sgoldie1983

Hi All,

I'm new to the site and was looking for some info.

I have been offered a job in Abu Dhabi which I have accepted and signed a contract for pending whether or not I get approval for a visa.

I have sent all my relevant documents to the new company to start the process for security check and visa.

Does anyone know roughly how long this could take? I have heard some horror stories about people waiting ridiculous lengths of time for theirs. I have been given a start date of the 1st Feb, is this realistic or have I no chance of being out there for that date?

Any info is greatly appreciated.

jam25mack

1st Feb doesn't seem unreasonable.

To be honest tho it's luck of the draw. If you company is big, respected and well established and the PRO is well thought of then it will fly through. If not then..... your guess is as good as mine!

csdf

Mine took 3 weeks.

busybee2

how long is a piece of string, feb could be right, it can take months or days... depending on the company, private government, good pro bad pro national holidays which there are many at this time of year etc etc.

archie159

We do loads, for very similar people, with very similar backgrounds - some get through in 3 weeks, most take 1-2 months, occasionally up to 3 months. And some people get rejected for absolutely no reason we can identify (maybe the same name as someone else who once did something bad??).

sgoldie1983

Thanks for the response people.

Just wasn't looking forward to having to sit about waiting for months on end to get the approval. Hopefully it all goes through smoothly and I can get out there for Feb.

Thanks again.

busybee2

good learning practice for the muddle east.

Caribda

Have a question for you guys: i have been offered a position in a respectable company in Abu Dhabi but i have not been offered an official signed offer or a contract from them. Just a letter of intent saying that if i pass all the inspections i will get the official offer. Is this normal practice ? Moreover for a private organization, do i need to get through CID clearance ?

All the best,
C

archie159

Process for me, 3 years ago, was:
1. Conditional offer
2. Pass security clearances
3. Signed offer
4. Resign from old job
5. Report for work, see & sign contract and minor Ts&Cs for the first time (discover that half the verbal promises you have been made will not be fulfilled...)

Caribda

This is what i am afraid of. To be honest i don't want to be promised something (financially speaking) and to get something else. Is there any risk mitigation i should take ?

Thanks,
C

archie159

Get it all in writing, and clarify (again, in writing) anything which you don't think is clear. Don't assume anything which "is normal practice" in the UK also applies here - for instance, in my company, and many others, if you take (eg) 2 weeks leave, they will count the middle weekend against your annual allowance (5+2+5 totalling 12 days, not 10 as it would be in the UK).

Caribda

Many thanks for the clarifications. I have requested to have all in writing (breakdown of the package). No i have another question: is there common practice to be differences between Dubai and Abu Dhabi in terms of Yearly Vacation. In Dubai i would have gotten 40 days and in Abu Dhabi 30 days ?

Thanks again,
C