Living & Working in Saudi Arabia 🇾🇩

00:34:18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu_WZ4Xu-EA

抂芁

TLDRIn this video, Jon offers an extensive guide for those considering living and working in Saudi Arabia. Key aspects covered include: obtaining the proper visa and residence permit (Iqama) essential for legal employment, ensuring your employment contract is registered on the Qiwa database, and understanding taxation, which generally exempts expats from income tax if they reside in the country for six months annually. Accommodation options, ranging from compounds with extensive facilities to more affordable apartments, are discussed, along with the cost of living which varies significantly based on lifestyle choices. Jon emphasizes the importance of cultural etiquette, highlighting the polite and respectful nature of Saudi society. Driving in Saudi Arabia presents challenges with aggressive driving styles noted, though infrastructure is improving with projects like the Riyadh Metro. Women's rights have progressed, allowing more freedom in driving and accessing public services. Lastly, English is a critical language for expats to communicate effectively in Saudi Arabia.

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  • 🛂 Secure a work visa, Iqama, and register your contract on Qiwa for legal employment.
  • 🏠 Compounds offer amenities but can be expensive; apartments are a cheaper alternative.
  • 🇾🇩 No income tax for expats staying six months annually, but VAT applies.
  • 🚗 Driving can be challenging; Riyadh traffic is modern but aggressive.
  • đŸ”€ English is widely spoken; crucial for expat communication.
  • đŸ‘©â€âš–ïž Women's rights have improved, allowing driving and service access.
  • 🏱 Saudi Vision 2030 is enhancing infrastructure, including Riyadh Metro.
  • đŸ’Œ Job mobility has increased through changes in sponsorship rules.
  • 🛒 Local products are affordable; Western goods are pricier.
  • 🙏 Politeness and respect are key in Saudi culture.

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  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    Jon introduces himself as someone who has helped people move to various parts of Asia for over a decade. In this video, he provides a guide to living and working in Saudi Arabia. He mentions three key things to consider before relocating: obtaining the right visa, securing a residence permit (Iqama), and having a clear employment contract. He highlights the visa requirements for tourism and work, emphasizing the importance of the Iqama for working in Saudi Arabia and the new flexibility for changing employers.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Jon explains the significance of the employment contract and the necessity of having it listed on the Qiwa database to be considered legally employed in Saudi Arabia. He advises checking with HR to ensure contract compliance. He notes that changing employers is now easier, given specific conditions, such as having a valid Iqama. Jon confirms he isn’t a legal expert and advises consulting HR for legal matters. He discusses tax residency and mentions that most workers are tax-free if they’re residing for over six months per year in Saudi Arabia.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Accommodation in Saudi Arabia varies greatly based on location. In cities like Riyadh, Jeddah, or Dammam, one can choose between living in compounds or apartments. Compounds, often equipped with amenities like pools and gyms, cater primarily to expats but may come at higher costs. He outlines potential costs, emphasizing that apartments are generally cheaper than compounds. Employers may cover housing costs, so it’s vital to check compensation packages. Understanding living costs based on location is crucial for budgeting.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    Jon discusses daily living costs, comparing them to other parts of Asia. He notes that living expenses are reasonable but not cheap, with Western products in groceries and restaurants costing more. Providing personal examples, he gives an overview of typical expenses, such as meals and coffee, which reflect big-city pricing. Despite being tax-free, Saudi Arabia has a 15% VAT on goods. He advises being realistic about living costs and understanding they’re not very low due to the VAT and city lifestyle.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    Saudi cultural etiquette prioritizes politeness and respect with interactions being less confrontational than Western norms. Jon suggests being respectful and polite to ensure positive relations. He discusses expat life, saying expats are common due to a significant non-Saudi population. Communication in English is predominantly fine as many locals and service workers speak it. Hence, expats should not worry about language barriers despite not knowing Arabic.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:34:18

    He talks about transportation in Saudi Arabia, particularly in Riyadh, where traffic can be problematic but manageable compared to other regions. Plans for a metro system are underway to improve local infrastructure. He cautions on road safety due to high accident rates and suggests using public transportation or Uber for convenience. Riyadh's developing infrastructure aims to address current limitations in transit and road safety practices.

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Mind Map

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  • What do I need to legally work in Saudi Arabia?

    You need a work visa, a residence permit (Iqama), and your employment contract must be registered on the Qiwa database.

  • How does the taxation system work for expatriates in Saudi Arabia?

    Most expatriates should not pay income tax if they spend at least six months of the year working in Saudi Arabia.

  • What accommodation options are available in Saudi Arabia?

