ProSaudi Blog > View all posts by Yasir Imran (Page 6)
Author: Yasir Imran
Yasir Imran is a Pakistani national living in Saudi Arabia since 2004. He writes because he want to express his thoughts and share his knowledge about expatriate issues in Saudi Arabia.
I just renewed (22 days before) & transferred my Iqama sponsorship from a Saudi individual sponsor in Al Ahsa, Dammam to Riyadh Capital based in Riyadh. My Iqama shows issue place to be Dammam, I am seeing this as trouble as i have to go Dammam ministries for any work, for example: family visit visa, permanent family (wife) visa. What might be the best solution to change this from location from Dammam to Riyadh.
Question 2
My Iqama profession is ‘Marketing Specialist’ “Ekthe sasi tasweek” “اختصاصي تسويق” which i changed 1 week before, Can i apply family visa with this profession? What are my chances, i got my my UK MBA Degree attested, translated, and marriage certificate attested & translated. Thank you.
Answer to Question 1
Once your Iqama is expired and then renewed, it will automatically change its place of issue to Riyadh (as per your new sponsor’s business is registered in Riyadh city). Alternatively you may request for a new copy of Iqama card, just to change its “place of issue” or “issuing place”. This will cost you around 100 SR. But it will not change the date of expiry or anything else. Also if you have changed your profession successfully, the new profession will be printed also on new Iqama. Ask your sponsor’s legal advisory to help you getting it.
Answer to Question 2
Yes this profession is eligible for Family Visa and Visit Visa. Having your attested educational certificates with you is a plus point and it will help you to get a visa easily.
For any more questions, drop a comment in the comment box below.
In Saudi Arabia Car Registration is called (Istemara استمارة). Below I will try to explain how to do it. Either you have a car, a van, an suv or any kind of vehicle in Saudi Arabia and it is registered under your name you can renew its Government Registration by visiting any Moroor (Traffic Police Center). Basically Renewing Car Registration in Saudi Arabia is a process of 3 Steps as follows.
A Sample Vehicle Number Plate of Saudi Arabia
Car Insurance
Car Inspection (Technical Inspection by Certified Center)
Car Registration with Traffic Police
Car Insurance (in Saudi Arabia)
There are many private Insurance companies who are offering Car Insurance in Saudi Arabia. The purpose of this insurance is to make sure Financial rights of other vehicle owners whose vehicle is damaged by you in a road accident. In such case a representative from Traffic Police will investigate the accident and declare who is more responsible for the road accident. Once he investigates and issues a final evaluation report either party in the accident can visit Insurance Company and claim to pay the amount, whatever the cost is to repair his vehicle. So to drive a vehicle on Saudi roads you need to have a valid car insurance plan. Normally Car insurance plans are issued for one year period. Before going to renew your car registration make sure that your vehicle has a valid insurance. You may check that from Ministry of Interior’s website. Vist this section of MOI Website and put the identity number (Iqama No.) or Saudi National ID number, additionally fill out your car registration number plate. Upon submitting proper information you will be informed either you car insurance is valid or not. In some cases you got an Insurance policy printed paper with you however the insurance is not registered with Traffic police, in that case you will find “invalid insurance” message on MOI website. This means that you have to get a new car insurance plan by such a company which has registration with Moroor / Saudi Traffic Police. As per my experience MedGulf and United Insurance are registered with Moroor / Saudi Traffic Police department. This insurance policy costs from 370 SR to 490 SR.
Car Inspection (Technical Inspection by Certified Center)
Firstly make sure that your car Inspection Report i.e. Fahas is valid. If it is not you got to go through your vehicle to Fahas (Inspection) process. If your vehicle is in very good condition you could easily go through Fahas process without any additional fix. However if you doubt it would be better to take it to Mechanic (Workshop). Most Mechanics know what are the main factors to fix for Fahas process. If your Mechanic doesn’t know these factors, take your vehicle to the area where Inspection Center is located in your city.
