The Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia is an oil-rich, conservative Middle Eastern country where Islam is
law of the land and the Quran forms the constitution. Foreigners are allowed to
practice their own religion in private, proselytizing is strictly forbidden and
there are harsh consequences for those disobeying Islamic laws and flouting
local customs.
Expats seldom
move to Saudi Arabia for the lifestyle & financial reasons. Most expats in
Saudi Arabia live in Jeddah and Riyadh, both of which have the full range of
Western amenities, a wide range of accommodation, and the majority of the
Kingdom’s employers. Some expats will also find themselves drawn to Saudi's
Eastern Province, pulled by lucrative job offers in the hydrocarbon sector with
big employers Like ARAMCO.
The national
dish of Saudi Arabia is Kabsa, a dish of rice with meat or chicken served on a
huge platter.
Population of
KSA is almost 30 Million, w/ 20 Million Saudis & 10 million expatriates, Indians
are most in numbers among expats. About 86 percent of expatriate workers earn
salaries of less than SR2,000 per month, on labor category getting low wages.
It is evident
that Saudi have shortage of local workers in all business areas either
skilled/unskilled worker or educated working professionals…. That is why this
gap is filled by expats from last many decades, and likely to carry on.
But govt has
introduced Saudization policy i.e the replacement of expat workers by Saudis.
In order to overcome unemployment of Saudis it is now mandatory for all
employers to recruit minimum 10% local Saudis that is pre requisite to keep
company operational.
Life is KSA is
very peaceful & easy in general as compare to expat’s life in their respective
native countries. There is no religious extremism here even though KSA is
governed by Strict Sharia Laws. Meanwhile Islam is blamed in the world for
causing and exporting religious extremism, KSA is best example of peaceful
Muslim Country. Here it is very safe to have money with you while roaming
outside. You don’t have to worry that someone will come to you to snatch your
money/valuable stuff you are carrying.
Criminal law
punishments in Saudi Arabia are based on Sharia (or Islamic law) and it include
public beheading, stoning, amputation, lashing and cutting off the hands of
thieves.
The death
penalty can be imposed for a wide range of offences including murder, rape, false prophecy, armed
robbery, repeated drug use, apostasy, adultery, witchcraft and sorcery and can
be carried out by beheading with a sword or more rarely by firing squad.
Most educated
expats come to Saudi Arabia for one reason: Money. Landing a position here as
an experienced and educated professional typically comes with perks that jobs
back home don't offer. Generous tax-free salaries, luxurious housing, paid education
for your children, free tickets back home, and the minimum standard of 30 days
paid vacation are all benefits offered to minimum university grad expats. The
cost of living here is pretty reasonable as well, and considering that for most
expats, housing and transportation are apart of their salary packages, very little money needs to be spent to live
here. We all know gasoline is cheap (cheaper than water actually), but you may
be surprised to know that food, entertainment, and shopping are also affordable.
While in other parts of ME like Dubai, Qatar etc. everything is expensive (housing,
food, transport). You cannot save much out of your earnings as compare to here
in KSA.
If any Saudi female wants to marry foreign
national first she needs to get written approval from her family and must complete
formal documentations than only she can marry him. Children of Saudi spouse
from foreigner father will not be entitled for Saudi nationality by birth. Her
husband and children will be living in KSA on sponsorship of Saudi mother. In
contrary to this even child born in USA, are American by birth irrespective of
their parent’s native nationalities.
One aspect of
Kingdom's life is hidden from many, since it is related to poor unskilled
labors who pay heavy money to get KSA entry visa and to get in there. KSA govt
is taking strict measure to counter illegal trade of visa that allow people to
work freely outside their sponsor/kafeel/company. This way Saudi kafeels are
also earning money and charging poor workers to let them work outside and fee
to renew their iqama/work permits.
As per current
rule for Expat worker in Saudi, they need to take permission from current
company/kafeel before one transfer his sponsorship locally inside KSA & to
begin working with new company/employer. In case he cannot get release letter
from current sponsor he cannot join new company unless they provide him new
visa for that he will need to travel on final exit visa and return back to join
new company on their visa.
In KSA we sadly
see discrimination in salaries among qualified executives as per expats
passports/ nationality. Two Expats working in same roles like if 8000 SAR /
month salary for Indian/ Bangladeshi /Siri Lankan/ professional then up to 60,000
SAR / month for American/European nationals working on same role having same experience
and qualifications!. i.e. almost 8 time more.
Among Muslim
Expats it is one of the deciding factor in their relocation to KSA and charm of
having new life in Saudi due to two Holy cities Makkah & Medina. They can
perform as many Hajj & Umrah (Islamic Pilgrimage) from inside kingdom.
Apart from these two holy cities, which are on the top of the list for Muslim
expats, but there are several other sites worth seeing as well. Like the
mountains of Abha & Taif, or the beaches along the coast of the Red Sea and
Persian gulf coast.
In Saudi Arabia
men cannot talk/mix with women in public unless they are related to or married
to the woman they are speaking to. So opportunities to socialize are fairly
limited.
Women are also
expected to wear an abaya, a long, flowing black robe, when out in public, and female
spouse are not usually allowed to work if living there as part of their
husband’s visa.
They are not
allowed to drive, so have to rely on drivers chosen by their husbands or
guardians to take them everywhere. They are not allowed to catch taxis.
It’s no secret
that Saudi Arabia is a man’s territory. You feel it immediately upon arriving
at the airport, from the segregated lines for women, to the immigration
officers. Yes women are allowed to work if they are on employer's sponsorship
but mainly they are working in schools and hospitals.
Americans &
westerners Expats live in compounds, secured by Saudi military far removed from
real Saudi life. You will see military guards at the front of the compound with
giant machine guns in case someone tries to attack the foreigners. Mostly barbed
wire are fixed at the periphery of Compound’s walls.
For Foreign
children there are a number of international schools some of them are run by
foreign embassies catering to their international community. The standard of
education at these schools is variable. Expat students can get education inside
kingdom till intermediate i.e 12th standard for further under graduate studies
expat students have no facility inside kingdom they are left w/ options to
either do it from their native countries or from any other foreign country.
Working and
living in Saudi Arabia is best treated as an adventure and new life experience.
The key is to make sure one is going for the right reason – if it’s solely to
make money, think again. Expats need to see a move to Saudi as a package of
career advancement, cultural experience, religious holy venue, financial
enrichment and a great place to teach your family about ways of life.
[T] @waqar_muhd
