Business Visa

For business visits, a visit visa is mandatory.  The company you are doing business with should automatically co-ordinate the visa, or at the very least their side of the arrangements but they may need a gentle reminder!  All prospective visitors should obtain a letter of invitation from the company or individual Saudi sponsor.  This invitation letter is an acknowledgement that a visa has been obtained on the visitor’s behalf and that authorisation to issue this visa has been sent to the Saudi embassy in the visitor’s home country.  Passports submitted in the morning, with the relevant visa number can usually be collected the same afternoon, but check this directly with the embassy.

Residency Visa

This goes hand in hand with the Are You New and is an in-depth look at surviving the process to get your residence visa and your work permit, known as an ‘iqama’.  For those not bringing families into the Kingdom this process is relatively straightforward.   

For those with families, patience will be required.  We take it for granted in our own country that we can move to a new town and get a job – simple as that.  As a family in your home country there are the usual new house, new school worries but you and your family probably move at the same time and the change over from one life to another is relatively smooth.  When you change countries, unless you have an automatic right to live in that other country ie you have dual nationality, work permits and family papers will need to be processed, medicals sorted out, etc.  Saudi Arabia is no different in this aspect to other countries but that knowledge does not make what can be a long and arduous process any easier!  Just rest assured that everyone has gone through the same procedure. 

Here follows a timetable that starts with you getting your residence visa (congratulations!), through to your family joining you.  From experience, depending on the time of year when the process is started, this can take around three months.

 

Stage One – Residence Visa 

Before you get involved in this process, your potential employer will have requested a visa for you from the Ministry of the Interior in Jeddah.  Once this request has been approved, a visa number is sent from the Ministry in Jeddah to the Saudi Embassy or Consulate in your country, awaiting the arrival of your completed residence visa application form, sent by you.  To get to that stage you need to do the following: 

·                     Get ‘Visa Medical’ – this is best done by a specialist ‘visa medical clinic’ – your GP will be able to advise you where you can get this done.   (Requires two photographs)

·                     Obtain Residence Visa application form from Saudi Embassy

·                     Get 60 colour passport size photographs of yourself (yes, 60! See important note under ‘Stage Five – Driving Licence), 10 colour passport photographs of your family (together in one photo, without you in the picture) and 10 colour photographs (standard 6″x4″) of you WITH your family 

Send the following to the Saudi Embassy: 

Depending on your employer the following may be handled by your personnel department.  It is just as well to be familiar with the process though, in case you need to chase them up. 

·                     Your passport – check that it has at least six months until expiry

·                     Residence visa application form, with two photographs

·                     ‘Visa Medical’ results

·                     Copy of higher education, degree certificate/s (these need to be notarised)

·                     Copy of contract

·                     Company letter in Arabic confirming your appointment

·                     Copy of visa payment slip (from employer)

·                     Visa fee

·                     No objection certificate – if you have worked in Saudi Arabia before within a set amount of time, your previous employer must confirm that they permit you to return to work in the Kingdom 

Your application is matched to the visa number from the Ministry, your visa is stamped into the passport and you are free to travel to Saudi Arabia. 

Be prepared to have to make a few reminder telephone calls to the Saudi Embassy in your country. You may even have to visit it in person to ensure prompt completion.  Any flights that you book should be ‘changeable’! 

Take the following with you to Jeddah: 

They must be originals – NOT copies. 

·                     Birth certificates for the whole family

·                     Marriage certificate

·                     Educational certificates

·                     Driving Licence

·                     And all those colour photos mentioned earlier! 

It can be daunting on your arrival in Jeddah – perhaps you didn’t realise how much you’d miss your family and that you don’t actually know anybody or where to go to get anything – time to gen up on the ‘Are You New’  section’!  It will be hard, but remember that everyone has gone through the same process, they know how you are feeling – everyone was ‘new’ at some point and people are willing to help.

 

Stage Two – Your Iqama

Allow eight or nine days 

Your main focus, apart from getting to grips with your new job, will be to get the family to join you as soon as possible.  You will need equal measures of diplomacy and determination to keep the process rolling.  There is a lot of paperwork and ‘to-ing and fro-ing’ before your family’s passports will be stamped with their residence visas – keep as organised as possible to keep on top of the situation. 

