prwatts

Oh the East Chermans would be proud of the bureaucracy here...and it has to be followed, the rules is the rules.

MaserMan

It really is all down to your company, I have been in kingdom 4weeks, got my iqama on the wednesday of the 3rd week, turned up for work on the Saturday and was taken by one of our Gov. affairs guys to the driving school and had my drivers licence in 30 minutes. Pocket sr400 lighter.

The system here works well, it is just the people administarting it that cause the problems. If you do not have the support system of your company/sponser then it would be a nightmare.

Good luck.

prwatts

I would not say the system works well. It sucks and so do the clowns running it. I have been here 5 months and EVERYTHING is like bluddy herding cats in a dog kennel. The country and people are nice but the system is rotten. Try and put yourself in the tea-boy's position for a week. The place runs on intrigue and back-stabbing and kick-backs. You are obviously one of the lucky few with a good Mr Fix-it. My CEO has to approve me going home for a break over Eid. He refused my leave for my father's funeral. No, I am anti these guys. The top dogs live well and everyone else eats ---t.

prwatts

And another thing: are you working for a Gvt Co. or a private co. international? Makes a big difference.

flares

that's a new low.

MaserMan

PLC

Stormers

I'm in Saudi on a temporary work visa valid for 3 months, the plan is to send me home after 3 months to get my permanent visa. I'm now in the probation period.

I'm in my 2nd month, but this company is terrible. Can I leave before the probation period on my own expense and return without a NOC and work for another company?

Please advise?

nottmbantam

From my understanding, you don't need a letter of no objection ( NOC ) but more of a Certificate. THe Certificate is more generic and a kind of 'To WHom It May Concern' type. THe NOC would *probably* be more specifically addressed to the new employer / sponsor.

If you leave before the end of the probation, it would be at own expense, but make sure you can get your passport back without a hitch.

Good luck.

function_analysis

I'm also in Saudi on a temporary work visa as many other colleagues here around. I'm on my second week now BUT I have the passport at hand. As such our probabtion period is something of an 'unforeseen situation', an informal agreement between us and the employer that doesn't fall into the Saudi labor law. At least to the best of my knowledge I don't need NOC to leave the country nor does the Saudi law requires so.

Good luck to all, PM if you might need anything

Stormers

Thanks a lot, lets hope I can get my passport back without any problems. I'll phone the embassy if needed, but lets see what happens.

I'm definitely going to leave this company. I hate dishonesty.

John7

What a nightmare.

In Saudi Arabia all government related applications for Iqama and others must be done through a Saudi PRO. What kind of a company is it that doesn't have a PRO or an HR Department to process such applications

It is the prime responsibility of the Sponsor / Manager to fix these things for you

yrsammit

I made this thread back in October. I'm still here, somehow, but our unbelievably awful company is in a world of trouble. They have a huge lawsuit, they're losing their contract and hemorrhaging money left and right, UNESCO and human rights organizations are investigating, etc etc. The phrase "white-collar trafficking" has been thrown around. The iqama issue was the tip of the iceberg for us. Unfortunately, from what I've read and heard, this isn't all that uncommon in Saudi Arabia. Our company was just extra incompetent on top of being deceitful.

What to take away from this: do your research before coming here. Check out the company. Know exactly what promises you can count on and how they will be implemented and in what time frame. If you don't take precautions, you're setting yourself up to be abused without recourse (other than by incurring significant financial loss by the waste of time and money trying to leave when your company basically won't let you).

prwatts

The phrase "white-collar trafficking" has been thrown around.

..., you're setting yourself up to be abused without recourse (other than by incurring significant financial loss by the waste of time and money trying to leave when your company basically won't let you).

Yes. And another thing: The level of management expertise and business competence here is astonishingly poor. No clue of any form of Business Management and they mostly behave towards foreigners as they did serfs 300 years ago. They believe we are all here because we are so desperate and so will tolerate the same abuse as our Asian counterparts.

The corruption is also amazing.

I take it month-by-month depending on getting (always late) last month's wage.

The best way to be here is still as part of a foreign company.

John7

Hope that you will have a better luck next time, although it was not a surprise to know these results about this company

irich

I would be careful in choosing to work directly for a Saudi company. I would seek separate recommendations from existing ex-pat employees that could attest to the integrity of that company.

Unfortunately the whole Sponsor & Igama system can be abused here, and often is.

Do your homework before comitting to a position here. Western companies operating in the Kingdom are normally OK. Many local companies can also be good employers. However, if you get in with a bad one, you will find yourself in a very difficult situation.