in Washington DC.  This process is daunting but I will stay the course and take whatever visa they give me.  Alhamdullah for everything!

I'm glad to hear you've actually received the visa invite. That seems to be where things are really backed up for people right now, myself included.

I got my visa invite in mid-July and sent everything immediately to the Visa Agent.  At first I thought I was sent to a bad visa agent because he had told me that I would have it in 7-10 days but a month later still nothing.  I contacted the company I used to get documents attested in the UAE and their Saudi specialist told me he was having the same delays.  Since I trust him completely I knew that the delay was definitely coming from the Saudi side.

I just hope I'm there before school starts on 2 September.  It's too hard to start a school year once the kids have already started.

I received my offer in February and my employer sent my family on a weeklong house hunting trip in March. I was told the visa invite should come in May...now it's August and nothing yet. At least now I know to prepare myself for a long processing period, too (assuming the invite ever actually comes through).

If you're a US citizen and your job requires a degree the Cultural Mission in WA DC says it takes 2 months to attest degrees.  If your degree was earned in 2000 or later you will need special documentation sent by the university directly to the Cultural Mission.  My understanding is that on line programs aren't accepted in KSA.  If your degree was earned prior to 2000 you do not need special paperwork.

They started applying for my visa invitation after Eid and it took almost a month to get because it's all electronic and there were issues with the system and then the system was slow.  Fortunately, I had a list of items that I knew I would need so I got those items ready so when my invitation came. 

If you are a US citizen here is the list of what you will need for a position requiring a degree.  Some of the medical tests can require a week or more to be completed so if you can get a jump start on them it saves time.  Some of the medical tests are not common in the west so you may have to go to outside labs for them.   The same is true with the police report. 

Following are the requirements for processing a Saudi Employment visa:

•        A passport valid for at least six (6) months, with at least
two (2) blank adjacent visa pages.

•        FOUR (4)  recent passport
  size color photograph with a white Background ;the photograph must
be a full-face view in which the visa applicant is facing the camera
directly. Side or angled views are NOT accepted.  (cannot exceed a six
month period)

•        A completed application form filled in with black ink pen or
printed out (ATTACHED TO THIS EMAIL) (MUST INCLUDE RELIGION, MOTHERS
NAME, VALID CONTACT PHONE NUMBER)(Under Travel Information:
  Insert "Pending Visa Approval")


•        ORIGINAL and copy of the employment contract signed by both
the sponsor and the applicant. The position mentioned in the contract
should match the position mentioned in the block visa reference and
POA, as should the ACADEMIC DEGREE the applicant holds and its major.

    Make sure that you  sign and date the contract in all the pages that
require your signature.

•        A copy of the Tafweed (Power of Attorney).  It should be in
either the applicant's name or ATLANTIC TRAVEL.


•    Copy of the degree certificate/Diploma.

Updated official transcript in a sealed envelope.

Signed Written consent form . (Attached)

Verification from the National Student Clearinghouse.
(www.degreeverify.com).  If the college/university does not
participate in the National Student Clearinghouse, please contact the
college's registrar office for a degree verification letter.  This
letter must be in a sealed envelope.

Completed Distance Learning form (Attached). This is required for all
degrees earned on or after the year 2000. It must be completed by the
university and mailed directly to the following address:

Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission
Authentications Department
Attn: Ms. Nabila Oumsalem/Mr. Abdullah Elmogaddedi
8500 Hilltop Road
Fairfax, VA 22031

Please note, that if the degree has been earned online or more than
50% credits have been
completed online,  it will not be accepted.




•        A “FINAL EXIT” statement from Passport Control/Ministry of
the Interior (stamped with a “FINAL EXIT” stamp). This applies only if
the last employment in the Kingdom ended within the last three (3)
years. (Only applies if you were on an EMPLOYMENT VISA)

•        Three (3) copies of our medical report, three medical reports
must be issued by a licensed physician who must signs each copy and
must certify that the applicant is free of any contagious disease. The
license number and address of the physician should appear on each
copy. Three copies of the physician's practicing license. Medical
reports should be used within three (3) months from the date of
issuance. (ATTACHED TO THIS EMAIL) (ALL TESTS MUST BE DONE IN THE
UNITED STATES) Medical Report Diagnostics/ Lab Work must accompany
each Medical Report (3 copies in total)
    Medical reports criteria (MUST BE ADMINISTERED IN THE UNITED STATES -
by a licensed physician).