The first step is getting your work and residence permit, otherwise known as your ‘iqama’.  This is an extremely valuable document and you should consider arranging insurance for replacing it, once it is in your possession. 

On your first day in your new job, get cracking on the Iqama Checklist: 

·                     Iqama medical

-                      check with the personnel department which hospital or clinic they use. Results will

take two to three days.

·                     Request personnel to produce company letter and copy of your contract

·                     Gather together iqama medical results, passport, two photographs, company letter and copy of contract – either you or the Government relations officer will have to present these documents to the Passport Office (Al Jawazat) 

Once you receive your iqama (green for Muslims and brown for non-Muslims), make photocopies of it for your files.  Carry your iqama with you at all times – your employer will usually keep your passport in the company safe while you are in possession of your iqama.  You will now need an exit/re-entry visa every time you travel outside the Kingdom.

 

Stage Three – Family Visa

Allow five to six weeks 

We’re getting there!  Once you have your iqama, you can start the process of obtaining a family visa. 

 

Family Visa Checklist 

·                     Send copy of contract to your wife

·                     Wife to get visa medical in home country

·                     You need to get official Arabic translations of all birth, marriage and educational certificates.  These must be done by a ‘recognised translator’ – ask your personnel department or government relations officer to recommend one.  Allow two days.

·                     Certificates attested at your country’s consulate

-                      take photocopies of the original documents and the translations (suggest at least two copies)

-                      the attestation will recognise that your certificates are genuine and the translations are accurate.  Allow two days and check fees beforehand to ensure you have the correct amount with you.

·                     Prepare Arabic application form and company letter

-                      if you need to get the form yourself, go to the Istekdam office which is just off Prince Mitab Street, level with the Petromin Office, (in the very centre of O3 on the Jeddah Today map!) 

Istekdam Office Checklist 

·                     Iqama

·                     Application form

·                     Company letter

·                     Certificates/translations – take your copies to leave with the department and originals to show to the clerk 

It is best to get to the Istekdam Office for when it opens at 8.00am.  Go to the main room of the building on the left.  Do not take a number – there is a seated queue of foreigners along the back wall and a sort of musical chairs takes you closer to the clerk. 

·                     Application is processed and passed to Foreign Ministry – 10 days

·                     Foreign Ministry forwards the family visa number to the Saudi Embassy or Consulate in your home country – 10 days

·                     You collect family visa number from Foreign Ministry

·                     Advise your wife that family visa number is with the Saudi Embassy or Consulate 

Embassy in Home Country Checklist 

It is worth knowing that the numbers arrive once a week by diplomatic bag, so if the visa isn’t there the day after ‘arrivals day’ then it will be one more week.  There are many agents in the capital cities who do the leg work of ‘visa getting’ for you, for a fraction of the cost in hotels, train fares, petrol, parking – and stress for your wife!  Ask your Consulate here who they recommend. 

The following need to be delivered to the Embassy or Consulate: 

·                     Wife’s and children’s passports

·                     Residence visa application form, quoting visa number

·                     Wife’s visa medical results

·                     Copy of your contract

·                     Copy of marriage certificate (together with a letter of ‘no objection’ from former spouse if children from a previous marriage will be travelling)

·                     Visa fee 

The passports can be collected within two to five days – this may be longer during Haj or Ramadan.  If you can prove that you have flights booked when you put the visa in ie by presentation of tickets, it is possible that the turnaround time can be reduced to 24 hours.  There is no guarantee however! 

Stage Four – Family onto Iqama

Eight or nine days 

They’ve arrived!!  You may think you can relax now – but you can’t!  All members of your family need to be added to your iqama – they can’t leave the country until they are.  Your wife will need to have an iqama medical. 

Family onto Iqama Checklist 

·                     Iqama

·                     Application form

·                     Iqama medical results

·                     Previously attested certificates

·                     Company letter

·                     Family photographs – two 6″x4″ ‘entire’ family and two passport sized of just wife and children 

You should make a copy of your iqama for your wife to carry with her as identification. 

Stage Five - Driving Licence 

Some national driving licences are valid within the Kingdom for three months from arrival.  After this point you will need a Saudi driving licence. 