In Jeddah Inspection Center or Fahas Dori (فحص دوري) is located in Al-Marwah Distt. It is intersection of Prince Mitab Street (40th Street) with Hira Street. You can relocate Motor Vehicle Periodic Inspection Center in this link at google maps.
To prepare your vehicle for Inspection, first choose any workshop among many, which are located in Opposite side of center. The Mechanic will check the car and suggest you any possible fixtures which are required for inspection process. You may consult more than one workshop to make sure Car Mechanics are not cheating you. The Inspection consist of following parts / issues of a vehicle as mentioned by Life in KSA blog here.
Headlights, Brake Lights, Parking Lights, Indicators, Light Beams, Horn, Wipers, Wiper Rubbers, Regular Brakes and Hand Brake, Visible and Prominent Damage to car, wheel alignment, Wind Screen crackes and visibility issues, Back View Mirrors, No Black Smoke or huge smoke from Car silencer, Oil Leakage, Damages under the Vehicle.
Once the Mechanic finishes fixing problems in your vehicle, find any suitable office for filling the forms (required for renewing car registration). If you are well familiar with Arabic Language do it by yourself. Now take your vehicle inside the inspection center, it is a big area in which vehicles are moving toward inspection garage in a queue. There is a minor fee of inspection as well. Wait for your turn and if your Vehicle is passed in all tests, you may now move to next step. In case your vehicle is failed in the inspection test, take it back to the same Mechanic you consulted earlier and ask him to fix the trouble. Upon fixture take your vehicle inside again for a successful completion of inspection. Upon entering second time and third time fee is slightly less than first time.
Car Registration with Traffic Police
Upon successful completion of inspection, collect your vehicle inspection report and now your vehicle is ready for registration. Below I will mention which are required documents / requirements for renewing car registration.
What Documents are Required for Renewing Vehicle Registration
Copy of Previous Vehicle Registration Card (Istemara) + Original
Copy of Valid Inspection Report + Original
Copy of Iqama for non-saudis, National ID Card for Saudis + Original
Once you have all these documents take them inside Traffic Police Office / Moroor which is located inside Periodic Vehicle Inspection Center. Take your documents to the reception and the officer will tell you to wait for your turn. If everything is ok you will get your renewed Car Registration Card (Istemara) in less than 10 minutes. In case of any problem or trouble, the officer will tell you the problem. Then you can fix this problem and bring your file again to the same place.
A-O-A Dear, I have 3 questions for permanent family visa.
Do i need to attest marriage certificate from MOFA in saudi arabia?
Where can i find the approved Arabic translation centers in Dammam or Jeddah for degree and marriage certificate.( i already translated it from Pakistan)
Can i go directly to bank and deposit the family visa fees without having bank account.
Hoping to see congenial swift reply.
Regards, Nadir Ilyas
Please find the answers below as per my knowledge.
Yes you need to attest it from Ministry of Foreign Affairs Saudi Arabia (MOFA). It is a mandatory step as I have gone through this. This should be done after completing attestation process from your home country. Attestation of MOFA verifies that the attestation done by Saudi consulate in a foreign country is genuine and original. You can get more guideline about attesting documents from this post. The process is similar to that explained there.
In Jeddah there are so many Authorized Translation centers, but most commonly they are situated at King Fahad Street (60th Street) in the are that lies between Gharnatha St and Prince Muhammad Street. Take a look at the snapshot of Translation Centers. There is translation center in Consulate General of Pakistan in Jeddah as well. Probably it is cheaper as well.
You cannot deposit without having a Bank Account or at least it will be difficult. To do that you may get help from any friend who has a bank account, if some unknown person do it, they may charge you up to 50 SR for this. But before depositing the fee for family visa, first submit your visa file to Istikdam office and decide on their response. If they advise you to submit the fee then go for it.
I hope these answers will help you. For more questions about Saudi Family visa, please submit your questions to the comment box below. Regards, Yasir Imran.
