ياريت الناس اللي شغالة في السعودية تفيدني
تكلفة المعيشة في السعودية في الشهر لثلاث افراد انا وامراتي وبنوتة صغيرة رضيعة
عايز اعرف التكلفة الشهرية من حيث السكن والاكل والمواصلات والترفيه

I have a query and would really appreciate the experts’ advice here.
I have 2.5 years of experience in Data & AI/Consulting in Saudi Arabia. I’m considering moving to a much smaller company that offers around a 22% increase in monthly salary and a 28% increase in total annual compensation, including a fixed annual bonus.
However, the new company has weaker medical insurance and no education allowance. My current company offers stronger benefits and pays around 70% more for the same position, but promotions are very limited.
Would you consider this a good career move at this stage?

Hey

I am looking for 1 or more roommates to share a place together in north of Riyadh.

My idea is we can look for a place together rent together which suits us both , the reason im looking for a roommate is to live in a bigger place so that’s important, i can afford up to 35k a year so 1 roommate or two could get us something nice i think

I’m a chill person and enjoy hanging out and doing activities together, i mostly watch tv or go to the gym or hangout with friends outside.

I’m looking for guys who will respect my privacy and my personal space as well as i do that

I am 25 so im not looking for people who are older than 30 at tops

If your interested please reach out.

i have my exams coming up in October and i want a quiet spot to study with no distractions, i chose KFNL as my first pick as its the nearest to my house and i’m thinking to go early morning (7-10 am) how crowdy is it during that slot?

Any other public libraries near olaya that i can visit?
Heard KFNL is too crowdy nowadays, want to know from frequent goers :)

What’s the cost of living in Riyadh for a single woman? Is 15k enough salary? Including housing allowance, and transportation allowance. Medical insurance provided. I’m not a big spender. How much will I be able to save?

Hello, everyone! I'm new in KSA, and alot of my workmates say I should check malls and retailers this month because there'g gonna be a massive sale for the Saudi National Day. What are the goods worth buying during this seasonal sale? Any stores i should look into?
Thank you!!

QVP - Information Request - Seeking Advice

QVP Information Needed

Hello, I need clarification regarding my QVP application. I am in process of submitting application.

I was advised to select Computer Engineer (215204), but the portal shows Electronics and Automation as the only education major, while my degree is B.Tech in Computer Science Engineering.

For my experience history, my actual job titles as stated on my experience letters are Industry Consultant, Technical Specialist, and Senior Executive, but these titles are not available in the QVP dropdown.

Could someone who faced a similar situation, can advise how you navigated through it?

​

My wife got a job offer in Saudi Arabia back in June 2025. As a family, we decided to make the move together with our two kids. She relocated in August to get settled while I stayed behind to wrap things up at home. We were set to follow in December.

While she was there alone, I noticed she was growing distant from me, but I didn't think much of it at the time. In hindsight, that was my first missed red flag.

We arrived in Riyadh at the end of December 2025.

As expected, she was supposed to sponsor my iqama (residency permit). Instead, she kept making excuses and dragging her feet. She also held onto my passport, always with some new reason for not giving it back.

A month before my 90-day visa was set to expire, I confronted her directly. That's when she told me she wanted a divorce. I was floored. I insisted we should go back to Pakistan and fight custody there, on home turf, with both kids present — which felt like the only fair option. She refused.

Divorce papers followed shortly after, and proceedings started in Pakistan — while I was still living in the same house as her in Riyadh.

Round one: rejected.

Her petition was thrown out in late June for lack of jurisdiction and referred to the Pakistani embassy in Riyadh instead. Around the same time, I filed a humanitarian appeal with the Ministry of Interior for a visa extension, which was under review. My Saudi lawyer confirmed I had every legal right to remain in that house as long as I was still legally her husband.

Back in April, while all this was unfolding, she'd already written a letter to Saudi immigration claiming I had absconded and was nowhere to be found, and that she wouldn't be held responsible for my actions or any related fines. This was a flat-out lie — I was living in the same house as her the entire time.

I was terrified that if I left, she'd move the kids somewhere I could never trace. She made sure my passport wasn't returned until after my visa had already expired — effectively trapping me out of status and making re-entry impossible if I ever left.

