nudda

Hi all,

I have landed a good job in Riyadh. I want to take my parents with me as they depend on me (violins out) and would feel horrible leaving them behind as they have done a hell of a lot for me.

Anyway, I wanted to ask what the deal was for parents visas. The company I have an offer with say the government makes it impossible to get parent visas - only available for spouse and kids. They would have to get 3 month VISIT visas to ... visit.

Is this true? Has anyone else gone through this?

I am in the UK right now.

thanks

flares

I think you should remain in the UK. Honestly.

Backinthesand

Could not agree more - and yes chance of getting a visa for your parents is next to zero, if they are dependent upon you then Saudi is definitely not the place for them.

nudda

Apart from the dependecy issue, why do you guys say i should stay in the uk

flares

Let me turn this around...what attracts you to Saudi Arabia?

nudda

Cinemas, free speech, relaxed laws, equality, justice, nightlife ... the list goes on.



But in all seriousness; tax free money, hot weather, paid expenses, cheap fuel(!) and the opportunity to work in a senior position in a respected organisation in a key rol within a field that is booming in the ME right now. I'm quite a boring person so as long as I have the net, I'm somewhat happy ... although I hear KSA is what you make out of it.

Alexa

hmm, I don't know...I do not think Saudi is a good place for elderly people.
Health care may be a problem...and who would they socialize with? Even if you are on a nice compound, there won't be anybody in their age range.

Maybe if they are Muslim and speak Arabic, your father might meet somebody to socialize with at a mosque.

flares

OK you're with me...

Saudi is a fascinating place...a *****ing hole but fascinating all the same.

I don't believe you have a cat in hell's chance of bringing 'the olds' over.

mikewot

You should get off of the fence because your ass will get full of splinters. Tell us what you really think!

scot47

You will not get visas for parents unless you have "Wasta" at a high level - like you are a bosom pal of an important member of the Saudi Royal Family.

nudda

Im small fish

scot47

Visit visa might be possible. My father-in-law visited us in Jeddah.

nudda

was it easy to get? I believe max stay is 3 months. Can they get a vis every 3 months without issues?

scot47

I do not think so. I worked for the Airline so we had the patronage of Prince Sultan whop was then Minister of Defence. Rule there was a month possibly extended to two. Certain nationalities were not eligible

nudda

We're british. The company itself is owned by the royal family.