Could "Hiring Based on Experience" Be the Solution to Fake Degrees in Saudi Arabia?

OK. Lets admit it. As expatriates, we each (personally) know at least a couple of folks who are working in Saudi Arabia with fake academic degrees. And they've been doing so for years without anyone at work noticing (in most cases). Have you ever asked yourself how they managed to keep their jobs for so long? Do you think their employers kept them for so long despite the fact that they weren't productive? 

I will cite a few examples based on the experience of persons whom I know (no names mentioned):

X and Y are desperate to get a job to feed their families. They have completed at least high school and can speak English better than most Saudis. So, they opt to work as teachers. Now the thing is, employers won't hire teachers who don't have at least a bachelor's degree. X and Y are stranded. They find someone who can get them a fake BA or BSc. Then they pay more to have a copy of their 'fake' certificates authenticated at the Saudi consulate in their home country. Bingo! The employer sees the authenticated copies and he's impressed. X and Y have just landed a job and are keen to keep it because that's how they get to feed their families.

A and B have worked for ten years with fake bachelor's degrees and no one has ever noticed. They feel they have achieved enough experience to pose as holders of master's degrees. That's about double the time required to complete undergraduate and graduate studies combined. They pay someone and get their master's degrees within a few months. They get lucky. A recruiter succeeds in making them land a position as lecturers at a Saudi university. Eureka! The Saudi government grants them visas and all the benefits that follow (housing, medical insurance, paid vacation, two-way ticket, education for two children, etc). 

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not an advocate of fake degree use, and I abhor the use of fake documents (in fact I possess an authentic degree that I spent three years short of a decade to obtain). I'm just saying that shouldn't employers offer jobs based on experience instead of insisting that the minimum requirement should be a "bachelor's" or "master's" degree? How do people with fake degrees sometimes outperform holders of authentic degrees, which employers are so much after? 

The implications of using fake degrees are serious. The Saudi government plans to introduce penalties against people found to be holding fake academic degrees and to deport them from the kingdom. According to one report, fake degree holders will be prosecuted, imprisoned, deported and banned from entering Saudi (more). Although the punishment is harsh, this still doesn't deter people from purchasing counterfeit certificates. I, however, still believe that if employers focus on experience/ skills instead of academic qualifications, many people won't find a reason to break their moral rules to purchase fake degrees. I agree that hiring employees based on experience might only work for some professions, and it will probably not work in the case of engineers or doctors. Thus, it is reasonable for the Saudi government to regulate such high-skilled professions and use the necessary measures to catch fraudsters.   

What do you think? Should people be hired based on their skills/ experience or qualifications? Will hiring people based on their experience/ skills decrease the use of fake academic degrees?

Arabie Saoudite: Renouvellement du Permit de Sejour et du Passeport

J'ai écrit ce post pour ceux qui ne sont pas sous le parrainage d'une entreprise et qui ont l'obligation de payer pour le renouvellement de leur permis de séjour ou iqama. Les informations sur le renouvellement du permis de séjour après le renouvellement d'un passeport ne sont malheureusement pas habituellement affichées sur ​​les sites Internet, et si c'était le cas, celles-ci sont probablement en arabe. Cependant, je vais me pencher sur certains points spécifiques basés sous l'experience d'un confrère expatrié qui a du apprendre certaines informations pendant le renouvellement de son permit de sejour afin que vous ne faites pas la même erreur. 

Si vous souhaitez renouveler votre iqama et votre passeport a été renouvelé récemment, vous devez d'abord vous rendre au bureau des passeports afin que votre information soit mise à jour. D'après ce que j'ai compris, cette procédure sert à lier votre nouveau passeport à votre iqama actuel et l'ancien passeport sera automatiquement annulé. Vous devez absolument vous presenter au bureau de passeport avec votre khafeel (parrain) pour entamer cette procédure. Pour toutes les étapes ci-dessous, vous n'avez pas besoin d'être accompagné par votre parrain. 

On vous demandera de faire quelques examens de laboratoire. Si vous vivez avec votre famille en Arabie Saoudite, vous et votre conjoint serez invités à faire ces tests. (Mise à jour: J'ai été informé récemment que toute la famille doit faire les examens médicaux.) Actuellement, vous n'avez pas à attendre les résultats car ceux-ci sont transmis directement au centre administratif impliqué dans le renouvellement du permis de séjour. 

Assurez-vous que vous payez une assurance médicale avant de commencer le processus de renouvellement du permis de sejour. Si vous ne le faites pas, vous perdez un temps précieux à faire la queue seulement pour être informé à la dernière minute que vous devez payer l'assurance en premier. Croyez-moi, les bureaux d'immigration sont généralement bondés et vous voudriez vous assurer que vous avez tout ce dont vous avez besoin avant d'y aller. En ce qui concerne l'assurance, vous pouvez payer pour l'assurance médicale individuelle ou familiale. Cela dépend de vos préférences. 