    Options include living in compounds or renting apartments or villas, with compounds often offering facilities like pools and gyms.

  • Is driving in Saudi Arabia challenging for expats?

    Traffic can be challenging due to aggressive driving styles, but cities like Riyadh have modern infrastructure to help ease transit.

  • What is the cost of living like in Saudi Arabia?

    Costs can vary, but local products and dining are generally affordable, while Western products and dining can be more costly.

  • Can expatriates switch jobs easily in Saudi Arabia?

    Yes, expats can switch jobs more easily now, with the new employer becoming the sponsor on the Iqama.

  • How is public transport developing in cities like Riyadh?

    The Riyadh Metro, a major upcoming development, is expected to improve public transport significantly by the end of 2024.

  • Are women allowed to drive and work in Saudi Arabia?

    Yes, women have been able to drive and access government services without a male chaperone since 2017.

  • What is the cultural etiquette to keep in mind in Saudi Arabia?

    Politeness and respect are highly valued; being argumentative is generally frowned upon.

  • What are the language requirements for expats in Saudi Arabia?

    English is widely spoken, especially in urban areas, so it's essential for communication.

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  • 00:00:00
    Hi. My name’s Jon and, for over  a decade, I’ve been helping
  • 00:00:03
    people to move to different parts of Asia. In this video, I am going to give you an in-depth
  • 00:00:08
    guide to living and working in Saudi Arabia. So, let’s get going.
  • 00:00:13
    Okay, so you’re in a position now were you’re  thinking about moving to Saudi Arabia to work.
  • 00:00:19
    Okay, there are three things that  you need to think about when you’re
  • 00:00:22
    going through that process of relocating. Number one is the visa to enter the country.
  • 00:00:27
    Number two is the residence permit  to live and work in the country.
  • 00:00:31
    And the third one is your employment contract. Let’s start with your visa first. If you go to
  • 00:00:39
    Saudi Arabia on a tourism visa then that  allows you to move around Saudi Arabia
  • 00:00:47
    and to see things, go visit attractions, etc. Now, when you’re going to work there (in the
  • 00:00:52
    future), you might go to do other things like  look at apartments to rent, go to the office
  • 00:00:58
    where you’ll potentially be working
 But you’re not working – you’re not
  • 00:01:03
    doing something where the employer  is going to pay you for that work.
  • 00:01:08
    If you were doing that, then  you would need a different visa.
  • 00:01:13
    The next thing to be aware of is your  residence permit. It’s know as an Iqama.
  • 00:01:21
    So, that’s I Q A M A
 Iqama. That is the key document
  • 00:01:30
    that you need to work in Saudi Arabia. In my experience of dealing with people
  • 00:01:37
    that are that are there and are thinking to work  for another company; they be saying “my Iqama is
  • 00:01:42
    still valid for another six months”,  or twelve months, or whatever it is.
  • 00:01:47
    In there past, there was a number of different  rules where, once you had that Iqama and you
  • 00:01:54
    went out to Saudi Arabia, you had to work  for the first employer for a year or two
  • 00:02:00
    before you could switch to another company. Now, that has been changed. The
  • 00:02:05
    employees now have extra rights. So, if you go somewhere and you decide
  • 00:02:11
    to go and work for someone else – and that other  company has offered you a job – you can switch.
  • 00:02:16
    Even of you have been there only  a few months, or a few weeks.
  • 00:02:21
    What the other company will do is they  will become your sponsor on the Iqama.
  • 00:02:25
    So your residency permit switches  from one company to another.
  • 00:02:33
    When you have the job offer, the  company who’s employing you in
  • 00:02:38
    Saudi Arabia will arrange for the Iqama. Then, once you’re going into Saudi Arabia,
  • 00:02:44
    you need to go in on the correct visa that  allows you to enter and then work on that Iqama.
  • 00:02:52
    Okay, the next thing to be aware  of is the employment contract.
  • 00:02:56
    Obviously, when you talk to a  company the new role out there
  • 00:03:00
    – even if you already work for that company – you  do need to have an employment contract in place.
  • 00:03:07
    You may have emails going backwards and forwards  where there are different documents, different
  • 00:03:11
    PDF forms and things that you complete. So you may think “I have my employment
  • 00:03:17
    contract and everything is good.  I’m now employed in Saudi Arabia”.
  • 00:03:22
    The key factor here is that your employment  contract needs to go onto the database in Saudi
  • 00:03:28
    Arabia – their local employment database. That’s called the Qiwa
 Q I W A.
  • 00:03:37
    If your company doesn’t upload the  documents to the Qiwa database,
  • 00:03:41
    then you’re not working legally. If you’ve signed different things, different
  • 00:03:47
    documents/offers
 nothing actually is legal in  Saudi Arabia until it’s on the Qiwa database.
  • 00:03:54
    So you do need to make sure that your employer  puts your signed contract onto that database.