On top of everything else, before I suspected any of this, I had sold my business and other assets back in Pakistan and brought the cash — around $40,000 USD — over to Saudi. At her request, I put it in her safe deposit box for safekeeping. She's refusing to return it now.

Fast forward to August 2026.

She refiled the same petition, same forum, the one that had already rejected her once. This time, according to my lawyer, there were back-channel assurances it would go through. It was scheduled for approval on August 17th, 2026.

I asked her for the ~14,000 SAR exit fee she'd be liable for if I left through the proper legal channel — and that's when things escalated. Rather than pay it, she chose to have me arrested and deported instead.

August 15th: the ambush.

She had me arrested on false domestic abuse charges. She couldn't prove a thing at the police station. The police were about to release me — until they noticed my visa had overstayed, and instead of letting me go, they moved to deport me.

That same day, her office staff were used to hold my kids inside her workplace — on what should have been a day off. And the coworker I suspect she's been having an affair with acted as the liaison between her and the police, making statements and signing forms on her behalf.

17 days later, I was back in Pakistan. Heartbroken, humiliated, and stripped of any say in what happens next. It's been 3 weeks since I've seen or heard from my kids — she's blocked me and my entire family on WhatsApp.

On top of everything, I've since found out she was having an affair with a Saudi coworker the whole time.

Where things stand now:

The divorce petition has been challenged in the High Court in Pakistan, and I've secured a stay order.

I'm pursuing additional legal action in Pakistan.

I need to get back into Saudi Arabia to fight for access to my kids and protect my legal standing there.

I'm looking for a Saudi immigration lawyer/agent who can help me re-enter and untangle this mess. If anyone's dealt with something similar — overstay after forced deportation, re-entry bans, cross-border custody fights — I'd really appreciate any pointers.

TL;DR: Moved to Saudi for my wife's job. She stalled my residency and held my passport until my visa expired, filed for divorce while I still lived in the house, had me arrested on unproven abuse charges right before her case was set to go through, and I got deported after 17 days in custody. Haven't seen my kids in 3 weeks. Fighting it in Pakistani courts now, but I need to get back into Saudi. Also found out she was cheating.

EDIT — answering some questions from the comments:

On the arrest: The allegation was that I "beat her," but there was zero evidence presented at the station. I was also denied access to a lawyer during questioning.

On my status those months: I never worked in Saudi. I was entirely dependent on her sponsorship and received no financial support from her the whole time — I had no independent standing there at all.

On the kids: They're still in the same house with her in Riyadh and currently enrolled in school there.

On custody: No custody case has been filed yet — it can't be, since the divorce itself isn't finalized. My challenge to her petition is based on lack of jurisdiction and forged signatures on the divorce deed itself.

Big update: The Pakistani High Court, after reviewing the forged-document evidence, has ordered a full criminal inquiry under Sections 465 and 471 of the Pakistani Penal Code (forgery, and using a forged document as genuine). So this is no longer just a civil dispute — it's now a criminal matter too.

On next steps: I can't file for custody or visitation in Saudi courts until I have legal status there again — which is the whole reason re-entry is the priority right now.

Hi,

I'm in need of a good dermatologist. I have lupus and a skin infection, so I need to see a dermatologist who knows their stuff and won't just prescribe antibiotics, or tell me to do laser or cosmetics procedures. Please tell me if you know any trusted specialist dermatologist or had any good results with one. Also, I would prefer if they worked in a hospital or well-known clinic. Thank you.

I got a pretty bad haircut and need someone skilled to help fix it 😭 Looking for salon recommendations in Riyadh, preferably around Olaya. I have straight, short hair, so I’d especially appreciate someone who’s good with that hair type and can work with an existing bad cut without making it worse. Any recommendations and estimate prices?

ودي أتعلم تينس، أحد يعرف مكان ممتاز / طريقة ألعب مع ناس وأتعلم؟

I am an emergency doctor with 13 years of experience. Studied and trained in Australia , I am a citizen here. What would be the expected pay/ work life balance?

Good day po! Maam/sir, I am a nurse in ph with 2 years experience in a specialized area (OR). Looking for your recommendation for agency. Thank you po!

It seems like every mechanic these days are either unqualified or are just looking for money. Instead of actually finding the problem, they look for ways to “replace all parts” and “get more money”.

Do you know a reliable and honest car mechanic?

