Visa Process Document

Visa Process Document for Saudi Arabia

Table of Contents

About the Country

Culture

Languages

Types of visas for travel

Required application formats

Documents Required

  • Business Visa
  • Work Visa
  • Dependent Visa

Process

SLAs

FAQs

About the Country

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula. The kingdom occupies eighty percent of the Arabian Peninsula It borders Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south, with the Persian Gulf to its northeast and the Red Sea to its west. It is called "the land of the two holy mosques", a reference to Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest places.

Extreme heat and aridity are characteristic of most of Saudi Arabia. It is one of the few places in the world where summer temperatures above 50 °C (120 °F) are common, while in winter frost or snow can occur in the interior and the higher mountains. The average temperature range in January is 8° to 20 °C (47° to 68 °F) in Riyadh and 19° to 29 °C (66° to 83 °F) in Jeddah. The average range in July is 27° to 43 °C (81° to 109 °F) in Riyadh and 27° to 38 °C (80° to 100 °F) in Jeddah.

Culture

Saudi Arabian culture revolves almost entirely around the religion of Islam. Islam's two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina, are located in the country. The weekend consists of Thursday and Friday. Islam's holy book the Qur'an is Saudi Arabia's constitution, and Shari'ah (Islamic law) is the foundation of its legal system.

One of Saudi Arabia's most compelling folk rituals is the Ardha, the country's national dance. This sword dance is based on ancient Bedouin traditions: drummers beat out a rhythm and a poet chants verses while sword-carrying men dance shoulder to shoulder. Al-sihba folk music, from the Hijaz, has its origins in Arab Andalusia, a region of medieval Spain.

Saudi Arabian dress is strongly symbolic, representing the people's ties to the land, the past, and Islam. The predominantly loose and flowing, but covering garments reflect the practicalities of life in a desert country as well as Islam's emphasis on conservative dress. Traditionally, men usually wear an ankle-length shirt woven from wool or cotton (known as a thawb), with a shimagh (a large checkered square of cotton held in place by a cord coil) or a ghutra(a plain white square made of finer cotton, also held in place by a cord coil) worn on the head. For rare chilly days, Saudi men wear a camel-hair cloak (bisht) over the top. Women's clothes are decorated with tribal motifs, coins, sequins, metallic thread, and appliques. However, Saudi women must wear a long cloak (abaya) and veil (niqab) when they leave the house to protect their modesty. The law does not apply to foreigners at such a high degree, but both men and women are told to dress modestly.

Public theatres and cinemas are prohibited, as Wahabbi tradition deems those institutions to be incompatible with Islam. However, in private compounds such as Dhahran and Ras Tanura public theaters can be found, but often are more popular for local music, arts, and theatre productions rather than the exhibition of motion pictures.

Languages

Arabic is one of the Semitic groups of languages, one of the oldest groups of languages in the world. The precise origins of the Arabic language are unknown but it is certain that the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula were the first to use it in pre-Islamic times. With the expansion of Islam and Islamic culture in the 7th century AD, the Arabic language spread north, east and west.

The Arabic language is today one of the world's most widely spoken languages. There are some 200 million Arabic speakers in more than 20 countries. Arabic is the official language of many Arab nations in the Middle East and northern Africa, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia.

There are two types of Arabic, written and spoken. Written (Classical) Arabic serves as the standard written language of all Arab nations. It is the language of the Holy Quran, the sacred book of the Islam, and has changed little over the centuries. Arabs use a spoken form of written Arabic for formal speech, radio and TV news broadcasts and in films, plays and poetry. This form also serves as a common spoken language for Arabs from all parts of the Arabic-speaking world who have their own dialects for every day speech.

Spoken Arabic appears in a variety of dialects of which the main ones are:

- Gulf dialect (the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE)

- Egyptian (northern and southern) dialect

- North African dialect (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia)

- Shami dialect (Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria)

- Sudanese dialect

Types of visas for travel

  • Business Visa
  • Work Visa
  • Dependent Visa

Required application formats

Documents Required

Business Visa

  • Appointment letter of First Entry into Company.
  • Copies of Income Tax Returns for the last 3 years.
  • Pay slips for the last 3 months.
  • 4Normal passport size photographs - White background with dark clothes. No digital or Polaroid. Should have been taken within the last 6 months. No profiles, both ears should be visible. Do not use old negative. Invitation from Saudi attested by Saudi Chamber of Commerce is must (Not required if applying at Delhi).
  • Air Ticket - Return Confirmed.
  • Covering Letter from Company for Business Visa should be signed by HR-Manager or above, SC or above.
  • Local currency of foreign assignment country - If possible. OR Copy of the International Credit Card.
  • 2 Visa forms - should be filled in CAPITAL LETTERS ONLY.
  • Invites are not accepted. Apply Business Visas only through Visa Slips. Its more advisable to get Visa Slips for Delhi Embassy.
  • Educational certificates (Original) attested by the Ministry of Education (ME) and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), before submitting the documents in the Embassy
  • Valid Passports for more than 6 months +Old Passports

Note: For software professionals and technical people, the embassy requires visa slip from Saudi Foreign Ministry.

Work Visa

  • Visa Form completed and signed.
  • 5 Passport Size Color photographs – White Background only & Contrast clothes – No Polaroid & Digital Photos (Write name on the back + taken in last 6 months).
  • Medical to be done after Submission of Application.The Consulates will receive the Medical Reports directly from the Panel Doctor. Visa will be issued subject to the Medical Clearance.
  • Passport with ECNR - Copies of all 36/Entire Passport pages.
  • Pay slips for the last 3 months.
  • Personal Particulars Form.
  • Indian Regional Language Certificates - Notarized English Translation of the Certificate + Original (by the unit).
  • Covering Letter from Company Signed by authorized signatories.
  • Company first appointment letter – Translated.
  • Work Permit / Approval from Consulate/Embassy.
  • Offer letter.

Dependent Visa

  • Application form for Visa for Spouse & Children.
  • Passenger’s Documents:
  • Passport – copy of all pages – after arrival into the Host country
  • Resident Permit Copy
  • Medical Copy – if any
  • House Lease agreement copy
  • Latest onsite Salary slip (3- if possible)
  • Birth Certificate Copy (if Legalized – both sides)
  • Request letter from Passenger inviting dependents
  • Copy + Original of Birth Certificates SPOUSE & Children with full names of Individuals and their Parents.
  • Copy + Original of Marriage Certificate with full names of Passenger, Spouse, and parents of both.
  • Passports – Original required for the Visa + all the other papers.
  • Passport copy with ECNR

Process

After the necessary validation the request comes to with the necessary documentation from Passenger, the documents reach Immigration. Validating the documents by Immigration and handed over to Agent who in turn submits it to the Consulate and gets expected date of collection from Consulate and collects the same from the Consulate. Agent dispatches documents which reach Immigration next day.

SLAs

Business Visa – 12 working days

Work Visa – 8 working days

Work Permit + Work Visa – 25 working days

FAQs

  • For Saudi Business Visa is original invite a must?

Yes, it is mandatory.

  • Is original certificate of educational qualification mandatory for processing visa?

Yes, it is needed for Andhra Universities issued, the consulate insists on GAD attestation and HRD ministry attestation.

  • Is ECNR required to travel?

Yes, it is mandatory for travel.

  • Is Chamber Of Commerce letter needed?

Yes, it is mandatory.

  • Is extension of Business Visa advisable?

Extension of Business Visas is not advisable as this can lead to the problem when Passenger applies for Visa next time. They might refuse his case and also call for personal interview.

1

HR – Immigration