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Post by Texas on Feb 29, 2012 3:07:40 GMT
Hi folks,
Reading some informative postings, some suggested that once I get the iqama to go ahead and apply for the multiple entry visa right away. My question is, don't I need the iqama to get the driver license?
If that's the case, should I wait to get the driver license first then apply for the multiple entry visa or can I do both at the same time?
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Post by Hadia on Feb 29, 2012 8:16:32 GMT
Hi Texas,
You can do both at the same time. No one's going to take your actual iqama card away from you; they'll use photocopies for their purposes. We just went through all of this very recently, so it's fresh in my mind. Allow me to share what we've learned...
To get the multiple exit/reentry visa, you will be without your passport for a short while, not your iqama. Once you get your iqama, be sure to keep it with you (or a copy of it, I've heard) all the time. Same for your dependents (my husband carries his, and I carry mine and the kids' all the time). You won't be asked to surrender your iqama card to do things like get a driver's license. They'll make photocopies. But yes, everything sort of happens simultaneously, or one after the next, once you get your iqama. If you want to sign up for a local Saudi bank account (handy for spending money and also necessary if you plan to finance a car) or set up a home shop and ship service, such as Aramex, you'll need to provide them a copy of your iqama. You may be asked to show your iqama for a variety of things, even for cell phones and satellite service, but you won't be asked to surrender the card. You need to keep this ID card on you all the time. It shows you are an authorized resident of the Kingdom. Your Aramco ID is for other purposes (work, residence), but your iqama is what the gov't expects you to carry.
Note: Once you've applied for the multiple exit/reentry visa, you'll need to leave KSA and come back in to "activate" it. I believe the time limit is 90 days to accomplish this, but check that. Most expats take a trip over the causeway to Bahrain to do this. Be sure the Bahraini officials stamp the folded-in pages that KSA will have added to your passport booklet for the multiple exit/entry, and not the passport book pages themselves, or it won't count. If you don't activate your KSA multiple exit/entry visa within the specified time limit, you'll be fined lots of money for each person in your family. So in other words, when you submit your passport and request the multiple, be sure that you have plans to leave KSA within three months. Don't assume you can take a rental car out of the Kingdom. For rental cars and financed cars, you need a permission letter from the owner to take it outside. You can always ride with friends, hire a driver, or take the inexpensive Aramco small bus that goes mid-week from one of the gates at DH.
Other Aramcons, please jump in and correct me if I've misspoken at all here.
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Post by Texas on Feb 29, 2012 19:24:56 GMT
As always, thanks Hadia for your informative reply!
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Post by the_only_way_is_up on Feb 29, 2012 22:01:03 GMT
What kind of visa are we issued with on arrival? At the moment there is a 90 day visitor visa in my passport, valid from 16th Feb. I'll be arriving on 23rd March. Will i be issued with some kind of longer term visa at the airport or will having an iqama negate the need for this? Obviously I will want to apply for multiple entry anyway, but if I don't do it before the expiry of the 90 day visitor visa is that a problem?
I assume I have to surrender my passport for the iqama application process and therefore cannot apply for multiple entry until I have this? Will my iqama be delivered to me at aramco?
Will i apply for multiple entry via aramco or will i have to do this independently? I have to hand over 20 photos on arrival. Will I be given some of these for my visa if reqd?
Sorry... so many questions...
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Post by Hadia on Mar 1, 2012 3:12:23 GMT
Here's what happened to us: When we arrived, Aramco collected our family's passports as part of the iqama application process. For ID purposes, they gave us photocopies of each passport that had an official blue stamp on them. We scanned these, just in case, so we'd have our own records. We also made sure to carry them (in a plastic bag for protection) whenever we were outside the camp, since we had no iqama or original passports to show if there might have ever been an issue (there never was).
The way our iqamas came through was employee first, then shortly after it was the dependents. When collecting the iqama cards, we got our passports back. Some people choose to hand them right back to the agent and request the multiple exit/entry visas at that time. We chose to wait for a few months, since we didn't have plans to leave the Kingdom within the first few months to activate the visas. We didn't have transportation that we could drive ourselves to Bahrain, and we weren't in a rush to go someplace over the weekends or Eid breaks. Everyone's different, though. Some expats can't wait to hop over the causeway or go to Dubai or elsewhere. It's my understanding, however, that until you have the multiple exit/entry visa, you are only authorized to stay in the Kingdom. To leave, you'd have to apply for a single exit/reentry when you leave. You can't just up and go somewhere outside and then come back in without the visas -- the iqama itself is not enough to provide that access. For some individuals, it's important to them on a personal level that they have the multiple exit/entry as soon as possible, so they have peace of mind that, in case of an urgent need, they could come and go without any impediment. Again, all up to individual families.
When we applied for the multiple, the agent used photos that were in our file there, but we had to prod a bit to get her to go look, that yes, we had photos there on file. I think they're used to telling people to go get photos taken and come back, but indeed, of those myriad 20 or so photos, those were the ones they used.
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Post by the_only_way_is_up on Mar 1, 2012 10:03:04 GMT
Thanks for clarifying this Hadia. Are the agents you speak of on the Dhahran compound or will I have to venture out to collect iqama and start visa process?
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Post by Hadia on Mar 1, 2012 13:30:30 GMT
Inside the camp, at the brand new Al Midra tower. It's set off a ways from the rest of the core buildings, and is rather prominent on the landscape. Beautiful new building. The HR department is located on the first floor, on your right. It's very organized and time-efficient. You can either drive there, catch a ride with a friend, or grab a taxi. You will get to know that HR office pretty well, with the many trips in there as you go through the settling in period. My best wishes to you and yours!  |
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Post by David_and_Nita on Mar 2, 2012 10:26:38 GMT
A note/warning to watch that visa date.
The 90 day visa that Nita had was good from the issue date, not the entry date, which caused her to roll to out of legal status before the appointment to renew it. Passport office made the appointment for us then when we arrived to turn in the passport etc for renewal they were like "oh this is expired" and it was a big 6-7 week mess to straighten everything out, during which time we couldnt do anything at all.
Have a Saudi Colleague read exactly what it says to you and do not depend on the passport office interpretation of what you are supposed to do.
The order is this:
Arrive
Redo the medical (first week)
Apply for Iqama (2-3 more weeks)
Iqama arrives a couple of weeks after you apply at the most.
After Iqama arrives, THEN you can register a mobile phone, get a drivers license, entry/exit visa, permanent community and work ID, and/or local bank account.
You are pretty much locked in for approximately 3-4 weeks with neither Iqama nor passport since the passport is required to get the Iqama. Its a funny feeling but it is a temporary transition.
Samarra taxi service can take you over the Bahrain causeway to activate the multiple entry/exit visa. You will be more than ready to "get activated" by the time you get through all of the processing it takes to get the darn thing LOL.
Best of luck to all of you. It's stressful that first month but after that everything settles into routine.
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Post by Hadia on Mar 2, 2012 14:47:06 GMT
We arrived from the US in mid-August during Ramadan. We did not have our iqamas until end of October, about 10 weeks. So not always a few weeks. Depends on time of year and holidays, etc. Indeed, it was a very long wait for so many things to be able to kick in.
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Post by David_and_Nita on Apr 14, 2012 4:07:50 GMT
Correction - 2-3 weeks for the EMPLOYEE. We didnt get Nita's iqama until May which was (4) months after entry.
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