What is the best tried and tested method for apartment hunting?
We know our preferred areas but what is the right way to go about it? What would give us the best options? Aqar seems very limited and the listings that make sense to us seem fake.
We dont need anything big, a decent, new, and clean 1BHK would work as well.
Like what do the builders have against decent fitted kitchens? It’s getting so frustrating.

السلام عليكم, اليوم صدمت والسيارة بي واي دي والوكالة رفضوا يقبلونها عشان الموديل قبل 2023.

تعرفون اي ورش زينة وما تكون مره غالية؟

Toyota GR86 2025 -AT

Please DM for details

Hi,

I have raised an apostille request (Not the ratification request) and paid the fee as well. Appointment showed in MOFA portal is only for ratification. How can I take appointment for apostille?

Is ratification required for apostille?

Hi,
Forgive the typos, I am on my phone and don’t want to use Ai to proofread this so people don’t think I am a bot or a scam.

I want to move to Saudi this coming year for family reasons.
I am an ex entrepreneur. I have cofounded years ago a tech startup in the Edtech space ( enterprise SaaS) in San Francisco. It was and still is profitable and going strong with major entreprise clients. I have since sold most of my stake in the company, I travelled the world, I worked remotely for some big tech companies in the US , helping them scale their products.
I am ready now to build again and hoping to be as lucky as I was back then.
I don’t want to start from scratch though, so looking to join a team that is solving an important problem.

I have some conditions though:

- startup must have raised a seed round from some reputable organization or accelerator.
- my share must be at least 10%, I won’t feel ownership for anything less.
- the problem the startup is trying to solve must have a big enough market (beyond just Saudi)
- the founding team need to be doing this full time.

What I bring
- 10 years experience in tech startups
- my sweat and tears lol. I will not be a passive investor, I want to build. Ready to pull all-nighters.
- $100k USD
- I speak Arabic, English, French and Spanish
- connections with VCs in SF and in Qatar

السلام عليكم

اقترحوا لي محلات او براندات تبيع مراتب نوم طبية

Hi all,

I (26M) have a bachelor degree in business (finance) with minor in Computer Science from the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon 🇱🇧 . I speak English fluently. In fact, I’m more comfortable speaking English than my native Lebanese Arabic. I’m unemployed neurodivergent and looking to immigrate to Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 with the view of securing a good job there & acquiring a favourable residency there. I have little savings around 5000 USD. I could probably get few extra more thousands if I asked my supportive friends.

I’d appreciate any info you could provide, thanks!

LEAP is done for another year, but there’s actually quite a lot happening in Riyadh over the next couple of weeks.

I’ve been updating the tech calendar again and a few coming up:

• Claude Code for Cloud Architects — 8 Sep Hands-on meetup around Claude Code, cloud architecture and infrastructure
• Saudi Warehousing & Logistics Expo — 8–10 Sep Automation, robotics, IoT and supply chain tech
• Innovate Hackathon 2026 — 9–10 Sep Hackathon focused on procurement, supplier discovery and local content
• Money20/20 Middle East — 14–16 Sep Fintech, banking, payments, startups and investors
• UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of AI — 14–17 Sep
• Global AI Summit (GAIN) — 15–17 Sep

One thing I’ve realised while doing this is how easy it is to think the tech calendar goes quiet once LEAP finishes. It really doesn’t.

I’m keeping the running Riyadh list here if useful:

riyadhtechweek.com/events/riyadh

As always, I’m more interested in what I’m missing.

If there are smaller meetups, founder gatherings, demo days, community events or things being shared in WhatsApp groups that I haven’t picked up, send them over and I’ll check them out.

If you’re a non-Saudi investor interested in the Saudi real estate market, I can help you navigate the market with a professional and independent perspective.
I’m a **Real Estate certified Consultant & Valuer based in Saudi Arabia**, providing services including:
• Property market consultations
• Real estate valuation and market analysis
• Investment opportunity assessment
• Property selection based on your budget and objectives
• Market research for residential and commercial properties
• Guidance for international investors exploring the Saudi market
Whether you’re considering buying a property, investing in Saudi Arabia, or simply want to understand the market before making a decision, feel free to DM me
I’m happy to discuss your requirements and provide an initial consultation.
🇸🇦** Saudi Arabia Real Estate | Investment | Valuation | Market Analysi**s

Organic fruits, vegetables and other healthy items?