Driving Licence Checklist 

·                     Translation of national driving licence – this does not need to be attested at your Consulate as there is an office at the Driving Licence Office (DLO) which will translate your national licence and certify it ‘OK’.

·                     Get green hanging file folder from personnel department and place in it a copy of your national licence, a translation of your national licence, a copy of your iqama, company letter and application form

·                     Four colour passport size photographs.  PLEASE NOTE: When you present yourself at the DLO you have to look exactly as you do in your photograph ie if you wear glasses to drive and need to wear glasses to complete your eye test, then you must be wearing glasses in the photographs you give to the DLO.  If you do not, you will not receive your Saudi Licence and will have to complete the entire process again!

·                     Take green hanging folder to DLO

·                     Have blood test at DLO (your blood type is shown on your Saudi Licence)

·                     Have eye test at DLO

·                     Pay fee

·                     Collect licence 

Notes: Some nationalities will be required to complete an actual driving test.  

Well done!  You now have all the paperwork completed!! 

* * * * * * * 

As a final addendum, the above may cover how to get yourself and your family all the paperwork to live and work in Saudi Arabia but one vital part of your family may have been forgotten – your pet! The process is possibly more complicated than that to get your family out so be absolutely certain you cannot be without them! 

There is a long list of inoculations, issued by the Saudi Ministry of Agriculture, that the animal must have.  Telephone the airline that your pet will be travelling to Saudi Arabia with – they will refer you to a vet that is recognised by the Saudi authorities as the relevant health and rabies certificates need to be issued by a recognised vet, before being attested by your country’s Ministry of Agriculture and then authenticated by the Saudi Embassy or Consulate in your country.  All this, and the actual transportation of your animal to Saudi Arabia must happen within a 28-day time frame!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unseful Numbers

Emergency Services   Police 999 Fire Department 998 Marine Operator 903 Traffic Accident 993 Ambulance 997 Jeddah Coast Guard 656 1030     Embassies and Consulates   American Consulate (02) 667 0080 Australian Embassy (Riyadh) (01) 488 7788 Bangladeshi Consulate General (02) 687 8465 Belgian Consulate General (02) 651 3860 British Consulate General (02) 622 5550 Canadian Honourary Consul (02) 660 5532 Danish Consulate General (02) 667 2222 Dutch Consulate General (02) 651 5344 Egyptian Consulate General (02) 660 5205 Ethiopian Consulate General (02) 665 3444 French Consulate General (02) 651 0082 German Consulate General (02) 665 3344 Greek Consulate General (02) 665 6228 Indian Consulate General (02) 625 0104 Irish Embassy (Riyadh) (01) 488 2300 Italian Consulate General (02) 642 1451 Japanese Consulate General (02) 667 0676 Lebanese Consulate General (02) 661 0000 New Zealand Honourary Consul (02) 651 2109 Nigerian Consulate General (02) 671 6865 Norwegian Consulate General (02) 651 7729 Pakistani Consulate General (02) 669 2371 Philippine Consulate General (02) 660 0348 South African Consulate General (02) 667 1634 Spanish Consulate General (02) 660 7000 Sudanese Consulate General (02) 647 1090 Swedish Honourary Consul (02) 665 4833 Swiss Consulate General (02) 651 0772     Miscellaneous   Airport (02) 685 4341 Jeddah Veterinary Clinic (02) 691 2896

 

Visa Info

Business Visa

For business visits, a visit visa is mandatory.  The company you are doing business with should automatically co-ordinate the visa, or at the very least their side of the arrangements but they may need a gentle reminder!  All prospective visitors should obtain a letter of invitation from the company or individual Saudi sponsor.  This invitation letter is an acknowledgement that a visa has been obtained on the visitor’s behalf and that authorisation to issue this visa has been sent to the Saudi embassy in the visitor’s home country.  Passports submitted in the morning, with the relevant visa number can usually be collected the same afternoon, but check this directly with the embassy.

Residency Visa

This goes hand in hand with the Are You New and is an in-depth look at surviving the process to get your residence visa and your work permit, known as an ‘iqama’.  For those not bringing families into the Kingdom this process is relatively straightforward.   

