Expert Info
on 26 Jul 2014
My wife has taken a job with PMU in Al Khobar and I will be joining her initially as a 'house husband''. I am however, amongst other things, a project manager and will be leaving a senior role within the British government to join her. My question is, how difficult is it to find employment once you are in country? I'm also very concerned about the requirement for a degree against 30 years work experience, ie UK employment philosophy against the USA employment 'every job must have a degree' philosophy. I have spoken to a couple of recruiters, but still find the opportunities side of things to be extremely vague. A couple of months break would be okay, but after that I will go stir crazy.
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While you seem to be familiar with the process, have a look at our Visas for Saudi Arabia page in case there is something you may have missed.
As you may know, you will legally enter the country with your wife as your sponsor.
Given that you are a man with extensive work experience, you are likely to have an easier time finding a job than the average trailing spouse.
There is no fool proof answer for this, but given that you seem to be okay with being without work for a little while it may be worth your while to wait it out until you are in Saudi Arabia and start looking for jobs from there.
This gives you the added benefit of being able to investigate potential employers first hand and, in doing so, minimise falling victim to some of the potential pitfalls of the kafala system.
What is likely to happen in this case is that you would transfer your sponsor from being your wife, to your new employer. You may, however, have to leave the country with a certified exit letter to do so.
Have a look at our Working in Saudi Arabia and Doing Business in Saudi Arabia pages for a bit more.
Hope this helps a bit, and that everything works out for you.
All the best,
Xavier