  • 00:04:02
    And that is something that  they should be aware of.
  • 00:04:05
    The HR departments in the Kingdom will  know that’s a process you have to follow.
  • 00:04:12
    If you’re an expat and you’re not already  in Saudi Arabia, you won’t have access to
  • 00:04:18
    the Qiwa database yourself and you won’t have a  username and password until you’re in-country.
  • 00:04:25
    You just need to check with your HR  department that your contract is on
  • 00:04:30
    the Qiwa database and you have your Iqama in  place that allows you to stay in the country.
  • 00:04:36
    And, that you have the correct  visa to enter the country.
  • 00:04:41
    I did mention that, if you change  companies, the new company would then
  • 00:04:47
    put your contract of employment onto Qiwa. They will then be the sponsor of your Iqama.
  • 00:04:56
    Once a new company goes on the database to become  your sponsor, your current company can’t say no,
  • 00:05:07
    they can’t stop you transitioning to the new  employer – unless there’s any particular issue
  • 00:05:16
    like something in your contract that you  haven’t delivered that’s actually a signed
  • 00:05:20
    part of your contract, or maybe your Iqama  has already expired, or something like that.
  • 00:05:28
    Provided you have a valid Iqama  and there’s no other reasons,
  • 00:05:31
    you can easily move to a new company within  Saudi Arabia without having too many problems.
  • 00:05:37
    Having said all this, I should say I am not  a lawyer, and I’m not an immigration advisor,
  • 00:05:42
    so please do your own research as well and  talk to your HR department as you are moving.
  • 00:05:48
    Saudi Arabia’s income tax
 Well, for the most part,
  • 00:05:54
    if you’re working in Saudi Arabia, you  should not be paying any income tax.
  • 00:05:59
    I think that is probably not a surprise to most  people. The same as elsewhere in the Middle East.
  • 00:06:06
    The thing you need to be aware of is that you  need to be tax-resident within Saudi Arabia.
  • 00:06:11
    You need to be spending at least six  months of the year in the country.
  • 00:06:14
    You can’t just be dropping in for a few weeks  and calling yourself a tax resident there.
  • 00:06:19
    The rules are different, I believe,  if you own property and you have
  • 00:06:23
    permanent residency in Saudi Arabia. For most expats, you need to be spending
  • 00:06:27
    at least six months of the year working / living  in Saudi Arabia in order to be tax resident there.
  • 00:06:34
    You may also have some other tax obligations if  you’re from countries that do double-taxation
  • 00:06:43
    – you just need to check on that. Also, if you work in Saudi Arabia for a
  • 00:06:48
    short period but you’re not actually employed in  the country (you’re employed by someone overseas
  • 00:06:52
    but you’re going to do work there and you’re  paid for the work in Saudi Arabia) then that
  • 00:06:57
    may be subject to withholding taxes, for the  work that you are paid for in the country.
  • 00:07:05
    For most people, working in Saudi Arabia,  you should be tax free. Which is pretty good!
  • 00:07:11
    Let’s talk about accommodation. Obviously, accommodation varies
  • 00:07:15
    hugely in Saudi Arabia. It’s a huge country.
  • 00:07:19
    It really depends on where you’ll be based. If you’re based in a big city like Riyadh, Jeddah,
  • 00:07:25
    Dammam, then you can live in a compound or you  can just find an apartment or a villa to live in.
  • 00:07:35
    If you’re going to work on a construction  site in a remote location, then that will
  • 00:07:41
    usually have a compound provided for  the staff working on that project.
  • 00:07:47
    In most cases, that will be covered by your  employer and you won’t have costs with that.
  • 00:07:53
    But it’s not always the case. Even on those  remote locations, sometimes a company may
  • 00:07:59
    give you a housing allowance and you need  to go and find your own accommodation.
  • 00:08:05
    Most of the time, you’ll rent somewhere in  a compound, but you may get an apartment.
  • 00:08:13
    To explain what a compound is
 Sometimes we have those ideas of compounds being
  • 00:08:20
    high-security and away from the local population. Certainly, in the big cities, a compound is
  • 00:08:29
    just like an apartment complex with swimming  pools and gyms and different facilities.
  • 00:08:36
    Yes, there is security. There  is a security guard on the gate.
  • 00:08:40
    But it’s not really different from  living in any other apartment complex.
  • 00:08:45
    They do vary massively, especially in the cities  like Riyadh, in terms of what they provide.
  • 00:08:51
    Most would have a swimming pool and a gym, but  some are really lavish and luxurious, where they
  • 00:08:57
    have 7, 8, or 9 swimming pools and slides. They’ll have restaurants on site, cinema
  • 00:09:08
    facilities, maybe different shops and things. Even your dry cleaning. Everything done on site.
  • 00:09:16
    You never need to leave the compound,  apartment from going to work.
  • 00:09:23
    So you will obviously pay for that
 Generally speaking
 I’ll focus on Riyadh
  • 00:09:28
    as I just came back from there and I was  spending time with different people there