For those with families, patience will be required.  We take it for granted in our own country that we can move to a new town and get a job – simple as that.  As a family in your home country there are the usual new house, new school worries but you and your family probably move at the same time and the change over from one life to another is relatively smooth.  When you change countries, unless you have an automatic right to live in that other country ie you have dual nationality, work permits and family papers will need to be processed, medicals sorted out, etc.  Saudi Arabia is no different in this aspect to other countries but that knowledge does not make what can be a long and arduous process any easier!  Just rest assured that everyone has gone through the same procedure. 

Here follows a timetable that starts with you getting your residence visa (congratulations!), through to your family joining you.  From experience, depending on the time of year when the process is started, this can take around three months.

 

Stage One – Residence Visa 

Before you get involved in this process, your potential employer will have requested a visa for you from the Ministry of the Interior in Jeddah.  Once this request has been approved, a visa number is sent from the Ministry in Jeddah to the Saudi Embassy or Consulate in your country, awaiting the arrival of your completed residence visa application form, sent by you.  To get to that stage you need to do the following: 

·                     Get ‘Visa Medical’ – this is best done by a specialist ‘visa medical clinic’ – your GP will be able to advise you where you can get this done.   (Requires two photographs)

·                     Obtain Residence Visa application form from Saudi Embassy

·                     Get 60 colour passport size photographs of yourself (yes, 60! See important note under ‘Stage Five – Driving Licence), 10 colour passport photographs of your family (together in one photo, without you in the picture) and 10 colour photographs (standard 6″x4″) of you WITH your family 

Send the following to the Saudi Embassy: 

Depending on your employer the following may be handled by your personnel department.  It is just as well to be familiar with the process though, in case you need to chase them up. 

·                     Your passport – check that it has at least six months until expiry

·                     Residence visa application form, with two photographs

·                     ‘Visa Medical’ results

·                     Copy of higher education, degree certificate/s (these need to be notarised)

·                     Copy of contract

·                     Company letter in Arabic confirming your appointment

·                     Copy of visa payment slip (from employer)

·                     Visa fee

·                     No objection certificate – if you have worked in Saudi Arabia before within a set amount of time, your previous employer must confirm that they permit you to return to work in the Kingdom 

Your application is matched to the visa number from the Ministry, your visa is stamped into the passport and you are free to travel to Saudi Arabia. 

Be prepared to have to make a few reminder telephone calls to the Saudi Embassy in your country. You may even have to visit it in person to ensure prompt completion.  Any flights that you book should be ‘changeable’! 

Take the following with you to Jeddah: 

They must be originals – NOT copies. 

·                     Birth certificates for the whole family

·                     Marriage certificate

·                     Educational certificates

·                     Driving Licence

·                     And all those colour photos mentioned earlier! 

It can be daunting on your arrival in Jeddah – perhaps you didn’t realise how much you’d miss your family and that you don’t actually know anybody or where to go to get anything – time to gen up on the ‘Are You New’  section’!  It will be hard, but remember that everyone has gone through the same process, they know how you are feeling – everyone was ‘new’ at some point and people are willing to help.

 

Stage Two – Your Iqama

Allow eight or nine days 

Your main focus, apart from getting to grips with your new job, will be to get the family to join you as soon as possible.  You will need equal measures of diplomacy and determination to keep the process rolling.  There is a lot of paperwork and ‘to-ing and fro-ing’ before your family’s passports will be stamped with their residence visas – keep as organised as possible to keep on top of the situation. 

The first step is getting your work and residence permit, otherwise known as your ‘iqama’.  This is an extremely valuable document and you should consider arranging insurance for replacing it, once it is in your possession. 

On your first day in your new job, get cracking on the Iqama Checklist: 

·                     Iqama medical

-                      check with the personnel department which hospital or clinic they use. Results will

take two to three days.

·                     Request personnel to produce company letter and copy of your contract

·                     Gather together iqama medical results, passport, two photographs, company letter and copy of contract – either you or the Government relations officer will have to present these documents to the Passport Office (Al Jawazat) 

Once you receive your iqama (green for Muslims and brown for non-Muslims), make photocopies of it for your files.  Carry your iqama with you at all times – your employer will usually keep your passport in the company safe while you are in possession of your iqama.  You will now need an exit/re-entry visa every time you travel outside the Kingdom.