Si vous aviez commis une infraction au code de la route, payez votre amende ou ce serait impossible pour vous de renouveler votre iqama. Vous n'avez pas besoin d'aller à votre banque pour payer ces frais. Ceci peut se faire à n'importe quel guichet automatique.

Saudi Arabia: Passport and Iqama Renewal

I wrote this post for persons who are not under the sponsorship of a company, and who have the obligation to pay for the renewal of their resident permits (iqama). Information regarding iqama renewal after renewal of a passport is, unfortunately, not usually displayed on websites, and if at all it is, then it is probably in Arabic. However, I'm just going to write about specific points based on what one expat experienced when he renewed his and his family's iqamas so that you do not make the same mistake.

If you wish to renew your iqama and your passport was renewed recently, you have to go to the passport office first so that your information is updated. From what I learned, this is to ensure that your new passport is linked to your current iqama and the old passport will be cancelled. You absolutely need to go with your Khafeel (sponsor) during this stage. For all the stages below, you do not need to be accompanied by your sponsor.

You may have to do some laboratory tests. If you live with your family in Saudi Arabia, you and your spouse would be requested to do these tests. (Update: I was informed recently that the whole family would be requested to do medicals.) Currently, individuals do not have to wait for the results, as these are sent directly to the administrative center involved in the renewal of resident permits.

Make sure you pay medical insurance before starting the iqama renewal process. If you do not, you would waste invaluable time queuing up only to be told that you have to pay insurance first. Believe me, the immigration offices are usually crowded and you want to make sure you have everything you need before going there. Regarding insurance, you may pay for individual or family medical insurance. It depends on your preferences.     

If you have a traffic violation, pay it or you won't be able to renew your iqama. You do not need to go to your bank to pay this, as it can be done from any ATM.

Jeddah: Look Who's Back!

Hello Dear Readers,


It has been nearly 4 months since I last posted on this blog. Al hamdulillah! I am back and ready to start posting again. 


We went through a hard time trying to look for another kafeel (sponsor). The point is that we had 2 weeks to get a new sponsor or get an exit visa. Phew! I remember when my husband got that sms. We were having one of those conversations and wondering whether his sponsor would call him soon to give him a deadline. We stopped laughing about the whole thing when his phone beeped. And lo! It was written in black and white. He had 2 weeks to get another sponsor and start the transfer process or his sponsor would issue him an exit visa.


Our greatest ordeal was finding another sponsor who would accept an emergency transfer. The second was to pay 12,000 SAR (this is not the usual fee for transfers). We had a few disappointments from a few people who accepted to become his (my husband's) sponsor. Along the line they disappeared leaving us in the middle of our despair. Finally, we found someone who was willing to go ahead with the transfer. Al hamdulillah, he wanted to do everything on his own. That meant going through the normal and lengthy procedure of transfers. The guy who asked us to pay 12,000 SAR would have sapped us of our funds because the usual fee was 2,000 SAR for first-time transfers. Apparently, he was the type who did things under the table and behind closed doors. We accepted to work with the new sponsor, who took his time in doing everything. Going through the normal channel meant that we risked not meeting the deadline set up by the former sponsor, but we had to do it if we wanted to go the legal way. As the days passed, we kept praying that his former sponsor would not call to remind him of the deadline. Every time there was a development during the transfer process, my husband always made sure that he informed his former sponsor. Two weeks became 4 months, and today we have a new sponsor. Needless to say that his former sponsor exercised great patience because he was willing to give us more time and in doing so he was putting himself in a situation that did not suit really him.


Finally, we can start making plans to leave Saudi Arabia in a smooth way and not like we are being shooed out of the country. I am thankful that this whole thing is over, and we do not live with the worry that at one moment or the other someone might call us to tell us that they were going to issue us an exit visa.

Saudi Arabia: Who is Keeping Your Passport?

One of my in-laws came to spend a few days with us before travelling home to spend the long holiday with his family. The funniest thing about the whole show was that, he has to travel in about a week, but he didn't have his passport yet. He was waiting for one of the company administrators to ship his passport to him so that he could travel. His cousin also had a similar problem. His passport was shipped to another province, hundreds of miles away from the city where his flight was booked, so he had to make his company send his passport to his present city instead.


Wait a minute! Isn't there an international law that says the bearer of a passport has the right to keep it? I can see a line in my passport which says that the passport is strictly for personal use and it must not be loaned or sent by post. What are these passports that keep on transiting in Saudi Arabia?


