International Travel – Sponsorship, Benefits, and Qualifications (part 3)

In the previous post, I discussed the importance of researching locations. In this blog, I’ll share my experience in three big topics to consider when moving abroad – sponsorship, benefits, and education qualifications. Where you will be, either in the US or at your new international home when you are dealing with these topics will depend on your unique situation. My husband was able secure his job from the US, which secured his benefits and sponsorship and also took care of attesting his documents. Because I was in the process of interviewing with my potential company when I moved to Qatar (not to mention learning much of this as I went along!), I took care of these things while here. My suggestion is to do as much as you can from the US!

Exploring the local desert. Beautiful vistas.DesertinaSedanSponsorship and Benefits.

How does sponsorship work in Qatar? Sponsorship is usually required in some form if you are working abroad, and is where the company you are working for vouches for you. If you are not sponsored, you cannot obtain a work visa, and then you are just another tourist. Every country is a bit different on this. Qatar is on the more paternalistic end of the spectrum.
Sponsorship, particularly in Qatar, affects your life in many ways and is somewhat tied into the company’s benefit package. In Qatar, it allows you to get residency, to bring your family over (if you make enough money), to take your driving test (yes as Americans we have to take a test, other European expats do not!), to buy a car, to apply for a job, to sign a lease, to buy alcohol for home consumption, to send your kids to school, to have your kids’ school paid for, to have paid flights home and, most annoyingly, to leave the country. Sponsorship is linked to a lot here.

Given that sponsorship and benefits were closely connected, the questions for the two overlapped. Benefits to consider are housing and car allowances, a furnished apartment or an allowance to buy furniture, relocation assistance, paid flights home, assistance with required documentation (attested diplomas, passport, etc), paid time at the completion of a contract and health insurance locally and at home.

Qualifications.

In the US, just stating your University on your resume is sufficient for proving your college education. Many countries require a firmer confirmation of your education qualifications. This I wish I knew earlier, because finding this information took some time. If you are already in contact with a company, they may assist you in getting your documents in order. For Qatar, I needed my University diplomas and a background check “attested.”

Many companies require that your University Diploma, aka certificate, (as well as any other legal document) be attested by the US State Department and the equivalent department in that country. So how do you do this? Here’s a starting point: http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth/  . It pretty much requires you to send your diploma (or a copy of it) to the State Department, where the Secretary of State (in my case Hilary Clinton) has to sign it. If you know where you are working (in my case Qatar), it can be sent to the country’s embassy in the US for verification, otherwise you bring your US attested copy with you abroad, and get it Attested by that country once there. It is then considered a legal document in that country. An easier way to do this is through a proxy. I used http://authxperts.com – who by the way were awesome! They are costly, but they do all the work for you and quickly. If you are lucky, like my husband, your company will do all of this for you (another important question to ask!).

Amy’s husband Joey kicking it with some new friends Doha-style

Since I was working in healthcare, I needed a background check. This one is more sensitive than the Certificate Attestation. In Qatar, the background check was time sensitive. They did not specify if I needed a state or federal check, even after asking multiple times. So to be safe, I got an FBI background check. You can find information on this here: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/background-checks/submitting-an-identification-record-request-to-the-fbi . I again used Authexperts to assist me in this process, which took about 8 weeks.

It is also worthwhile to find out if you need your birth certificate, marriage certificate or any medical tests that are required to be attested as well. Again, it will save time and frustration if you are prepared! If you do not know what you will need before you leave the country, it is best to bring along your diplomas, birth certificates, marriage certificates, vaccination record, and fingerprints (needed for background check). This will save your friends and family from searching through stored files and sending sensitive material overseas.

 

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