Saudi Arabia Population and growth rate up to 2011

Population growth rate: 1.536% (2011 est.)

Definition: The average annual percent change in the population, resulting from a surplus (or deficit) of births over deaths and the balance of migrants entering and leaving a country. The rate may be positive or negative. The growth rate is a factor in determining how great a burden would be imposed on a country by the changing needs of its people for infrastructure (e.g., schools, hospitals, housing, roads), resources (e.g., food, water, electricity), and jobs. Rapid population growth can be seen as threatening by neighboring countries.

Year	Population growth rate	Rank	Percent Change	Date of Information
2008	1.95	69	--	2008 est.
2009	1.85	69	-5.13 %	2009 est.
2010	1.55	80	-16.22 %	2010 est.
2011	1.54	77	-0.65 %	2011 est.

Definition: The average annual percent change in the population, resulting from a surplus (or deficit) of births over deaths and the balance of migrants entering and leaving a country. The rate may be positive or negative. The growth rate is a factor in determining how great a burden would be imposed on a country by the changing needs of its people for infrastructure (e.g., schools, hospitals, housing, roads), resources (e.g., food, water, electricity), and jobs. Rapid population growth can be seen as threatening by neighboring countries.
Source: CIA World Factbook - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of March 11, 2010

Dealing with cops - Some tips

One of the most common problems of expatriates working in Saudi Arabia is dealing with the policemen, language being the biggest hurdle. If your vehicle ever meets with an accident, the first thing you should do is to stop the vehicle right there and get out of the car. Do not move the vehicle till a policeman arrives on the spot. Do not be bothered about the traffic behind you, i.e., even if the vehicle is bang in the middle of the road, you must just put on the hazard lights and stop the car right there. This is very important because if you try to move the vehicle to the side of the road, it would amount to tampering with evidence.

If you are taken to the police station, never sign any document unless the Government Relations Officer of your company arrives. This is important because all verbal and written communication would be in Arabic. If it is not practically possible, and the cop on duty forces you to sign some document, sign it but make sure that you write above your signature that you do not understand what is written above. Believe me, this would save you a lot of trouble later, as mentioned earlier.

With the current security situation, there are checkpoints in almost all major towns across the kingdom. You must always make sure to carry your iqama, istemara, car insurance and your company ID with you all the time. At every checkpoint, make sure that you do the following. A word of caution - these are just tips, not official rules!

Completely roll down your car window; never mind if you lose the coolness and comfort of the AC. One of my friends did not roll down his windows and he was simply asked to park his car by the side of the road and made to wait for more than 30 minutes. Remember, the cop is standing in the hot sun and you must do nothing, absolutely nothing, which would irritate him
Switch off the music from your radio/CD player
Take out the ID in your hands and show it out of the open window. Some people have their IDs hung around their neck. Never make the mistake of showing the cop your ID in this fashion. Take it out of your neck and display it clearly by sticking your hand out of the window.
Never chew gum in front of the cop. Some of them consider it as an insult
If you are wearing sun goggles, remove them when you cross the checkpost
Never ever try to switch lanes. Murphy's law always works here and the other lane would always be faster than yours. But if you try to switch lanes in a checkpost, you had it!
Never talk to other passengers or in your mobile phone as you pass a checkpost
If a cop speaks something to you in Arabic, just give a friendly smile, apologize and say that you do not know Arabic. In nine out of ten cases, this works and he would simply let you go without bothering you much.
Remember that these cops are stressed out standing in the open and your actions must never ever irritate them at any point of time.
These are practical tips for expatriates planning to work in Saudi Arabia, which you wouldn't find in any official dossier. Hope they are of some help to you.

NOC not required for Indians

It's now official. There's finally some good news for Indian expatriates working in Saudi Arabia who are planning to switch jobs.  This has now been done away with, but only for Indian expatriates, at the moment. For other nationalities, it is best to consult the Saudi Embassies in your own countries.
More than 2 years after it was made a law, Saudi embassies around the world are slowly starting to implement the same. The consulate in Mumbai, India, has now declared that if any Indian national, currently working in Saudi Arabia , wishes to change his job within the kingdom, he can re-enter the kingdom without the requirement of a No Objection Certificate from his current employer, provided he has left the kingdom on an Exit visa. In other words, if he has gone on Exit/Re-entry, it is still necessary to obtain an NOC from the current employer.

Vacation entitlements

Your contract IS the final document which would stand by you in case of a dispute between you and your employer.  There are a few contracting companies in Saudi Arabia, which take the expatriates' ignorance of law as granted. Not all of them are this way, but as in any place, there are bad apples in every basket.
Specifically talking about your vacation entitlements, you must know that you are entitled for an annual vacation of minimum of 21 days each year for the first five years. Some of the contracting companies allow the employees to go on vacation only once in 2 years. But this does not relieve them of their obligation towards the law. If you are planning to sign such a contract, ensure that your entitlement is a minimum of 21 days each year.

