Can wives of ex-pat workers work ?

They can work but again if the job is available for them

Wives can work here...but it really does depend on their qualifications and chances are that it is going to be in a "women's only" section of a business, such as a bank.

I see that it appears you are from Bangkok.  Is your wife Thai?  Jobs are going to slim on the ground for a Thai national.  For one, there is a cultural/country animosity towards Thais.

She can study English, but only in a women's only program.  The British Council has a few of them in KSA, I'm not sure whether IH does or not.

Good luck in your adventure.

Just curious..why is there animosity towards Thais?

as far as my knowledge goes, an expat's wife with her husband as her sponsor cannot work legally. if she is working, she might be in danger...even the organisation she is working for will be in danger

saft wrote:

Just curious..why is there animosity towards Thais?

The story is widely told of a Thai immigrant worker who absconded with some of the jewels of a royal Saudi family member.  An investigator sent to Thailand to find out what happened turned up murdered.  The jewels have never been returned.

Diplomatic ties between the two countries have been strained since then.  There used to be thousands of Thai workers in the kingdom.  Not now.

shahab.ali wrote:

as far as my knowledge goes, an expat's wife with her husband as her sponsor cannot work legally. if she is working, she might be in danger...even the organisation she is working for will be in danger

You are so right.  The wife could work legally only if she had her own sponsor.  Often husband and wife teams are hired by the same company, but each has their own sponsorship.

Based on what Ive seen and heard, there are many opportunities for expat spouses (trailing wives) to work in the schools and hospitals.  Far more than what I was told initially.  It could be a bit more difficult to get a position with a local company unless you had the proper experience and education.

Okay.. let me think about what I think (key words!) I know about this!

There are some people where I work who aren't considered 'permanent employees' because they don't have their own iquamas--they are working on their husband's. Does this sound right? (it's the way I understood it but there's a good chance I didn't undertstand it correctly.)

Thing is, this doesn't work out well for Saudi employers because they haven't GOT such people.  By 'got' I mean the employer isn't holding their passport and there isn't a contract.  They may not have to pay airfare or relocation costs, but they've also got no leverage.  Where I work, two such non-Saudi employees (in key positions) walked away with one week's notice because they'd been offered better jobs elsewhere.

Alliecat wrote:

Thing is, this doesn't work out well for Saudi employers because they haven't GOT such people.  By 'got' I mean the employer isn't holding their passport and there isn't a contract.  They may not have to pay airfare or relocation costs, but they've also got no leverage.  Where I work, two such non-Saudi employees (in key positions) walked away with one week's notice because they'd been offered better jobs elsewhere.

thats also a reason but legally its wrong too...the company as well as the sponsor will be in trouble for sure...i heard about a lady who works like this at a hospital and sometimes she is put in a night shift during the days wen the checking is taking place

The majority of expat female teachers working in all the private international schools within the Kingdom are depoendent spouses, daughters or sisters of Iqama holders.

ya they r...rules are broken everywhere
my neighbours daughter is also a teacher. i was just informing the legal things here

Alliecat wrote:
Thing is, this doesn't work out well for Saudi employers because they haven't GOT such people.  By 'got' I mean the employer isn't holding their passport and there isn't a contract.  They may not have to pay airfare or relocation costs, but they've also got no leverage.  Where I work, two such non-Saudi employees (in key positions) walked away with one week's notice because they'd been offered better jobs elsewhere.


Is it required or by law for the sponsor or company to keep your passport as part of the contract? Can someone elaborate please - thank you

raylarch wrote:

Is it required or by law for the sponsor or company to keep your passport as part of the contract? Can someone elaborate please - thank you

yes...it was a crime to have both the passport and iqama with u (not sure about now as we get multiple exit and re-entry visas now)

Thanks very much for all that realy valuable information. In fact my wife is Fillipino not Thai, so I guess that makes things easier. As she speaks English well I also wondered if she might be able to study in English in Saudi we currently live in Bangkok and she is a little unsatisfied with the lack of job or study opportunities.

Arab Open University accepts foreign students
( http://www.arabou.org.sa/en/index.php ).  Possibly there are others but this is the only one I could find when I was looking around a few months ago.

If she studied here, it would be in segregated classes; female only.

Would she be seeking general studies (as in a uni) or at a language academy?

There are tons of Filipinos working here as contract workers; administration, housekeeping, construction, etc.  Perhaps she can get some important information from some of the OFW sites or organizations.

Yes, a wife can work too. And even legally.
When a woman comes to Saudi Arabia under the sponsorship of her husband, she has a stutus on her iqama which says "not allowed to work". But her sponsor is her husband, which means when some company wants to hire her legally, they request for a written approval of her husband-sponsor. And after that they may transfer her iqama under the company`s name.
Hope I made it clear-simple.

what is the current rule? Can a woman work on dependent Iqama?

I believe the rule has changed but I would like to know the reality of this too.

Still, ladies on dependent iqama are working in schools and the salary is being given as Cash in hand. Is this still prevailing in companies and offices as well?

yes. Some companies give ajeer

Hi, what about a husband?
My wife is a medical doctor and we are planning to relocate to Saudi Arabia. Will i be allowed to work, will i be able to find work and what will be the process seeing that i am dependent on my wifes iqama.

I am an information technology gradute and have worked as an IT Adminstrator for 5 years.