Do most non-Saudi employees even know that their employers are not supposed to keep their passports? And what about these employers? What do they benefit when they keep their employees' passports or what do they have to lose if their employees keep their passports? An article recently published in Arab News, rightfully said employers were keeping their employees' passport illegally. We all hope that something is going to be done about this unfair treatment one day.

Jeddah: Getting A Child's Iqama (Residence Permit)

In my last post, I wrote about the difficulties we faced in getting our child's birth certificate. After this we proceeded to get his iqama or residence permit. To get a child's iqama, we were asked to provide the following:

• A copy of the parents' iqama (father and mother)
• A copy of the father's passport
• A copy of the child's birth certificate
• A copy of child's passport
• Two passport size photographs of the child 

We applied for his passport when we got his birth certificate. Little did we know that this was going to take a long time too. We finally got his passport after 6 months. By this time our son was over a year old. 

Next, my husband had to go the immigration office located at shariah sitteen, to start the iqama process. He was asked to fill a form outside main office, which he later took inside to the officer. After running a check, he was surprised when the officer told him he had a penalty to pay. One thousand Saudi riyals! Yes, this is the charge you pay for applying late for your child's iqama. He said our son was over a year old, so we had to pay the fine if we wanted to get his iqama done. 

My husband had no choice but to pay. Fortunately, payment was easy via an ATM machine located nearby. After paying this fine, he was able to proceed and he finally got the iqama a few hours later.

Needless to say that there is so much wrong information out there surrounding the process of getting your child's birth certificate or his/her iqama. We didn't have any idea and just discovered things in the process. After this first experience, we learnt a few things:

• Choose the clinic or hospital in which you intend to have your baby wisely. Besides getting a good obstetrician, a health institution that has experience in issuing documents that are required by the government office for the issuance of a birth certificate would save you a great deal of headache. We learnt this the hard way.
• Start the process early enough. Do not wait until your child is a few months old before starting, thinking that you have enough time.
• Find out what it takes to get a child's passport from your consulate or embassy. This would help you to know if you can get the passport in time to apply for your child's iqama without having to pay a penalty.

The process is tiring and could be long. So, men be patient.

Jeddah: The Difficulty in Making Our Child's Birth Certificate

I had always known that it was a straightforward and easy process to make a child's birth certificate. I realised that I was wrong when my husband was trying to get our son's birth certificate done in Jeddah.

Our son was a year old by the time we finally made his birth certificate. We had been told before that this was free for all infants less than 6 months old, and after this age you had to pay 1000 SAR. We couldn't tell if this information was true, but we nevertheless started the procedure to get his birth certificate issued.

The first obstacle was the clinic where he was born. Apparently, he was the first baby to be born in that clinic and so the administration didn't know exactly the kind of document we needed to take to the governmental office concerned to get our baby's birth certificate issued. The first document that the director of the clinic beautifully signed and handed to my husband was rejected at the register office. My husband was very disturbed because he had to obtain permission from his boss every time he had to do anything not related to his work during office hours. Anyone who has had the pleasure or displeasure of going to the register office at Ahwal Madani in the Al Naseem District, knows that if you want to be received before midday, you should arrive there before 5 a.m. Some people even get there at 3 a.m just to secure a position at the front. The offices open at 8 a.m and by that time, the place is already crowded, with 2 lines established; one for Saudis and one for expatriates. This was our second obstacle.

My husband returned to the clinic and they established another document which my husband had to take to the register office. Again! That meant another excuse from his boss to go to the register office at 5 a.m, and spend the next 5 to 7 hours waiting in line. At last, he was standing in front of the registrar! Guess what. All he got was a broad smile from the register and a "maleish", still not the right document. My husband was really angry this time. The registrar had to write a note to the clinic under my husband's insistence, to tell the clinic administration what document they had to provide to get that birth certificate issued.

Good things come in 3s, don't they? The third time, the clinic gave him the right document and apologised because it was their first time to handle this kind of issue. You wouldn't imagine that all this back and forth process took us months to finally get this paper. Our son was already 6 months old, so welcome 1000 SAR! This might look like a small amount to some people, but it is no fun paying this sum for something that you could have gotten free of charge. The story doesn't end here.

My husband gave up going to the register office for a while because it was tiring to get up very early, and queue up for hours in front of the register office. In addition, he always had to get permission to go late to work. When my son turned 1, he decided to give it another try. He presented the said-document at the register office and al hamdulillah, it was not rejected again! Plus, he didn't pay any charges as most people had informed him earlier. So where did this 1000 SAR charge apply? I will tell you later in a subsequent post…


NB: Current requirements and procedures to obtain a child's birth certificate can be obtained on the Ministry of Interior website.