K-Dog
I am a US citizen. I have been offered a job in Dubai. I forwarded all the documents that the company asked for plus my medical exam (HIV, TB and Hep B) about 3 weeks ago. The company's HR rep said he has given all the information to their PRO on Feb 3rd. My question is how long does it take to get the work visa from the time they apply?
Any personal experience/knowledge will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
dubaidog
This is one that has been done to death. Briefly...it depends on your company and how long they want to take.
I had an employment visa waiting for me at the airport (did the same as you and forwarded docs. ahead of time). That took 3-4 weeks. After arrival, I went for medical (very quick..but strange), signed my contract there at the medical with our PRO, and had my 3-year visa in my passport within 2 days. They needed me to fly to Qatar on business, so they fast-tracked it. The other guys from work took weeks and weeks to accomplish the same thing.
The visa you get at the airport is only valid for 30 days, so if your company does that for you (pick it up there), you know the process will be faster. How long it takes to get it stamped and back to you is solely up to them (the company) though.