    1.        All three must be original
    2.        Hand filled by physician
    3.        Every test must be done
    4.        Physician must make a notation by every test (nothing can
be left blank) ( Nothing can be OVERLOOKED) ( The                             
    only test that is not applicable is the pregnancy test for MALES
only)
    5.        Copies of all lab test results. (Must include HIV, Hep A, B and C).
    6.        If any test result is positive, a letter from the doctor
explaining the positive result is required.
    7.        All three original medical reports must stamped with the
doctor's name and address.

        Please do not worry about the Department of Health
Certification at the bottom of the form – as long as the physician  has
        adhered to all of the specifications of the medical report –
you will not have to go through the Department of Health.

    •        A recent police report, with detailed information about
applicants criminal record, if any. Police report must be     official
and accepted only from the local police department or State Police
Department. Try to obtain a local police report,     usually they are
generated much quicker than going through the State.

    A Police Report Criteria

    1. Must be recent cannot exceed (30) days from the date your
documents enter the Consulate
    2. Must have seal, signature, or a stamp from the police dept.
    3. Only accepted local and state police
    4. A print out from a website will not be accepted.
    5. Must be notarized

I prepared everything except medical when they first told me to. I'm glad I didn't do it because it would've expired (the police report has expired, but it only cost $25). Degree verifications won't be an issue. I'm just trying to figure out why it's taking so long to get the invitation issued. I'm kind of at the point where I don't think it's ever coming, which would mean we both wasted quite a bit of time and they spent tons of money on nothing.

I admit this is very frustrating and it feels like it will never happen.  When I moved to the UAE it was easier with the visa because it was on arrival but I didn't get my resident visa until the end of May and I arrived at the beginning of August.   At the same time it took forever to get my contract and flight.  My flight was booked about 3 or 4 days before I flew and I had been asking for months.

I have become a very squeaky wheel in this process and I know it's driving them crazy but I know nothing will get done if I don't.  I email and message a lot to all parties involved just to get answers that often don't come quickly.

Don't lose hope...just start squeaking louder.

Thanks, this makes me feel a lot better. I've worked in the region quite a bit and know things are very hurry-up-and-wait. Our visit visas came in at the last minute and our flights kept getting changed because first-class cabins were fully booked on multiple itineraries by the time the travel agency got around to it (two days before). Fortunately, we're flexible. Things were a little smoother after we landed, though everyone was still running around at the last minute and messaging me at all hours.

I was a squeaky wheel for the first month or so, but let up for Ramadan, Eid, vacations, Hajj, Eid. I'll pick back up on Sunday and cc everyone I can think of!

dnjsmom88 wrote:

I got my visa invite in mid-July and sent everything immediately to the Visa Agent.  At first I thought I was sent to a bad visa agent because he had told me that I would have it in 7-10 days but a month later still nothing.  I contacted the company I used to get documents attested in the UAE and their Saudi specialist told me he was having the same delays.  Since I trust him completely I knew that the delay was definitely coming from the Saudi side.

I just hope I'm there before school starts on 2 September.  It's too hard to start a school year once the kids have already started.

Hi!

Entering KSA thru a business visa is actually not an issue though you cannot open your bank account here. I do have a lot of American and European friends working here with a business visa. the only thing hassle with it is that you have to go out of the kingdom to renew it otherwise everything is good. My friends drive their cars issued by their company. You can actually request from your employer to change your visa once you are here. I hope it helped you. See you soon!

This is very helpful...thank you!  The culture mission opens Monday and everyone in KSA is back tomorrow so hopefully all is set quickly this week. 

I can't wait to arrive!

Well looking forward of meeting you soon amigo