  • 00:09:34
    I would say that compounds are not cheap. They’re not the cheapest option.
  • 00:09:39
    In a basic compound, with just a pool  and gym, even a 1 bedroom unit within
  • 00:09:46
    that compound in US dollars you’re at least  going to spend 1500 a month pretty easily.
  • 00:09:56
    If you go up through the different levels as to  what you want in terms of facilities, a 2 bedroom
  • 00:10:06
    is maybe 30,000 to 40,000 US dollars per year. These are only rough figures.
  • 00:10:12
    If you go really full-on and want one  of the really luxurious compounds,
  • 00:10:18
    you could spend eighty to ninety thousand  US dollars a year on living in the compound.
  • 00:10:25
    It does come down to; Are you getting  a housing allowance? Are you paying
  • 00:10:28
    for it yourself, or is the company  just including it in your package?
  • 00:10:34
    Ideally then, the company will be providing  you with the compound accommodation.
  • 00:10:41
    Then you just need to know; Where is  that compound? Where will I be staying?
  • 00:10:45
    At least then, you know what to expect and  what kind of facilities you’ll get to have.
  • 00:10:53
    If you want to save money, if you’re in the  larger cities, apartments are the cheapest option.
  • 00:11:00
    You could rent an apartment, even in  Riyadh, under a thousand US dollars a month.
  • 00:11:05
    I would say that’s probably possible. If you were looking at the luxurious end
  • 00:11:15
    for a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment maybe  that’s thirty to fifty thousand US a year.
  • 00:11:23
    And then you have villas and half-villas. A half-villa is like a flat,
  • 00:11:28
    where the villa is split into more than one unit. It’s not an apartment. You have half of the villa.
  • 00:11:37
    They’re possible as well. They  cost a bit more than apartments.
  • 00:11:40
    Again, apartments are the cheapest option. Compounds are excellent.
  • 00:11:46
    You can get away from everything there. Again, they are not cheap.
  • 00:11:53
    Do check with your HR. Are you going to be pay
  • 00:11:55
    for the compound? Are they paying? If you’re paying, then do some
  • 00:12:00
    research to figure out what compounds  are available where you’re heading.
  • 00:12:04
    Okay, let’s talk about day to day cost of living. I would say it’s similar in Saudi Arabia to
  • 00:12:12
    anywhere else in Asia, in my opinion. Basically, if you want to buy local
  • 00:12:17
    products and eat in local restaurants,  then the cost of living will be cheap.
  • 00:12:21
    If you want to buy everything that you would have  back home, then it’s not going to be so cheap.
  • 00:12:26
    In Saudi Arabia there are different  supermarkets. As an expat you
  • 00:12:32
    might be heading to Carrefour, or Tamimi. There’s also a couple like Hyperpanda and Lulu.
  • 00:12:40
    You may not be so familiar with them. Maybe Carrefour you’ll be familiar with.
  • 00:12:48
    I’ve shopped in Carrefours in a few  different countries and – nothing again them,
  • 00:12:53
    they’re really good and well-equipped  supermarkets -but they’re not cheap.
  • 00:12:57
    Again
 for Western products in Asia locations. So you will spend a bit more than
  • 00:13:05
    maybe you would back home. If I talk about restaurants

