It usually takes at least six weeks to process the application. Once you obtain the relevant visa stamp in your passport you are allowed to enter Saudi Arabia. You should ensure that you take your driving licence, educational certificates and a good stock of passport photographs for use in acquiring the additional documentation you will need for your stay. If your family will be joining you in Saudi Arabia, you should also take the birth certificate of each family member, your marriage certificate and photographs of everyone in the family, both individually and as a group.

On arrival in the Kingdom, you are required to have your employment entry visa converted into a residence visa, or 'Igama'. Your passport will have to be surrendered to your Saudi sponsor in exchange for the Igama, which you should carry with you at all times. To obtain this residence permit, which usually takes a week or two, you will have to undergo another medical, and submit the results of this, along with your passport, photographs and copies of your employment contract and company letter to the Passport Office.

In order to join an expatriate worker in Saudi Arabia, family members are required to obtain a family visa. As dependents, they will not be allowed to seek or take employment in Saudi Arabia. They are also required to obtain exit/re-entry visas if travelling outside Saudi Arabia. The initial application must be made by the expatriate employee or their sponsor to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with copies of birth and marriage certificates which have been translated into Arabic, and a letter from the employing company. The visa authorization number will be issued to the Embassy in their home country or country of current residence. The family members are then required to undergo medical examinations and to submit the results of these with their application along with their passports, three passport photographs (if aged over 16), proof of their relationship to the expatriate employee in the form of marriage or birth certificates, and the relevant visa fee. A letter of no objection from any former spouse is also required if children from a previous marriage are included in the application.