Hi All, 
I am an Indian who has received a job offer from a company located in JAFZA area in Dubai. They are offering me a job which may be posted in KSA (Riyadh/Jeddah). Before asking questions, I would like to post some information that may help all to answer my queries:
1. I am an Indian
2. I belong to Hindu religion
3. I am a strict vegetarian. No eggs, No meat, No fish. However, I can cook for myself.
4. I do smoke around 3 to 4 times a day.
5. I will be relocating to KSA alone. I have no plan in near future to bring over my family there.
6. I have no problem in sharing apartments with other bachelors/family when I move to KSA (Like a PG).
7. My monthly financial requirements in India are about INR 1,00,000/-. This is the amount I will have to save anyhow after excluding all my expenses.
8. I will prefer to rent a fully furnished or semi furnished apartment as I want to carry minimal load from India.
9. This company which is offering me job can appoint me either in Dubai or in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh/Jeddah). This is not decided yet from both ends.
Now I would like to ask following questions:
1. The company offering me the job has not yet disclosed the salary. Obviously they would be asking me for my expectations. looking at above lifestyle, what should be my expected salary?
2. As my company is in Jafza (Free Zone), I would like to explore same area for residence. Is it a good place to live? What is average rent in this area in both cases like if I rent a small apartment for my own (furnished) or if I share?
3. Will it be very difficult for me to find pure vegetarian food? What would be my monthly expense on food seeing my strict requirement?
4. In case I find residence far away from company, I am planning to buy a motorcycle. How much a used motorcycle would cost?
5. How often will I be able to travel back to India? I have learnt that employer provide once in a year round trip to my homeland, but if I wish to travel on my own expenses, are there any restrictions from the Immigration department?
6. I have some friends working in Bahrain, KSA and UAE (Dubai). Can I just go to meet them or I need to take separate Visa for the same?
7. I have India Driving License and as per the forum discussion I got to know that the same is invalid in KSA. Will it be a good idea to convert my license to International Driving License? Will it hasten up the process of getting a local one?
8. Earlier, I have traveled to two countries: Austria and Sri Lanka. Will it create a problem in getting Dubai / KSA Visa just like Israel stamp on your passport does?
9. Which out of Riyadh and Jeddah is a better place to live? Asking from the purview of safety and savings. Just in case if the company asks my preferences.
Although its is a very long list, I would like to seek all your help as I am in the final stage and expect to move within next two months.
All your help will be highly appreciated.
Regards
Guidance required to move to KSA from India
1. The company offering me the job has not yet disclosed the salary. Obviously they would be asking me for my expectations. looking at above lifestyle, what should be my expected salary? - ABOVE SAR 15000 PER MONTH IF IN KSA ELSE ABOVE AED 20000 IF IN DUBAI
2. As my company is in Jafza (Free Zone), I would like to explore same area for residence. Is it a good place to live? What is average rent in this area in both cases like if I rent a small apartment for my own (furnished) or if I share? - IT'S A FREE ZONE AND IN ONE CORNER OF DUBAI. YOU'LL NEED TO SEARCH ELSEWHERE TO STAY
3. Will it be very difficult for me to find pure vegetarian food? What would be my monthly expense on food seeing my strict requirement? - NO, EVEN SARAVANA BHAVAN IS AVAILABLE IN UAE & KSA
4. In case I find residence far away from company, I am planning to buy a motorcycle. How much a used motorcycle would cost? - MOTORCYCLE IS NOT A GOOD IDEA LIKE IN INDIA AS CARS TRAVEL AT AN AVERAGE OF 100 KMS/HR AND CAR IS A MUST IN KSA. IF IN DUBAI YOU CAN USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
5. How often will I be able to travel back to India? I have learnt that employer provide once in a year round trip to my homeland, but if I wish to travel on my own expenses, are there any restrictions from the Immigration department? - UAE YOU CAN TRAVEL ANYTIME. IF IN KSA YOU WILL NEED TO HAVE AN EXIT RE ENTRY VISA WHICH ONLY YOUR EMPLOYER CAN PROVIDE AND YOU CANNOT EXIT THE COUNTRY WITHOUT IT
6. I have some friends working in Bahrain, KSA and UAE (Dubai). Can I just go to meet them or I need to take separate Visa for the same? - IF IN KSA YOU NEED VISA
7. I have India Driving License and as per the forum discussion I got to know that the same is invalid in KSA. Will it be a good idea to convert my license to International Driving License? Will it hasten up the process of getting a local one? - NO, YOU'LL NEED TO UNDERGO THE DRIVING TEST
8. Earlier, I have traveled to two countries: Austria and Sri Lanka. Will it create a problem in getting Dubai / KSA Visa just like Israel stamp on your passport does? - NO, ISRAEL AND IRAN STAMPS WILL BE AN ISSUE
9. Which out of Riyadh and Jeddah is a better place to live? Asking from the purview of safety and savings. Just in case if the company asks my preferences. - RIYADH AS IT IS A CITY, JEDDAH WILL BE CHEAPER.
Hope the above helps!
PS: BOTH COUNTRIES ARE SAFE AND GREAT TO LIVE IN!
I agree with everything Ali_N said except that I would choose Jeddah over Riyadh. The dust in Riyadh is pretty bad.
SARAVANA BHAVAN. Love it!!!!
Note that UAE housing is much more expensive than KSA housing.
You haven't disclosed what the job position is, so I'm not sure what salary you should request.
Thanks Ali_N and metalhead9 for the replies.
metalhead9, it is a Technical Manager job. It is similar to Sales Manager but in technical side.
Regards
You also posted the same in UAE forums but left out the KSA bit.
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=826908
Suggest to first figure out where exactly you will be posted before finding out the details. The visa process for UAE and KSA is radically different as well as the cost of living and general rights that you have as an expat.
Technical manager in which field? And how many years of experience do you have? And which educational qualifications and certifications? I'm sorry, there are a lot of factors for coming up with a number.
Technical Manager in Dairy. I am B.tech Dairy Technologist with 4.5 yr exp
I think you should ask for SAR 16,000 monthly and not accept below SAR 14,000. For Saudi.
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