A Pakistani Passenger Bus which is used to travel on local routs, sometimes inside the city only and sometime between two neighbor cities. It is decorated in traditional style with multicolored adhesive tapes or paint done by hands. Such a vehicle exist in many part of Pakistan from villages to big cities.
Two young children from Saudi Arabia are serving water to pilgrims who came for Umrah and Prayer in Masjid Nabvi. This is one example that show how kind an arab hospitality is, the parents of these children asked them to do this service to all pilgrims and get thawab.
Getting driving license in Saudi Arabia has been made one of the easiest task as compared to past. It is a straight forward process which is as simple as you can expect. It doesn’t require too much money or illegal ways. It is straight forward and direct. I categories people which are willing to get driving license in to 3 categories. Category #1 can be further divided in to 2 sub-categories.
You are well familiar with driving, cars and road signals and has good experience on the road.
Also You have an official driving license of another country.
But You don’t have an official driving license of any country
You are a little familiar with driving, you drove car for a few times but you don’t have experience with road and don’t have a good confidence on road.
You don’t know anything about cars, driving, road signals etc
For people in category # 1 it is a fast process to obtain Saudi driving license. I describe it below. 1.A. Get your original non-Saudi driving license, and visit any of driving schools you are comfortable with. There are Arabic or Asian based guys wondering outside or just beside the school gate. If they are not there, check for any General Service shop. These agency shops are common and must exist beside every driving school. The most authenticated will be the one that is inside the school boundary. Visit them and ask them to fill out your form for driving license. They will request you for 6 personal photographs and your original Iqama (Saudi Arabian ID/work permit/residence card etc). Provide them both thing, They will ask a few more details like Blood group, mobile number, work-place, designation, sponsor name etc. In the past blood group must be checked at the spot but now more relaxation in the rules have been made. But now they only ask it from you and put the information on your behalf. After filling out the form they might ask you if you want to pay the driving license fee. I suggest not to do this because these agencies charge up to 50 SR more than actual amount. Furthermore it is not a compulsory step done at spot. It can be done later via any bank account. If you feel comfortable paying extra money just submit the fee. These guys will charge you from 10 to 15 Saudi Riyals. These days Driving License Fee is categories ed into 3 levels.
2 Years Driving License = 80 SR
5 Years Driving License = 130 SR
10 Years Driving License = 400 SR
After that you go inside the Driving License Office and submit your form to related window. Once submitted they will guide you for further steps. Later on you will be asked for a blood test and an eyesight test. If you succeed in those Medical tests you are ready for Evaluation test, in which an authorized representative from Driving School will check your driving skills. He might be in a uniform like police man but don’t be afraid of him. He is there just to monitor you, not to arrest you or beat you 🙂 Upon your turn for evaluation test, be calm, enter in car, close the door, fasten your seat belt, check gasoline indicator in dashboard, clear hand brake and wait for instructions. The instructions normally come in Arabic Language, however if you don’t understand they monitoring person will repeat in English with the words (Start, Go, etc). Follow the instruction, don’t push the accelerator pedal too much, keep it between 1500 rpm to 2500 rpm, be alert, they monitoring person may any time ask for apply brake or take a sharp turn. Finally he will complete your evaluation test and hand over your papers (file) back to you, that he already received from you upon entering the car. He might categorize your driving skills from A, B, C. In Arabic (ا، ب، ج). Take your file to the office where you submitted earlier, you will be guided to move to a specific window where you will be informed…
Number of Days You got to attend driving school.
The Date when your driving classes will start.
Also you have to pay the school fee that is (435 SR) currently. Then you have to join a training program of 5 or 15 days as per your grade which is based on Field Training at Vehicle and Class Room Training. Finally after completing training you will be given a Final Driving Test Date. Also you will be given a big printed paper that has all the road symbols, traffic signals, road signs etc. That is for your computer signals test. Remember all of them in your brain. Now join the driving classes on specified date, participate in field training at car, ask questions from your instructor whatever you don’t understand. There is a class room training everyday in which you will be given knowledge of road signs and signals. Take a look at the video of Driving Training in Jeddah Driving School.