  • 00:13:10
    I’ll give you some idea of things I spent  money on whilst I was last in Riyadh.
  • 00:13:16
    I went to a nice restaurant in  the centre of Riyadh where I had
  • 00:13:19
    a burger and fries and a coke zero (very  Western) which cost me US twenty dollars.
  • 00:13:27
    I had a few trips to Costa Coffee  (which is a brand from the UK).
  • 00:13:32
    An espresso cost me three dollars fifty cents US. Peach Refresher drink was
  • 00:13:37
    5 dollars thirty cents US, roughly. Also, in a little café in Riyadh having a ciabatta
  • 00:13:46
    sandwich and a tea cost about ten US dollars. Going out in the evening time, I went to a bar
  • 00:13:55
    (obviously there’s no alcohol) but I had a  mojito. A virgin mojito. With beef sliders.
  • 00:14:02
    That cost me about twenty one US dollars. Going to Starbucks, I had a very unhealthy
  • 00:14:08
    breakfast (which is mentioned in one  of my other videos), a carrot cake,
  • 00:14:12
    a blueberry muffin, and a grande latte. It  came to sixteen dollars and 80 cents US.
  • 00:14:21
    Compared to other capital cities,  I would say it is kind of similar.
  • 00:14:27
    If you are living in a big city, you  are going to pay big city prices.
  • 00:14:31
    Those are the prices in Riyadh. In other cities, I think it’ll be cheaper.
  • 00:14:36
    Big city prices where you hope  to have big city salaries.
  • 00:14:49
    If you want that Western lifestyle  living in Riyadh or other places,
  • 00:14:53
    then you are going to pay for that. I would that it was reasonable compared to
  • 00:14:59
    what I’m used to from visiting different cities. I would say the prices were pretty reasonable.
  • 00:15:07
    You can take that into account. I don’t know how much that helps.
  • 00:15:12
    Not so much more expensive, but not cheap. Don’t be moving thinking that everything
  • 00:15:18
    is going to be super cheap just  because the country is tax free.
  • 00:15:22
    There is still 15 percent VAT (Value Added  Tax) on food and other good in Saudi Arabia.
  • 00:15:27
    So be aware of that too. --
  • 00:15:30
    If you have not been to Saudi Arabia before, or  you have not been to a primarily-Muslim country,
  • 00:15:35
    you might not know what to expect from people. Part of the etiquette within the Islamic culture
  • 00:15:43
    is to act with good manners, decorum, and decency. So it’s fundamental in Saudi Arabia for people
  • 00:15:52
    there to be polite to you as an expat as well  as their friends and colleagues and family.
  • 00:16:02
    For people in Saudi Arabia, in my  experience and the experience of
  • 00:16:06
    people I have dealt with in the country, the  locals don’t tend to be too argumentative.
  • 00:16:12
    If you are someone that is argumentative and  loud and shouty, you will need to tone that down.
  • 00:16:18
    If you are going to be expressing your opinions  on different things (whatever that is) and you
  • 00:16:28
    are a loud and aggressive person, then  that is not going to go down so well.
  • 00:16:32
    I know that in the Western we are sometimes  encourages to argue, to get our points across,
  • 00:16:37
    and to offer different points of view. Not just in Saudi Arabia. Generally, in Asia,
  • 00:16:45
    people are not as argumentative a Westerners are. If you’re in the country, make sure that you
  • 00:16:53
    treat people with politeness and  respect, and you will get on well.
  • 00:16:57
    -- Another
  • 00:16:58
    issue facing expats is thinking about
 Will I fit  in? Will I stick out like a sore thumb and be the
  • 00:17:05
    only expat in town, where everyone is going to  stare at me and ask me “where are you from?”?
  • 00:17:12
    In my experience, when I was in  Saudi Arabia, I certainly wasn’t
  • 00:17:16
    the only expat in town. In Riyadh, that is. You have to remember that 40 percent of the
  • 00:17:23
    population in Saudi Arabia are non-Saudi. Being an expat in Saudi Arabia
  • 00:17:30
    is not such an usual thing. If you’re thinking about how you’re
  • 00:17:35
    going to communicate, “I don’t speak Arabic
 I can  only communicate in certain languages”
 Basically,
  • 00:17:41
    as long as you have English, then you’re all good. Again, if you’re going to restaurants and
  • 00:17:48
    F&B establishments, a lot of the people  working there will be form other places.
  • 00:17:53
    Certainly, there’s a lot of people from the  Philippines working in F&B (Food & Beverage).
  • 00:18:00
    The locals themselves can speak English as well. Some will speak broken English, but a lot a
  • 00:18:08
    perfectly fluent in English. Some people in Saudi Arabia
  • 00:18:13
    will have studied overseas. Most people that I have encountered
  • 00:18:20
    in Saudi obviously speak English. There will be some people that
  • 00:18:25
    don’t and can only speak Arabic. With the Saudi Vision 2030 and the
  • 00:18:34
    amount of work that is being that is being  done to achieve the ambitions of the kingdom;
  • 00:18:40
    there is more and more people coming form  different places to work in the country.
  • 00:18:45
    So, communication is a huge part of that. Most people are communicating through English.
  • 00:18:52
    As long as you have English as your main  vocabulary, then you should be fine.
  • 00:18:59
    Or, if you are from other  countries, then it depends

