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Post by gaucholoco on Oct 24, 2022 22:36:11 GMT
Hi everyone,
I've recently accepted an offer from Aramco and am going through the relocation process. I have two cats, which seems like it will complicate things a bit. My relocation adviser said that all of the pet relocation specialists they worked with in the past went out of business during the pandemic, and so she is interested to hear how my experience goes.
I wanted to see if there were any recent experiences relocating cats (or dogs, I suppose) from North America. How did you manage the process? Is there a pet relocation agency you could recommend? Are some airlines more reputable than others when it comes to handling vets? How long does the administrative side of things take?
Interested in any recent anecdotal experiences. Thanks in advance.
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tamsin
Senior VIP Expat
Posts: 655
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Post by tamsin on Oct 25, 2022 6:42:10 GMT
My direct recent experience is dogs from the U.K., but I know people are still flying in and out of Houston with pets and that agent here was very much in business 4 weeks ago. The company here that we used is called Expat Logistics, contact them and they’ll help you contact an agent Stateside that they work with.
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Post by StarboyX on Oct 28, 2022 9:19:07 GMT
Hi everyone, I've recently accepted an offer from Aramco and am going through the relocation process. I have two cats, which seems like it will complicate things a bit. My relocation adviser said that all of the pet relocation specialists they worked with in the past went out of business during the pandemic, and so she is interested to hear how my experience goes—not exactly inspiring a ton of confidence! I wanted to see if there were any recent experiences relocating cats (or dogs, I suppose) from North America. How did you manage the process? Is there a pet relocation agency you could recommend? Are some airlines more reputable than others when it comes to handling vets? How long does the administrative side of things take? Interested in any recent anecdotal experiences. Thanks in advance. [br Yes go with Expat Logistics and talk to David. We brought our beagle from Calgary to Dhahran last year. |
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Post by gaucholoco on Nov 3, 2022 13:57:08 GMT
Hmm. I contacted Expat Logistics and heard from Clare, but she replied that "you cannot apply for an import permit with a first time visa, you must have a border number which is given to you the first time you arrive into KSA."
Is that true, that you cannot in fact relocate with your pets but have to arrive first, get an iqama, and then retrieve your pets at a later time?
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tamsin
Senior VIP Expat
Posts: 655
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Post by tamsin on Nov 3, 2022 14:37:00 GMT
Hmm. I contacted Expat Logistics and heard from Clare, but she replied that "you cannot apply for an import permit with a first time visa, you must have a border number which is given to you the first time you arrive into KSA." Is that true, that you cannot in fact relocate with your pets but have to arrive first, get an iqama, and then retrieve your pets at a later time? Yes, you need it for the paperwork. You can start the process and leave that bit blank until you arrive then have them collected from boarding and sent over. TBH, I don’t know many people who arrive with their pets, ours are always 2/3 weeks or so after us. |
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Post by gaucholoco on Nov 3, 2022 18:47:55 GMT
Gosh. I'm not sure what we'll do. We've mentioned the cats from the very beginning of the process—this is actually the first time we've heard that they wouldn't be able to travel with us.
We don't have any friends or family anywhere nearby that can host them in the meantime, and the thought of boarding them for multiple weeks at a time isn't something that either of us is comfortable with.
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Post by gaucholoco on Nov 3, 2022 18:50:05 GMT
In fact, our relocation adviser just yesterday specifically mentioned that they tend to book people traveling with cats via KLM, as that's known to be a more "pet friendly" airline. She obviously knows that we don't have an iqama; maybe the process has changed?
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tamsin
Senior VIP Expat
Posts: 655
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Post by tamsin on Nov 3, 2022 20:03:16 GMT
It may have changed or it might be that they are used to couples arriving separately. But I can say, after many moves, the RA do try to help but ultimately their job is to get the employee there, they don’t do pets, schools etc etc. It’s on us to organise that.
Could one of you fly ahead?
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