If you continue to stay in this company for more than 5 years, your entitlement becomes 30 days for each year, from the 6th year onwards. An interesting thing to note here is that, even if your employer has forced you to sign a contract of 21 days vacation after the first 5 years, the law clearly states that your entitlement is 30 days, so this will supersede what you have signed in your contract. In other words, when you go on final exit from the kingdom, your employer is supposed to pay you for the remaining 9 days per year for each year of service after the first 5 years.

Working in Saudi Arabia is a challenge as well as a rewarding experience, but you must know your rights and obligations clearly before signing any contract.

Driving in Saudi Arabia

If you already have an international driving license before coming to Saudi Arabia, you can skip the first level of driving test. But in any case, it is advisable to go through a driving school in the kingdom before the test rather than giving the test directly, because the chances of your failure are quite high if you give the test without undergoing the driving school lessons.

Never ever, ever drive your car without a vehicle insurance. Usually, if you take your vehicle insurance from a reputed company, you would be given a letter in Arabic which is addressed to the police. The letter simply states that your vehicle is insured and if you show this to the police, you would not be jailed. Hence, you must atleast carry a photocopy of this letter in your vehicle all the time along with a copy of your iqama.

By the way, expatriates are not allowed to own pickup vehicles. I would also strongly advice you not to offer lift to unknown people. Also, if you ever travel with your friend's wife, even if it is for dropping the lady nearby, make sure that your friend is also in that car. Despite all your good intentions, it is a crime to do this here. It's no joke, you may be in serious trouble if you do that, because according to the law, it is an offense for an unrelated man and woman to be talking or traveling together.

Used cars in Saudi Arabia

Working in Saudi Arabia is a challenge, but driving in Saudi Arabia is a bigger challenge! It is extremely difficult for an expatriate, particularly those with their families, to be without a car. Public transport is scarce in Saudi Arabia and taxis may not always be convenient or available when you need them.
Usually, expatriates prefer to buy used cars from other expatriates, particularly those who plan to stay for the short-term. This would be by either word of mouth or through advertisements placed in supermarkets or malls. Of course, new cars are also available, but they don't come cheap. If you are going to pay for the car from your pocket, (i.e., not company-owned car), I would advise you to go in for a used one, preferably one that is less than 5 years old. With the current problem of traffic jams and parking space in cities, a smaller car would be preferable. Used cars can also be bought from auction yards, but since you may not always know the previous owner, it would be purely your luck if you get a good car. In any case, the procedure is the same.

The car has to be kept in custody of an "exhibition" ( a place where trading is normally done) for 24 hours. The owner of the exhibition is a government-registered broker to whom the buyer has to pay a commission as transaction charges. The broker transfers the ownership of the car from the previous owner to you, after the mandatory 24-hour lock-in period is over.

You would be given two cards. One is the ownership card which proves that you are the owner of the vehicle. The other is the registration card, called Istemara You must carry these two cards with you, along with your insurance card and original iqama, all the time.

Exit Re-entry visa procedure after expiry in Saudi Arabia

Any expatriate has to obtain an exit / reentry visa if he wants to go out of the kingdom and re-enter. The rule is that he has to leave the kingdom within 2 months from the date of stamping the exit / reentry visa (if not there is a fine of SR 1000) and has to return within the date specified on the visa.

Let's take a special case when due to some reason an expat leaves the kingdom on vacation or any other reason, but is unable to enter the kingdom within the date specified. Under normal circumstances, he would not be able to enter the kingdom, because technically his visa has already expired. However, there is still a provision by which he can re-enter, though the procedure is a bit cumbersome.

Everything depends on your sponsor. and the relationship you have had with him, i.e., was it cordial or otherwise. If you would like to re-enter the kingdom AND your sponsor still wants you back AND (most important of all) your iqama (residence permit) is still valid, then here is how you go about it.

Your sponsor must first file an application with the Saudi Passport Department. There is a special form for this. He will then be given a "yellow" slip. This is nothing but permission from the Saudi Government that you can re-enter the kingdom. This "yellow" slip must be sent to you by courrier immediately. You must, upon receipt of this slip, attach copies of your passport, iqama along with this slip and submit it to the Saudi consulate or embassy in your home country. Once the embassy or the consulate puts their stamp on this yellow slip, you must necessarily leave your home country within 7 days from the date of stamping by the consulate / embassy. Otherwise your reentry visa would be permanently cancelled.
As mentioned above, this procedure is valid ONLY if your iqama hasn't expired already. If so, then you have no chance to re-enter the kingdom and your visa would have got automatically canceled permanently.

Hence, it is absolutely essential for an expatriate to:

Renew your iqama well in advance, and particularly if you are going on vacation. Never be under a false sense of security that you could always renew it after arriving back in the kingdom. Remember, the only thing certain in Saudi Arabia is uncertainty!
Always carry a photocopy of your iqama with you, whenever you go out of the country.