Working in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a country of 27 million inhabitants with budget surplus that has reached ($110 billion) in 2012 with a nominal GDP of ($651.652 billion in 2012). Saudi Arabia is the largest and most stable economy in the Gulf and is also one of the safest countries in the Middle East.  The Saudi economy weathered the recent economic and financial crisis far better than any other country in the world. This is not an accident; Saudi Arabia follows very conservative economic and financial policies.

The Saudi Arabian economy looks very bright considering the private investment boom in key infrastructures such as real estate, construction, healthcare, education and financial services.

The Saudi economy is expected to grow about 4.5% in 2013 compared to global economic growth of 3.9%.

There is no doubt serious money can be made and will be made in Saudi Arabia for individuals prepared and have done their homework.

Working in any overseas country is always daunting. The challenges of working in Saudi Arabia can be very unique than anywhere else in the world considering culture, language, religion and business laws. However, the rewards can be significant, especially if you come with appropriate skills, local knowledge and advice.

I am answering from the perspective of USA/Canada/British/Australian person looking opportunities in Saudi Arabian market. If you are reading this and you are from another country please consult with your country’s embassy in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is not a country you can take a visa and look around and talk to business people. To enter you need a business visa from some business entity that you want to do business with or company that is sponsoring you to come to Saudi Arabia. You should consider Saudi Arabia if you have skill set that is badly needed in Saudi Arabia and the locals cannot cover the need and other third country nationals luck that expertise. It is mostly in the areas of Healthcare, Energy, IT Security, Investment, and native English Language teachers.

You should know about

Religion

Saudi Arabia is a conservative country, it is the heart of the Islamic world, it is where over 5 million practicing and conservative Muslims come to perform their once in a life time pilgrimage every year. Think about your city or country hosting the world soccer cup every year. The country dedicates a lot of time, energy and money to facilitate the massive number of pilgrims that are visiting each year.

The entire country revolves around the 5 daily prayers. All businesses are closed anywhere between 15-20 minutes at least four times a day.  This applies all businesses except hospitals, safety agencies, police, airports and related services.  You will hear lot of expatriates complaining about business closings but it has been like this last 1400 hundred years and it is not going to change. So get your pray schedule and be cognizant of this if you are non-Muslim. Needless to say, working Saudi Arabia includes that you educate yourself adjusting to this reality and respect their culture and religion.

Clothing

Saudi Arabia women and men are required to cover up. I mean women are required to cover except their faces and hands and men are required to cover below the knees to their neck. Men wearing shorts are not allowed except in gym, private compounds and places of sports.

Women do not drive in Saudi Arabia. The unwritten law is that women cannot drive. Almost every family have a driver unrelated with the family driving the ladies of the house from work/school/shopping etc.

Inappropriate sex contact

Relationship outside of marriage is forbidden by law. Therefore anyone in seclusion with unrelated opposite sex will face the full force of the Saudi law. It is well advised to not entangle with forbidden acts that will land you in jail.

Alcohol and Drugs

Bringing alcohol to Saudi Arabia is not allowed and will land you in jail. Bringing drugs into Saudi Arabia such as Hashish, Marijuana, Heroin, ecstasy bills etc. the penalty is death.

Politics

Saudi Arabia is a monarchy led by King Abdullah the custodian of the two holy mosques. Saudi Arabia unlike many Arab countries is ruled by the King through a system of Shoora or consultation. The King consults with council of Senior Ulema, senior royal family members, tribal chiefs, intellectuals’ and council of ministers and mostly people that are respected among their communities and tribes.  King Abdullah is well liked leader and respected by the majority of Saudis. Saudis generally do not engage talks about politics and you as an expat employee should not be engage in it. That does not mean, Saudis are afraid to speak about issues that concern them, they are very outspoken and they do have venues to communicate their concerns but it is not in the streets as in common in the western world. Therefore, the expat employee should not discuss, participate, facilitate or engage in any political event, talk, and discussion offline or online in Saudi Arabia.

 Employee rights

Sadly, the expatriate labor force which are  more than 8 million have no transparent and real fallback if they are wronged, or employers do not pay them. You will read article after article in Arab News the English daily paper, expatriate employees that are not paid in months, house maids being raped, tortured, burned etc. If Saudi and an expatriate have disagreements on business or even a road accident, usually the fault is being put on the expatriate and there is nothing they can do about it. To go to court will take ages and eventually the favor will go to the Saudi anyway. It is an unnecessary in this age and time and it gives the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a bad name. There is a lot to be done to remedy these ills in the labor market.

The Police

The police are not trained and really out of their depth when it comes to policing.  You need to witness the roads to confirm my statement, the roads are dangerous and driving is total mess and ugly. The police do not do policing at all and if they do, they are corrupt, biased and will not dispense justice. If there is an accident, the expat is automatically at fault, and if accident is between Saudis usually the police will favor his tribe. If there is an accident, you will have to wait hours before any police shows up to settle the matter. 

Riyadh King Khalid International Airport (RUH)

 Sadly the first impression is made when entering Saudi Arabia through Riyadh King Khalid International Airport,  probably the worst airport I have dealt with in my years of traveling the globe, untrained custom officials is the problem. 

The first thing that greets you is a custom official slapping a poor South East Asian worker. They smoke cigarettes at work, talk loud and rude to guests and they really have no manners at all. You really have to close your eyes to pass that airport to avoid the ugly and chaos that prevails in this hellish airport.

The custom officials are busy texting their friends while hundreds wait in line to be processed. It takes anywhere between 1 to 2 hours to clear that airport. In summary the airport is a pathetic to say the least. I do not know who is in charge this airport but whoever it is, they are out of touch and have no idea what is taking place there. The person in charge  Riyadh King Khalid International Airport (RUH) should be fired. That person really do not deserve to hold that position. They muddied the name of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They need to learn from Dubai, Oman and Qatar how to do good job at airport management.

Racism:

Unfortunately racism exists in Saudi Arabia as in the rest of the world. The racism I have seen is more against expatriate workers in general not against particular race. It is more like I am better than you, you are not Saudi type thing. You will see them cut in-front of you and the Saudi at the counter whether in bank or government office will server him, he will not tell him go back to the lane and wait your turn. You really have to tell sometimes 'hey buddy life starts over-there"

Salary negotiation

It depends on your needs and your goals. The rule of thumb is if your skills are in high demand and they should be anyway, you have a degree from recognized university and have western nationality, you should have basic salary, housing allowance that covers your housing needs, 30 day vacation per year with company paid ticket to home of record, transportation allowance or vehicle, health coverage and school tuition  pay if you are bringing young family with children.

Many companies do not pay school. REMEMBER schools are very expensive in Saudi Arabia, GOOD SCHOOLS that is costs an arm and leg ($15,000-20,000 per child per year) so do your home-work before you agree or sign employment contract. Transportation is another thing you need to consider if you are going to pay the school because the schools will charge the transportation and in many cases they do not have transportation so you need to hire a driver and buy a vehicle etc.

Family Status: If you are planning on bringing your family make sure your contract says that and is written in there.

Housing: Make sure it is clear if you sharing an apartment you know how many people you will be sharing with. Where it is located, what facilities are available etc. If it is money amount find out how much you will get and what are the terms and transportation.

I hope this helps you make informed decision when coming to work into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.