  • 00:19:04
    If you are from China and you are going to work  for a Chinese company, obviously people there will
  • 00:19:10
    be communicating in Mandarin, or Cantonese. So it depends on your own situation.
  • 00:19:18
    Generally, English is the best language to be  communicating with everyone in the country.
  • 00:19:25
    So, if you’re an expat, don’t  worry. You’re not the only one.
  • 00:19:28
    Driving styles and traffic in Saudi Arabia
 I am going to base this mostly on Riyadh as
  • 00:19:35
    that is the place that I have  been to and had experience of.
  • 00:19:41
    When I speak to people that live in Saudi  Arabia as expats, or who visit there regularly,
  • 00:19:50
    they all have the same complaint.  The same issue with the country.
  • 00:19:55
    And that is; driving in the country.
  • 00:20:01
    Being in Riyadh, I would say that from a traffic  point of view, I did not find traffic too bad.
  • 00:20:07
    Certainly, I saw some traffic  at certain times of day.
  • 00:20:12
    Like when I went to Al Wadi (Wadi  Namar), the reservoir and waterfall
  • 00:20:18
    and tried to come out of that on a Friday  afternoon certainly it was very busy.
  • 00:20:21
    There was lots of cars trying to get in there. But, generally speaking, for a city of
  • 00:20:29
    7.5 million people, I did not  find traffic in Riyadh bad at all.
  • 00:20:35
    Certainly not as bad as some of the places that I  visit in Southeast Asia (sorry Jakarta, Manila!).
  • 00:20:43
    Riyadh was okay. I think it’s more the driving
  • 00:20:46
    ‘style’ that some people don’t enjoy. The kind of tailgating and changing
  • 00:20:53
    lanes and different things. For people in the Middle East,
  • 00:21:04
    people there kind of live in their cars. Obviously it’s a very hot place in the summertime.
  • 00:21:08
    Riyadh actually gets cooler in the winter as well. So people do live in their cars.
  • 00:21:16
    It’s the only way to get around, really. There’s a lot of people on the road.
  • 00:21:22
    Now, when I was in Riyadh, I  travelled around using Uber.
  • 00:21:29
    I didn’t have any issues. The drivers drove pretty nicely.
  • 00:21:33
    The vehicles were all good. No issues. I did see some fender-bender
  • 00:21:41
    accidents while I was in the country. Even if you’re there just a few days,
  • 00:21:47
    there is a good chance you will see someone  bumping into someone else on the road.
  • 00:21:54
    Saudi Arabia, over the last 20 years,  has had 86,000 deaths on the roads.
  • 00:22:03
    If you look at people who die in hospital  in Saudi Arabia - 81% of people that die in
  • 00:22:08
    hospital in Saudi Arabia is because they  were involved in road traffic incidents.
  • 00:22:14
    There is definitely improvement  needed in the country.
  • 00:22:25
    If you are male, aged between 16 and 30,  living in Saudi Arabia – traffic accidents
  • 00:22:33
    are the main cause of death. Pretty shocking statistics.
  • 00:22:42
    There is a lot of work  needed to improve the roads.
  • 00:22:47
    However, I would say, again, where  you’re based makes a huge difference.
  • 00:22:52
    Riyadh is the capital and is a more modern city. I found the infrastructure there to be
  • 00:22:58
    pretty good. The roads were all of a modern standard.
  • 00:23:04
    Obviously, when it rains, they flood. It doesn’t happen very often,
  • 00:23:08
    but it did happen whilst I was there in April. As part of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is
  • 00:23:17
    improving the infrastructure on the roads. If you have heard of NCAP ratings when
  • 00:23:27
    buying a car, those are the new car assessment  ratings that were developed by the UK, Swedish,
  • 00:23:33
    and Australian governments a few years again. There’s also iRAP standards, which is the
  • 00:23:39
    international standard for  road assessment programmes.
  • 00:23:42
    Saudi Arabia has adopted the iRAP for roads. So they are building roads to an international
  • 00:23:50
    standard now, around the country. They are aiming to reduce road traffic deaths
  • 00:23:59
    to 6 people per 100,000 in the kingdom. And hopefully less than that as well.
  • 00:24:08
    Again, I would say, I have never been to a  big city and thought “this place has really
  • 00:24:14
    nice traffic”
 apart from Singapore. Singapore is one place where you don’t
  • 00:24:20
    see much traffic. But the reason for
  • 00:24:22
    that is because it has an amazing public  transport infrastructure system in place.
  • 00:24:28
    In Riyadh, for the last decade, they have been  building the Riyadh Metro, which is the metro
  • 00:24:35
    rail network within the city. It has not opened at the time
  • 00:24:38
    of filming, which is in mid-2024. By the end of 2024, the Riyadh Metro
  • 00:24:49
    will hopefully be open and it will have six lines  covering 176 kilometres of track and 84 stations.
  • 00:24:59
    The whole project has cost  over 22 billion US dollars.
  • 00:25:04
    Basically, if you’re coming and living  in Riyadh, you have different options.
  • 00:25:09
    You could buy a vehicle. If you want to buy a vehicle,
  • 00:25:16
    you have to sort a few things out first. You have to be working in the country legally.
  • 00:25:20
    You would have had to have got a bank account. You  would have got a local driving licence. And then
  • 00:25:25
    you can go out and buy a vehicle. If you come as a visitor
  • 00:25:28
    and just want to get around, Uber  (for me at least) was the best option.
  • 00:25:34
    Uber works fine in Saudi Arabia. You don’t need  your local bank account set up before you can use
  • 00:25:41
    Uber. I don’t have a bank account in Saudi Arabia. Uber, in the kingdom, only does transport.
  • 00:25:50
    It doesn’t do Uber Eats and those  kind of stuff. It’s only the cars.
  • 00:25:56
    You can travel around by Uber. Or you could rent from your
  • 00:26:00
    standard kind of car rental company. So, if you have any problems, or someone
  • 00:26:04
    bumps into you, at least you can go and get  another car and sort that out pretty quickly.
  • 00:26:11
    The other option is to take the metro. It’s not  open yet, but it will be open by the end of 2024.
  • 00:26:17
    Most of the places of work, where people  will be going, should be on that network.
  • 00:26:26
    Traffic and driving standards  in Saudi Arabia are not ideal.
  • 00:26:34
    If you are in one of the cities,  then you can still drive yourself
  • 00:26:37
    around and your should be okay. Hopefully the standards will improve
  • 00:26:40
    over the next few years as well If you are in a smaller location,
  • 00:26:44
    then you have the option of driving  yourself around or having a driver.
  • 00:26:50
    Generally speaking, bigger  cities have more traffic.
  • 00:26:53
    If you are in a remote location, you  probably won’t have so many issues.
  • 00:27:00
    It’s up to you really. It’s not ideal,
  • 00:27:04
    but I wouldn’t say it’s horrendous.
  • 00:27:08
    It probably is the main thing that people  complain about when moving to Saudi Arabia.
  • 00:27:13
    Hopefully, it won’t put you off. Air connections

