Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — Most expatriate teachers working in international schools received their work permits weeks after the Ministry of Education (MoE) concluded its interview sessions last year in November. Shikha Sunil, principal of Jauhara International School, said: “Teachers working in our school received their work permits two weeks after their interview session.” Meraj Mehdiya, who works as a computer teacher at International Indian School Jeddah (IISJ), received her work permit on Wednesday. The work permit, issued by the MoE, allows dependents of expatriates on legal visa to work in private and international schools. A high school biology teacher, working in an international school, said that she received her work permit after she passed her interview. She had submitted her academic certificates attested from her home country and approved by the MoE. “As of now I have received my work permit for one year. It will be renewed every academic year. I do not require a work permit if I'm on school's visa,” she said, adding that her school has given her an offer letter for transferring sponsorship. If teachers plan to transfer their sponsorship to the school, their certificates will then have to be authorized by the Saudi Embassy, a senior school teacher said. In case a teacher plans to leave the school, that issued her the work permit, and work at another school, her work permit will no longer be valid. She will have to undergo the entire interview and verification process again before she is issued a fresh work permit from the school she wants to work at.
