Administration of In Kingdom EAP

The first EAP is a bit awkward because you may need the money before Aramco can actually arrange to pay it to you. EAP approval takes about a week and a special payment may be made to you for urgency or you may get it with your salary. You need an acceptance letter from the school stating the amount of tuition. Aramco has an online system that is straightforward. Once you are into the EAP, subsequent years are fairly easy as long as you get the paperwork in on time. Aramco does not pay the school directly. Aramco is very good about ensuring you get the money when you need it but if you are a new arrival, you might have timing problems. Also work with the school. Most schools know Aramco is reliable so they may give you extra time to pay the tuition. Once you pay the school, submit the receipt to the EAP online system within 2 months of the payment date.

Make sure you fully understand the requirements for family status as it is a requirement for EAP. HR monitors IK spouse days very closely for people on EAP. Break the rules and they will take all the EAP money back. In addition, if you or, more importantly your wife, travel outside the Kingdom even to Bahrain across the causeway, when you get pack, always go to the online Saudi govt website to check her visa and make sure it says she is IK after she gets back. Sometimes mistakes are made and the passport agent does not update the system properly and they say she is out of kingdom when she is really in. Easy enough problem to fix but the OOK days go against EAP or, more accurately, family status.