  • 00:27:19
    I went to Riyadh a few weeks ago and I went from  Singapore to Riyadh and I had to go through Dubai.
  • 00:27:29
    Because there are no direct flights  between Singapore and Riyadh.
  • 00:27:33
    And Singapore to Saudi Arabia
 I think there are  some flights to Jeddah, but there isn’t much.
  • 00:27:42
    And then, from Riyadh, flying to most locations  in Asia
 again, not too many direct flights. I
  • 00:27:48
    think there’s a flight to Manila. Again, because a lot of people
  • 00:27:52
    from the Philippines work in Saudi Arabia. There are flights back to the UK direct.
  • 00:28:00
    The connectivity in Saudi Arabia at the moment,  in the middle of 2024, is not very good.
  • 00:28:07
    The King Khalid airport as it is now, in  Riyadh, is being redeveloped to become
  • 00:28:16
    the largest airport in the world. It  will be known as King Salman Airport.
  • 00:28:21
    And Jeddah Airport is going through  expansion and there are new airports
  • 00:28:28
    being built in the Red Sea (for the Red  Sea development) and the NEOM developments,
  • 00:28:34
    and all these big Public Investment funded  projects that are happening around the country.
  • 00:28:41
    Also, Matarat, which is the civil  aviation authority for Saudi Arabia

