I think back on this past year and realize that we have done a great deal. It’s been a whirlwind of activities from getting married to the multitude of preparations to move to Saudi Arabia from the US. Sometimes, I wonder why in the world we subject ourselves to the mayhem, but I know it’s what we need to do. Husband’s family lives in Saudi, and we need to get to know them.

The truly crazy part of our story is that only a couple of Husband’s siblings know we are married. I know, in my past post I said that you can tell your Saudi is serious about you if he tells his parents. I didn’t have that clue to knowing Husband’s intentions, but I knew he wasn’t going to tell his family about us from the beginning. Husband’s Brother 1 was in the US when we got engaged, and Husband decided to tell him about us at that point. Although Brother 1 approved and has been helping us organize our move, it’s not the same as the rest of the family knowing.

Why Saudi?

Husband has always wanted to tell his parents in person, believing it to be the more respectful approach based on how Saudis respect their elders. He also knows, however, that his mother is adamantly against her kids marrying people from outside their particular region of Saudi. Even a spouse from another city in Saudi is taboo. I am clearly not from any section of Saudi, so this will not be an easy introduction. And yet, it is an introduction that must take place. The hope is that if we live in Saudi for a couple of years, his mother will have a few months to be very angry and not even talk to Husband. Then, she will soften and consent to meet me. Then, of course, my amazing wit and charm will win her over, and we’ll all live happily ever after!

Oh, to be able to live out ideals! So, that is why we are moving to Saudi, despite my love of snow and cold weather and despite Husband’s desire to stay away except for vacations.

Moving Legally

The Saudi government has strict requirements for their citizens to marry foreigners, and we met those standards when we got married in the US. However, the government recently (in September, I think?) changed those standards, so we no longer meet them. This is important, I promise! The only visa I can get to be in Saudi for any length of time is the iqama, or work visa, until we are able to apply for the government’s approval of our marriage. Hopefully, they’ll agree that we met the requirements at the time we married in the US, but if the official looking at our paperwork is grumpy that day, we might be out of luck on that count. It’s Saudi; you’re at the whim of the bureaucrats.

In order for me to move to Saudi, then, I needed to get a job. Since I’ve always been interested in teaching, we decided that was a good path to pursue. I already had a bachelor’s degree, but it’s not in anything related to English (though it did include a couple linguistics classes). That means that I need an additional certificate in order to teach English anywhere in Saudi. So, I took a CELTA course because it’s one of the most internationally respected English-teaching certifications.

One grueling month later, I had passed the course and started applying for jobs. It took 2-3 weeks to get a response from anything, but the response was positive! Surprisingly, the first interview was a success, and the recruitment company actually provided all the things we found necessary to function in Saudi. Not every company provides housing for a married couple if both people are not working for them, so that’s a huge benefit.

Saudi Iqama (Work) Visa Application

If you’re not interested in going to Saudi for the culture, people, and most importantly food, don’t bother trying to get a work visa. People all over the internet say it’s horrible to apply, and they’re not joking. Massive pile of paperwork, silly medical requirements, etc. Then, you send it all and receive a phone call a few days later saying that you missed a single paper. Please don’t subject yourself to the groaning and grumpiness that comes from this visa application if you have an alternative available. We did our homework and collected most of the paperwork before we even received the physical contract from the recruiters. Otherwise, it would’ve taken a good 3 weeks to collect everything before sending it to the proper Saudi agency, and that’s only because I am not currently employed and can get to all the offices during normal business hours.

Typical (are we typical?) Visa Timeline:

• Receive emailed job offer
• Day 1: Return signed job offer
• Day 11: Receive physical paperwork recruiter mailed to you
  • Panic a little at the amount of paper and that several of the documents are only in Arabic
  • Get weirded out that the paper isn’t even a normal paper size (longer and skinnier)
  • Research how in the world to apply for this crazy work visa
  • Panic when you realize the amount of paperwork you need to compile and actually keep organized
• Day 13: Schedule your doc appointment, order transcripts, etc
• Day 15: Doc appointment (expect your doc to stare a bit at the paperwork describing the tests they have to order for you. It’s normal, and no, those parasites don’t exist in North America.)
• Day 18: Organize your giant pile of paperwork. Triple check that you have everything except the medical reports. Yes, you’re still waiting on them and really hoping they’re done within a couple days despite the holiday weekend.
• Day 22: Pick up your medical reports and quadruple check that everything is done.
  • Rush to the post office to express mail your pile and look silly in front of the post office guy because you also have a ton of other things you’re trying to keep straight (no personal experience or anything on this one…)
  • Breathe. A lot. Then think about packing your whole world up in a hurry.
• Day 24: Receive email from visa application company saying you missed a paper. Frantically get a copy of it notarized and express mail it to them again.
• Day 38: Get an email saying the embassy doesn’t have the recruiting company’s block visa number.
  • Coordinate lots of emails between everyone to try to resolve the situation ASAP.

They say the visa takes 7-10 business days to process once the Saudi ministry receives it. I hope they’re right since it’ll cause a lot of headache on my end if they’re not. Husband and I are going on a road trip and won’t be around to fix things if the ministry decides it wants some other random paper or doesn’t like how the doc signed the paper. If I’m making the ministry sound a bit contrary and frustrating…yeah, I kinda mean to do that. That’s going to be part of my life for the next couple of years, so I’m trying to joke about it early.

Anyway, we are in limbo, and that’s not a good location for anyone. I hope to do some interesting updates once we get the visa (please let it come next week!) and are actually on our way to this new and strange homeland.