 

Stage Three – Family Visa

Allow five to six weeks 

We’re getting there!  Once you have your iqama, you can start the process of obtaining a family visa. 

Family Visa Checklist 

·                     Send copy of contract to your wife

·                     Wife to get visa medical in home country

·                     You need to get official Arabic translations of all birth, marriage and educational certificates.  These must be done by a ‘recognised translator’ – ask your personnel department or government relations officer to recommend one.  Allow two days.

·                     Certificates attested at your country’s consulate

-                      take photocopies of the original documents and the translations (suggest at least two copies)

-                      the attestation will recognise that your certificates are genuine and the translations are accurate.  Allow two days and check fees beforehand to ensure you have the correct amount with you.

·                     Prepare Arabic application form and company letter

-                      if you need to get the form yourself, go to the Istekdam office which is just off Prince Mitab Street, level with the Petromin Office, (in the very centre of O3 on the Jeddah Today map!) 

Istekdam Office Checklist 

·                     Iqama

·                     Application form

·                     Company letter

·                     Certificates/translations – take your copies to leave with the department and originals to show to the clerk 

It is best to get to the Istekdam Office for when it opens at 8.00am.  Go to the main room of the building on the left.  Do not take a number – there is a seated queue of foreigners along the back wall and a sort of musical chairs takes you closer to the clerk. 

·                     Application is processed and passed to Foreign Ministry – 10 days

·                     Foreign Ministry forwards the family visa number to the Saudi Embassy or Consulate in your home country – 10 days

·                     You collect family visa number from Foreign Ministry

·                     Advise your wife that family visa number is with the Saudi Embassy or Consulate 

Embassy in Home Country Checklist 

It is worth knowing that the numbers arrive once a week by diplomatic bag, so if the visa isn’t there the day after ‘arrivals day’ then it will be one more week.  There are many agents in the capital cities who do the leg work of ‘visa getting’ for you, for a fraction of the cost in hotels, train fares, petrol, parking – and stress for your wife!  Ask your Consulate here who they recommend. 

The following need to be delivered to the Embassy or Consulate: 

·                     Wife’s and children’s passports

·                     Residence visa application form, quoting visa number

·                     Wife’s visa medical results

·                     Copy of your contract

·                     Copy of marriage certificate (together with a letter of ‘no objection’ from former spouse if children from a previous marriage will be travelling)

·                     Visa fee 

The passports can be collected within two to five days – this may be longer during Haj or Ramadan.  If you can prove that you have flights booked when you put the visa in ie by presentation of tickets, it is possible that the turnaround time can be reduced to 24 hours.  There is no guarantee however! 

Stage Four – Family onto Iqama

Eight or nine days 

They’ve arrived!!  You may think you can relax now – but you can’t!  All members of your family need to be added to your iqama – they can’t leave the country until they are.  Your wife will need to have an iqama medical. 

Family onto Iqama Checklist 

·                     Iqama

·                     Application form

·                     Iqama medical results

·                     Previously attested certificates

·                     Company letter

·                     Family photographs – two 6″x4″ ‘entire’ family and two passport sized of just wife and children 

You should make a copy of your iqama for your wife to carry with her as identification. 

Stage Five - Driving Licence 

Some national driving licences are valid within the Kingdom for three months from arrival.  After this point you will need a Saudi driving licence. 

Driving Licence Checklist 

·                     Translation of national driving licence – this does not need to be attested at your Consulate as there is an office at the Driving Licence Office (DLO) which will translate your national licence and certify it ‘OK’.

·                     Get green hanging file folder from personnel department and place in it a copy of your national licence, a translation of your national licence, a copy of your iqama, company letter and application form

·                     Four colour passport size photographs.  PLEASE NOTE: When you present yourself at the DLO you have to look exactly as you do in your photograph ie if you wear glasses to drive and need to wear glasses to complete your eye test, then you must be wearing glasses in the photographs you give to the DLO.  If you do not, you will not receive your Saudi Licence and will have to complete the entire process again!