  • 00:28:47
    they have a programme to redevelop  26 different airports in the country.
  • 00:28:51
    At the moment, as I say, the connectivity is not  good and that is a downside of Saudi Arabia at
  • 00:28:56
    the moment when you compare it to the nearby  neighbours of Dubai and Abu Dhabi and Doha.
  • 00:29:05
    The connectivity of those airport  locations is vastly superior to
  • 00:29:09
    anywhere in Saudi Arabia at the moment. However, like I say, these airports are
  • 00:29:14
    being built and Saudi Arabia has announced  that there is going to be a new airline.
  • 00:29:20
    At the moment, Saudia is the main airline for  the country but they’re launching Riyadh Air.
  • 00:29:27
    By the middle of 2025, they’ll  have flights operational.
  • 00:29:32
    By the end of this decade, by 2030, they  should be flying from Saudi Arabia to
  • 00:29:40
    100 destinations around the world. At the moment, in 2024, connectivity
  • 00:29:47
    is not ideal but hopefully, by the end of  this decade, it will be vastly improved.
  • 00:29:55
    Another thing that comes up a  lot from people I deal with,
  • 00:29:58
    or at least the female people I deal with, is  obviously the rights for women in Saudi Arabia.
  • 00:30:05
    Because there is no way of denying that it is a  country going through transition in terms of human
  • 00:30:12
    rights and certainly rights for women. In 2017, Mohammed bin Salman agreed
  • 00:30:22
    certain rights to females in the country. From 2017, women have been able to drive in the
  • 00:30:29
    country without having to have a male chaperone. They have access to government services like
  • 00:30:34
    schools and hospitals that they can go  to without having to take a male partner.
  • 00:30:40
    And they’re also allowed to enter sports  games and to watch the football and everything
  • 00:30:48
    that happens in the country as well. Like I say, this is still evolving.
  • 00:30:55
    In 2022, Saudi Arabia has a new women’s  football team that played its first ever game.
  • 00:31:06
    So there are still things happening. The country  is still going through a transition in terms
  • 00:31:10
    of how that works between men and women. In my experience though, when I was there
  • 00:31:14
    and I would go for coffees, there’s lots  of ladies in the coffee places and they’re
  • 00:31:20
    out with their friends and chatting, in the  same way it would be in a western culture.
  • 00:31:27
    When I went out in an evening  to a bar where, like I say,
  • 00:31:30
    there’s no alcohol, but there are still bars. I went to watch a football game in the evening.
  • 00:31:37
    There were man and women mixing there. There were some tables where there was all
  • 00:31:40
    men and some tables were there was  all women. It wasn’t so different.
  • 00:31:47
    I think that ladies working in Saudi Arabia  should get by without too many issues and
  • 00:31:55
    you may find out that you are respected  for going there and contributing as well.
  • 00:32:01
    In terms of what women wear in offices and things
 Again, there’s no rules.
  • 00:32:10
    In 2017 they got rid of the requirement to  wear the hijab, which is the head scarf.
  • 00:32:15
    You don’t need to wear a head scarf. Some ladies choose to wear an abaya,
  • 00:32:20
    which is like a long dress which basically is  from head to toe. It covers you. But you don’t
  • 00:32:29
    have to. You could wear trousers and a shirt, or  anything that you want to go work in an office.
  • 00:32:38
    But, generally speaking, you should wear something  that’s
 well
 kind of fits in with the culture.
  • 00:32:46
    And you don’t have to wear a head scarf. You  don’t have to wear an abaya. Some ladies choose
  • 00:32:52
    to because they feel comfortable with that. You will also see lots of ladies who are in
  • 00:32:58
    Saudi wearing the niqab, which is the full  covering, with face covering as well. Where,
  • 00:33:07
    obviously, you just able to see the eyes. Even the ladies that are wearing the niqabs,
  • 00:33:15
    they’re out having coffees and chatting with  their friends. It’s very normal in Saudi.
  • 00:33:21
    If you are an expat female working in Saudi  Arabia, there are no specific requirements on
  • 00:33:27
    anything you need to wear or any way you need  to act other than to just be respectful and
  • 00:33:31
    just dress the way that you’re comfortable. Okay. So this is the end of the video today.
  • 00:33:39
    Whether you watched the video in its entirety,  or you dipped in and out of a chapter or two,
  • 00:33:42
    I really am hugely grateful to you for  supporting my channel. And I hope that you
  • 00:33:48
    found some of the information in here useful. If you’re thinking now of that move to Saudi
  • 00:33:54
    Arabia, I really hope it goes well  for you, your family, and your career.
  • 00:33:58
    And, as far as my channel goes, so far, my  videos have been focused on Saudi Arabia.
  • 00:34:05
    But I will be adding content  about other parts of Asia soon.
  • 00:34:08
    So please stay tuned and if you  could help by liking and subscribing,
  • 00:34:12
    I’d be massively grateful to you. Thanks very much, all the best.
タグ
  • Saudi Arabia
  • expat living
  • work visa
  • residence permit
  • employment contract
  • Iqama
  • Saudi culture
  • cost of living
  • driving in Saudi Arabia
  • women's rights