mcmonkiez

Folks,

I am new in this site and looking for an advise.

I'm currently living in the UK and has offerd a job in riyadh in Hospital.

I am in IT as a Data extract specialist with SQL server and ETL skills required.

please see below the package details and would be very kind if that is enough to live in riyadh

Basic salary: 10000 SR per month
Housing within compound
free medical for myself, Wife and child as its Family statius contract.
23,000 per annum for my child education .
free 3 annual tickets return from Saudi to UK or UK to saudi.
400 transportation allowance.

do i need relocation package too?
all the figuers in Saudi riyal.

also how is the life style in Saudi I been there twice as a visitor its bit different feeling but living there working just want to make sure?

i am earning more then that in UK but paying tax and for housing and bills etc and there all will be employer headache...

Your response on this would be much appriciated

thanks

jia

when u say housing in compound, do u know where u will be living or in which compound , as far as we know the housing range is in 120 to 140kannual, also u said 3 annual tickets does that mean u can come 3 times or is it one for each family member?
for school fees as i checked for american or british schools,they are in the range of 38 to 45k per annum.
as far as the salary is concernes your total package without tickets and medical is coming upto 147800sar is around 40k american dollars,if you think u can more than liing in UK then go for it, ur housing is all paid which is a big expence , also it will help if you could tell us how much they are paying for the house, you can also get furnished accomodations.
if you search the forum you might get more info on the cost of living in riyadh.my hubby is leaving for riyadh next week so if you like , pm me and hopefully i can answer more questions once he gets there.

nottmbantam

Hi and welcome to the Board.

I'm currently in Riyadh, although tomorrow I am relocating to the west coast and going to Jeddah.

THe basic salary is ok, but one thing that would concern me is the contribution of the schooling. As jia has pointed out and depending on the age of your kids, the school fees for the British School in Riyadh is around 40k SAR per year. This already leaves you with a shortfall of around 17k sar per year to find. I presume you only have one child. The standard of the schooling is very good, and the syllabus for the Brit School follows the International GCSE, which is slightly higher than then UK GCSE. How old is your child?

You can choose to send your child to the American School and also the Multi National School. The US School is probably the most expensive and the MN school probably the cheaper of the three. These were the three that we looked at when choosing a school for my step daughter.

All of the above mentioned schools have their own website giving your further details and school fees, so get onto Google and do a search. They are all contactable by email too.

I also have housing provided and we get two flights each per person per year, so to get three is a nice bonus, but saving money on the flights might not off set the extra you pay for education. Maybe you could negotiate, get the full costs of schooling and only two flights per year?

The cost of living is far far cheaper than in the UK. There are large hypermarkets and big supermarkets aplenty and you will will be able to buy all your groceries much cheaper. Fuel of course is stupidly cheap.

Any idea which compound you will be on?

I didn't get a relocation package, as to be honest , you don't really need one. Most compounds will provide fully furnished accommodation, so all you need to bring are your clothes and whatever personal possessions you want to.

Chances are that you will have to come out on your own first, get your iqama ( residency permit and ID card ) and once you have this,you then arrange to bring your family out with you. On average, you should expect to be here for around three months before your family can come out too, so you may then want to think about timing and when its best for your child to be starting school etc.

Hope that has answered some of your questions, good luck.

mcmonkiez

,

Folks,

thanks both for your reply.

my daughter is only 4 years old at the moment and she is going nursery at the moment in the UK
and 3 ticekt for each so we are in total 3 and we get every year each ticket i think which is normal.

the housing compound is within the National Health guard Hospital.
I got an email yesterday saying is... the Hospital compound is preety full and they are trying their best but if i dont get they give housing allowance

will be receiving a monthly housing allowance, which is 25% of my basic salary

I am earning in the UK £28K per annum and i take home after tax is £1650 from that .pay rent for my house £650 a month...housing tax, bills and other bits.. then food cost etc... i left with basically nothing end of the month coz of UK living expenses is very high ..


Is that possible if i can arrange a visit visa for my wife and kid coz I have somebody who can get me visit visa easily and if Hospital give me work visa and i can take my wife and daughter on visit visa.. then for 3 months when i get my iqaama.. then they come back to uk to stamp their residence visa?


I am really confused at the moment.


so basically I will have 10,000 SR every month to spend or to save where as in UK my whole salary just goes out and not really enjoying the life or not saving anything coz what ever earn just goes out...


where as in Saudi I can still be saving atleast something ..or bit enjoying something

really a big decision for me and i dont know if that salary pacakge i have been offered is it okay ? or

Nic1

I would try and get a relocation allowance - altho the housing tends to be furnished there will be stuff I am sure you will want to bring with you - particularly for your child - and of course when you leave you will have acquired stuff to take home.

Good luck
Nicola

mcmonkiez

Thanks Nicola for your reply.

I have just left few more details about my package please see above and your advise also much appriciated.

are you all lguys living in Riyadh at the moment?

I will try to get relocation pacakge but not sure if they provide me.

regarding salary when they offered me I said i need more they said we will increase every year on performance and i am 27 year old and they think i have only 5 year IT expereince. so that why i have this package?

nottmbantam

I'm in Riyadh at the moment, but you will find that a very large percentage of this Board are in Dubai or UAE. I only know of four board members who are in Riyadh, and one them is me! The others are The Dean, typical and Rdan0209

Now that you mention you are renting in the UK, then I think the salary should be ok for you, as you will not need to pay rent in the UK, and of course, live rent free here. If you don't have a mortgage then all your salary is yours to do with as you like, so you should be able to save at least.

As your child is still quite young, there is no big worry re which syllabus she'll be following. My step daughter is 14 so its a critical time for her! The schooling is generally recognised as high standard, as is medical care should you ever need it.

My own understanding of the visa situation is that you need to be here first, then you 'sponsor' your wife and child to come out. THis can only be done once you get your iqama and you are a fully fledged resident of KSA. Why did you want a visit visa? Surely it would be better to sort out a residential visa for them.

In terms of residents visa's,you will both need medicals. This entails a chest xray, and blood tests for HIV, Hep A, Hep B, Syphilis, and the usual eyesight, hearing test. Your employer should pay for you to have yours.

If you have a full UK driving licence, then it is simple to get a Saudi one, just a straight forward application and they issue it there and then. Not so good if you are from other non westernised countries - you have to take their driving test!

Most of the compounds in Riyadh are pretty full, so if you do get a housing allowance,make sure it is plenty enough to cover rent and utilities.

The Dean is pretty good source of all things Saudi, he's been here a while, but is currently away on hols. He should have a pretty good idea of how much independent housing will cost you.

Hope that helps, but feel free to ask more questions as the need arises.

Cheers.

The Dean

Hi,

Just sent you a PM but to reiterate one major point - your accommodation "allowance" (if they cannot house you in their own complex) will be only SAR 30,000 per annum.

That's a small apartment in town.

Don't even think about it - INSIST they put you in their own complex - or wait in the UK until they can and do.

Best of luck..........

rdan0209

Cannot emphasise Dean's point-DO NOT accept an allowance!
Compounds are full, rental costs are high (min u need is SAR 120k for a 2 bed in compound but that's soon changing).
And u don't want to stay in an apartment in town-yr missus will be be quiting way before u do! Compounds offer facilities like school bus, creche, trips to malls, etc keeping family entertained. Else u will have to get a driver to take the kid to pre school and wife to shops etc.
Most companies will prefer paying u an allowance-cost them less and having to find u accomodation.