·                     Take green hanging folder to DLO

·                     Have blood test at DLO (your blood type is shown on your Saudi Licence)

·                     Have eye test at DLO

·                     Pay fee

·                     Collect licence 

Notes: Some nationalities will be required to complete an actual driving test.  

Well done!  You now have all the paperwork completed!! 

* * * * * * * 

As a final addendum, the above may cover how to get yourself and your family all the paperwork to live and work in Saudi Arabia but one vital part of your family may have been forgotten – your pet! The process is possibly more complicated than that to get your family out so be absolutely certain you cannot be without them! 

There is a long list of inoculations, issued by the Saudi Ministry of Agriculture, that the animal must have.  Telephone the airline that your pet will be travelling to Saudi Arabia with – they will refer you to a vet that is recognised by the Saudi authorities as the relevant health and rabies certificates need to be issued by a recognised vet, before being attested by your country’s Ministry of Agriculture and then authenticated by the Saudi Embassy or Consulate in your country.  All this, and the actual transportation of your animal to Saudi Arabia must happen within a 28-day time frame!  

Cultural tradition means that dogs must be imported as ‘guard dogs’ or ‘hunting dogs’, so decide before hand which yours is.  Pets can often travel free if accompanied, but their container has to be ‘airline approved’ and they can be quite expensive.  Cats they are fairly relaxed about – importation of any other animals should be investigated thoroughly to ensure they are permitted.

 

Rocca Salad Recipe

Rocca Salad Recipe

Jolibee

Jolibee is has recently opened their second branch in Khalidiya (the first being in Sarawat – Jeddah International) , however this was the first time I would try their fare, and I must admit, the brand was entirely new to me ( despite being one of the biggest fast-food chain in the world with 1,655 stores worldwide).

I first mistook the joint for a honey shop. Something to do with the bee in the logo perhaps? it reminded me of honey I had as a kid. I’m sure the company made honey at one point! anyway I digress..

If  you are driving down Rawdah Street the frontage is quite small, so it looks more like a shop, this is all the more confusing as FedEX occupy the corner shop which divides Jollibee in to it’s ‘L’ Shaped interior, however side street access is available for both singles and families, its not hard to miss, just look for the giant bee standing outside the restaurant.

The chain is actually from the Philippines. and so Jollibee is an ‘American-style’ fast-food restaurant with Filipino-influenced dishes. This explains the bizarre mix of fried chicken, burgers, creamy macaroni soup, noodles, corned beef and steak. I decided to give their burger a go as it seemed to be the most prominent on the menu, and being a fan of burgers in general I was keen to see if this one might be different in any way from the norm.

The interior is beautifully done (for a fast food restaurant), with bright coloured furniture, booth and table top seating, so in form it is a lot like McDonalds, right down to the bins, but the burgers are quite..quite different. I ordered the ‘Champ’, this is a double cheese burger which came in at 13 SR. If you’re not that hungry the normal burger is 7 SR, or 8 SR with Cheese.

Information

 

Al Faham Burger

Dinner 66 Jeddah

 

Diner 66

om koltum

Burger Hut

Located just across from Vertigo and Quiznos in the Palestine Commercial Centre.Burger Hut is..as described, a small hut where three employees churn out burgers to passers buy looking for a quick bite. They are up against some serious competitors in the neighbourhood, notably Fuddruckers and Jan Burger which are both nearby. Some outdoor seating is available, but many seem to just order to go.

Prices are reasonable ,7 SR for a cheese burger, other burgers are also available, like chicken, fish along with various sandwiches. A Super Hut Burger is also available for 11 SR. I ordered a basic cheeseburger and waited 5 or 6 minutes while it was cooked.

The burger is packed in Aluminium foil, like most local burger joints across town. The meat was suprisingly thin and soft, (soft as in mushy), but then… most locally grilled burger patties seem to be mushy. In fact most local grilled burgers seem to taste the same, they all have the same buns, token tomatoe slice, lettuce etc and mayo. The bun was a little dry..

It reminded me of burgers you get from a ‘man in a van’ at theme parks or fun fairs abroad, great if you’re really hungry, but nothing particularly special about them either. Maybe I should have tried the Super Hut Burger. I’m guessing that’s a double.

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