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Moving To Saudi Arabia
Our reliable International moving makes Relocating to Saudi Arabia Easy for You. Start your move to Saudi Arabia by getting a free moving quote.
Comprehensive Guide on Relocation To Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia- “The Land of Two Holy Mosques” is home to millions of expats that contribute to building the biggest economy in the Middle East. Moving to Saudi Arabia from USA can be easy but you have to be very well acquainted with the laws, rules and their culture.
If you are wishing to relocate to Saudi Arabia, ISS Relocations is here to assist you at every step of the way right from packing to delivering. Our team is considered the best moving company in Saudi Arabia to help you move all your belongings stress-free. Below is a brief of the many things we can help you move to Saudi Arabia.
APARTMENT: The main factor for the success of any apartment relocation in Saudi Arabia is finding the right moving company in Saudi Arabia to generate a solid project plan and manage it. ISS Relocations is a one-stop solution for moving to Saudi Arabia.
OFFICE: Deciding to relocate your office to Saudi Arabia can be the right opportunity to attract enterprise-level clients along with high calibre talent. The major benefit of moving to Saudi Arabia in a new office will help with a more efficient workflow.
PET: You need thorough planning quiet in advance to relocate your pet to Saudi Arabia. ISS Relocations is a reliable and professional pet relocation service provider that renders personalized moves for your dearest pets.
PIANO: Leaving behind a piece that is very close to your heart will leave you shattered. ISS Relocations is a professional piano moving company that will help you move your piano to Saudi Arabia.
| Category | Information |
|---|---|
| Capital | Riyadh |
| Time Zone | GMT +3:00 |
| Currency | Saudi Riyal SR/SAR |
| Population | 35,740,791 |
| Official Language | Arabic, English |
| Dialling Code | +966 |
| Emergency Number | 999 |
| Driving | On the right side |
How To Move To Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia offers lucrative career and job opportunities for expats from all over the globe with high-end modern infrastructure and extremely high salaries.
Wish to be free from all the uncertainties during your immigrate to Saudi Arabia?
We can make your relocation to Saudi Arabia easy and at the most genuine price.
1. Free Estimate
2. List of Inventory
3. Packing Process
4. Labelling
5. Assembly
6. Staging
Visa's Requirements While Moving To Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is an oil-rich and prosperous country in the Gulf. It attracts many ex-pats due to its flourishing oil and gas industries. Similar to other Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia follows the sponsorship program. Thus, you must have a sponsor if you wish to apply for a visa. Of course, nationals from the member states of the GCC don’t need a visa permit to enter Saudi Arabia.
If you are relocating to Saudi Arabia, you must have a work and residence permit. First, you need to apply for a work permit. For this, you need a job offer from a Saudi Arabian company. This company will be your sponsor. Also, ensure that this company has permission to hire foreign personnel from the Saudi Ministry of Labor.
We can help you with your visa application and relocation to Saudi Arabia. Our visa consultants and experts can help you with your documents and tell you about the various types of visas and which one is suitable for you.
- List of Visas
Following is a list of visas provided by Saudi Arabia:
1. Transit Visa: A transit visa is a visa permit given for a very short amount of time, ranging from 24 hours to 72 hours. This visa permit is for those who have to change planes at the Saudi Arabia airport and have to stay there for a few hours. You need to surrender your passport to the authorities and can get it back at the time of departure.
2. Visitor Visa: To avail of the visitor visa, you require a sponsor. Your sponsor will be responsible for you and will apply for the visa on your behalf.
3. Work Visa: You need to apply for a work visa once you have obtained a job contract from a company in Saudi Arabia. This company will act as your sponsor and file for the visa on your behalf.
4. Residence visa: Once you receive your work visa, you need to submit the visa number to the Saudi embassy to apply for a stamped residence visa which you will have to carry with you everywhere.
5. Exit Visa: If an ex-pat wants to leave Saudi Arabia, their sponsor must apply for an exit visa. Your residence permit will be withdrawn if you are leaving temporarily and will be surrendered if you are leaving permanently.