After successful completion of Driving classes, you will be given a final driving test date which is based on driving the car inside the school and a computer test.
Final Driving Test
Final test consist of 3 basic skills.
Handling the car on the steep Bridge (In which you should not let the car move back)
Driving the Car in “8” shaped area with sharp turns.
Reverse Parking in a Plus (+) shaped area.
If you learned all these things well during your driving classes, you will successfully convince the monitoring person to Pass you. If you pass it, you will be redirected to Computer Test Room, where you have to answer 17 Correct options out of 20 questions. If you pass it straight forward your file is stamped with “Passed”, in Arabic (ناجح) and you will be asked to collect your Saudi Driving License within next 2 days. Make sure to submit Driving License Fee before this test, I mentioned this fee at the beginning.
Basically it was an email to one of my friends regarding “How to Write in Nastaleeq fonts at WordPress.com Blogs”. WordPress.com blogs offer a basic variety of features while writing posts but there are few restrictions as well. You cannot change fonts, you have to stick to Default font that is used in theme CSS files. It becomes a problem when writing in Urdu at WordPress.com blogs. Because Urdu has a different set of fonts in which the text becomes beautiful and comfortable to read. Like Naskh font, Nastaleeq Font etc.
You can also use other features like Bold, Italics and Headings while writing a post in WordPress.com blog.
When you click Add New post, You will find buttons for Bold , Italic etc that can be seen in the picture below. There are also Heading sizes in formatting bar. You can use Heading 1, 2, 3 as per requirement.
If you want to change overall text size and you want to take control of it, you have to move to HTML mode.
First of all, align all your text as needed, right or left or center in normal mode. Then click the HTML button on the right side of editor. and add the HTML code in the beginning.
For Tahom font with size 4
<font face=”Tahoma” size=”4″ >
For Jameel urdu font with size 3
<font face=”Jameel Noori Nastaleeq” size=”3″ >
At the ending, just put another small code for both of above.
Saudi Arabia is a country of visitors throughout the year. Every year millions of Pilgrims visit Saudi Arabia for Umra and Hajj, there are Millions others working here to earn livelihood as well from various countries. For most of them Internet is a basic need to stay in touch with their families and friends at other globe locations.
For a new comer in Saudi Arabia it is very difficult to find the right Internet Connection at affordable price because of not having a good knowledge of local market.
I would like to Introduce a well known Internet Connection which is now available at very much affordable cost. This Internet connection is offered by Mobile Telecom, which is one of big giants of Telecom Service Providers in Saudi Arabia.
Mobily Broadband Connect 4G Router
This package is called Connect Home 4G Router which includes a Modem and 3 Months Unlimited Internet at 599 Saudi Riyals. This router can connect you with High Speed Internet at any location in Saudi Arabia where you can find mobile signals. This router works on 4G Network from Mobily Telecom. It has a built-in WiFi Access Point as well so you can connect multiple device including Laptop, Netbook, Tablet PC, Smartphone or Ordinary Mobile phone with WiFi capability. The built-in WiFi Access point provides enough WiFi signals that you can connect inside your home within a range of 10-15 Meters. Not only WiFi but it has 4 Ethernet ports as well, so that you can create a Cable Connection from your PC to Router.
There is another 4G Connection is also available which is dedicated for people on the move. It is a small device with a size of USB Flash drive, it can be connected directly with USB port in your Laptop or Netbook and provides Internet Connectivity for a single device. This package is called Connect Laptop 4G and it is available on selected branches of Axiom Telecom in Saudi Arabia. It includes a 4G LTE Modem and Limited 5GB Internet for 1 month. This bundle is available in 150 Saudi Riyals only.
Mobily Broadband Connect4G Laptop which can be connected via USB Port
Both above Connect devices require a 4G Data Sim from Mobily Telecom which will be provided with every single purchase.
