Starting work on a tourist visa / arriving on a 1 way ticket
Replies: 5 - Last Post: Oct 20, 2012 11:49 AM Last Post By: sandpitmanrob
jump to
Starting work on a tourist visa / arriving on a 1 way ticket
Hello there Oman experts.Just purely out of interest, I wonder what advice people would give to someone who had agreed to enter the country on a visit visa prior to starting a new job, and who had been issued with a one way ticket by the (err, potential) employer flying Gulf Air via Bahrain.
Is this a good idea ? Is it necessarily a problem ?
Is there likely to be an issue in either boarding the plane (in london or bahrain), or in obtaining the VOA, without a return/onward ticket ? would it be of any use obtaining a one way ticket for Dubai to present if necessary ?
Is it likely to be a hassle converting the visit visa to an employment visa once in the country ?
Cheers,
Sandy
1
Tough call.The one way ticket is not an issue, and starting off on a visit visa is (although technically illegal) very common for white-faced westerners who can get a VOA. If you get asked, simply tell them that you will be leaving Oman by road for Dubai, so dont have a return ticket.
Once the paperwork for your residency visa is ready, they will fly you out (to Dubai or Qatar normally) and then fly back in again the same day to arrive on the new visa. Very easy indeed.
Having said that, the fact that they are flying you on Gulf Air would piss me off. In a part of the world where there are a handful of excellent airlines (Emirates, Etihad, Qatar & Oman) flying your route, with very little difference in price, being downgraded to Gulf Air is cheapskate behaviour of the worst kind (they are shit), and I would be a bit concerned about a company who would choose Gulf Air.
2
Once the paperwork for your residency visa is ready, they will fly you out (to Dubai or Qatar normally) and then fly back in again the same day to arrive on the new visa. Very easy indeed.==============================
wow ! I still hadnt been informed of that ! I guess I will have to do that before I can open a bank account ?
I had got the wrong end of the stick re the flight. Turned out it was Oman Air. A good airline I thought. More economy class legroom than any other carrier I have flown with.
Many thanks for the reply.
3
btw - Hope you had a good time in India. It grew on me after I left !Although I didnt think I was having that great a time whilst I was there, some of my most precious travel experiences are from India.
4
Heh - maybe its possible to do the visa formalities without leaving the country these days - it may have changed in the last couple of years. But yes, you cant get your driving licence or a bank account, or a post-paid phone without your residency.Good to hear that they flew you Oman Air - much better.
And India was a blast - unashamedly hedonistic and lots of fun. Cheers
GC
5
your india experience sounds so different to mine lol.i was reading your story last night about how you tried to go shopping in musandam for marlboro lights and a coke. made me laugh.
im thinking about heading up there over eid (might drop in to abu dhabi for a couple of days aswell. i had a couple of years there and kind of miss it).
ive just had a scout round town this evening checking out the various hotel bars etc. if you fancy a game of tennis at the crown plaza sometime, or know someone who might, please give me a shout.
cheers,
Rob