- Documents Needed
Your sponsor company will apply for a work visa on your behalf. The documents required are:
1. Your passport
2. Your recent passport-sized photo
3. Separate (for each specialty) Electronic Authorization
4. Filled visa application form
5. Date of issuance of employment visa
6. Original letter of sponsorship
7. Copy of your university degree
8. Copy of employment contract
9. Copies of medical report and lab report
10. Copy of a police report
- Fees
Following are the visa fees applied on types of visas:
| Type of company | Overall fees | Iqama | Work permit | Insurance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| >50% of employees are natives | SAR 7,200 | SAR 750 | SAR 6,000 | SAR 450 |
| <50% of employees are natives | SAR 8,400 | SAR 750 | SAR 7,200 | SAR 450 |
- How To Apply ?
To apply for a work visa, you first need a job offer from a native company in Saudi Arabia. Your company will be your sponsor and file for a work and residence visa on your behalf. Ensure that the company you’ve got the offer from has permission from the Saudi government to hire foreign personnel.
You will need to submit the documents mentioned above to your sponsor to apply for a work visa. Make sure your passport is valid and updated. You have to fill out the visa application form in capital letters with a black pen. Then you need to submit the original copy of the sponsorship letter.
Make sure that it is approved by both the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Saudi Chamber of Commerce. Your sponsorship letter should also include the date of joining, company name, post, and the block visa number. Followed by this, you need to submit a copy of your university degree and make sure that this copy is approved by the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission.
Apart from these, you need to submit your employment contract signed by you and your employer and your medical and lab reports. Make sure your medical reports are issued by a licensed physician and are issued within 3 months of your visa application.
Your sponsor will help you apply for a residence visa and family visa too. You need to submit the passports and passport-sized photos of your family visa. Apart from this, the birth certificate, marriage certificate, and medical certificate of every member are also required.
You can live in Saudi Arabia with your family once all these three visas have been issued. But make sure that you carry all your visas with you everywhere. Women need to apply for a work visa permit separately and cannot work on their husband’s work visas.
We can help you make your move easier and reduce a lot of your stress about moving. We provide relocating services and can help with office relocations, and pet relocations, and provide mobility and storage services. We are a moving company in Saudi Arabia and provide the best services at an affordable price.
Cost of Moving To Saudi Arabia
While planning to relocate to Saudi Arabia from USA, the cost of moving is one of the most important factors. The time taken to ship cargo by sea to Saudi might take between 30-45 days while to ship the cargo by air can take between 3-5 days.
Air Freight shipping is ideal for the boxes that weigh between 250 lbs. to 3,500 lbs. and the estimated cost is as follows:
| Weight | Cost |
|---|---|
| Min | SAR 600 |
| +45 kg | SAR 20 per kg |
| +300 kg | SAR 10 per kg |
| +1000 kg | SAR 6 per kg |
Sea Freight shipping is ideal for the boxes that weigh between 250 lbs. to 4,5000 lbs. and the estimated cost is as follows:
| Ft Container | Cost |
|---|---|
| 20ft Container | SAR 3900 |
| 40ft Container | SAR 5700 |
Housing In Saudi Arabia
Navigating through the rental markets in Saudi Arabia is not easy. After finding a suitable rental place, you need to be very careful because all the major documentation is done in Arabic even though the agents and landlords communicate in English. Saudi Arabian expat compounds are walled, guarded and lauded by expats but unfortunately due to high demand, they aren’t easily available.
Most people in Saudi Arabia live in apartments or villas, and the cost of these can vary significantly in different places.
| Type of Properties | Cost |
|---|---|
| Two-Bedroom Apartment (Compound) | SAR 6000 per month and more |
| Three-Bedroom Apartment (Compound) | SAR 16000 per month |
| Two-Bedroom Apartment (Outside Compound) | SAR 2000 per month |
| Three-Bedroom Apartment (Outside Compound) | SAR 2500—3500 per month |
HealthCare System In Saudi Arabia
Though public healthcare is free for all Saudi natives, it is not the same for ex-pats. Ex-pats need to apply for costly private insurance. However, there are excellent healthcare facilities and advanced equipment in Saudi hospitals and no waiting lists. Most doctors are foreigners and communicate in English, which makes it easy to understand the procedure.
Taxation In Saudi Arabia
Ex-pats don’t need to pay income tax on their salaries. However, non-residents of the country need to pay a 20% income tax on tax-adjusted profit. Non-residents with no permanent establishment in Saudi Arabia have to undergo tax withholding on their income. Their payments are also taxed in different ratios depending on the type of purchases.
We are a relocating agency who can help you in moving to Saudi Arabia from UK. Among our various services, we also provide our customers, Transit insurance for your goods. This ensures the absolute safety of your valuable goods. Contact us to avail of our services.
Education In Saudi Arabia
The school system in Saudi Arabia has 4 parts:
| Educational Level | Age Range | Compulsory |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-School | 3-5 years | Not Compulsory |
| Primary | 6-12 years | Compulsory |
| Intermediate | 13-15 years | Compulsory |
| Secondary | 16-18 years | Compulsory |
Students can opt for university or vocational education after completing their secondary education.
Work Market In Saudi Arabia
In recent years, just like other Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia, too, has been reducing the foreign workforce working in its country and focusing more on the natives. Apart from prioritizing its native workforce, the Saudi Arabia government has also realized that they need to grow out of its fuel sector and look for opportunities in other sectors too. Thus, job openings for ex-pats have reduced drastically in the last few years.
Due to this, the government has restricted jobs in 12 private sectors. However, ex-pats can still apply for specialist jobs in the area of engineering. The working hours in Saudi Arabia are from 7:30, or 8:00 am to 12 noon and from 3:30 or 4:00 pm to 8 pm. You need to work for 48 hours per week and the weekend is on Friday and Saturday.
The minimum wage of an ex-pat in Saudi Arabia is about US$7,585.00 per annum. You can apply for leaves for 21 days in a year, and if you have been working with the same employer for 5 years, then you are entitled to 30 days of leave. In case of pregnancy, you are allowed to have a 10-week maternity leave.
At ISS, you can move with ease. We are a trustworthy logistics service provider that ensures the safety of your goods and makes every delivery with honesty and integrity. We provide shipping, shifting, and international relocation services. So emigrate to Saudi Arabia with us today!
Most Desirous Cities To Live In Saudi Arabia
A majority of the expats move to 3 major cities of Saudi Arabia and they are:
Riyadh
Riyadh, being the capital city of Saudi Arabia is home to a wide expat community with a population of over 7 million. Situated on a desert plateau, Riyadh is the power hub for the Royal family and the government.
Jeddah
Jeddah is a key transit point for pilgrims and expats due to the holy places of Mecca and Medina. Sprawled by the Red Sea coastline, Jeddah boasts a population of 3.5 million.
Dammam/Dhahran/Al Khobar
Dammam is considered to be the heart of Saudi Arabia and is blessed with a population of 4.5 million people. This area has the biggest industrial plants and oil installations which has attracted major expats from all over the globe.
- Riyadh
- Jeddah
- Dammam/Dhahran/Al Khobar
FAQs
1. Is it easy to move to Saudi Arabia?
It is easy to move to Saudi Arabia from USA as long as you have a job offer and all the required documentation. Move to Saudi Arabia with the services of ISS!
2. Can females work in Saudi Arabia?
Yes, women can work in Saudi Arabia. However, it is not easy for ex-pat women to get jobs in Saudi Arabia, and there are certain restrictions too. Moreover, women are only paid 56% of what men earn.
3. Is pork allowed in Saudi Arabia?
No, pork and alcohol are strictly prohibited in the country, and their import is also restricted. This is due to religious laws.
4. Which job sectors are in demand in Saudi Arabia currently?
Currently, the IT, medical, engineering, and finance sectors are flourishing, and ex-pats can easily get jobs in these sectors with the right qualifications.
5. What is the cost of living in Saudi Arabia?
It was only recently that ex-pats were allowed to buy property in Saudi Arabia. However, most ex-pats rent apartments in foreign communities. However, the cost of renting a 1BHK apartment is from €650 per month to €1,400 per month, and that of a 3BHK apartment is from €1,200 to €2,500 per month.
6. Can I drive in Saudi Arabia?
To drive in Saudi Arabia, you need a driving license and an International Driving Permit. Make sure you carry your passport, license registration, and car insurance with you everywhere.
7. Is there a free visa?
No, there is no such thing as a free visa, and the Saudi government has clarified this and warned people about visiting Saudi Arabia under the free visa.
