At the moment no S-76s in KSA but S-76C++ seems to be performing well in Bahrain. Will be interesting to see how it does in KSA once (IF) PHI gets their contract details worked out.

In regard to Entry/Exit visas, if you go into Saudi with a work visa you will not be able to get your entry/exit visa added until after you get your Iqama completed. The entry/exit can be sorted out relatively quickly, but the Iqama takes the most time. If they manage to get you in using the 'consultant' type of visas that ARAMCO uses for many of their foreign pilots for your first tours then it may be possible. It is a pain in the neck to get someone an Iqama and then exit/entry visas during a first tour only to find that when they fly out after that first tour they have made the decision to never step foot into Saudi again. :ouch:

Bahrain is at sea level, Saudi has a few hills :):)

Considering that the base is Hail, you will be willing to pay them for releasing you on the 28th day..... Hail is not the most exciting place to live.

Mutt

Finally I was able to speak with someone in HR. They are only hiring US citizens on this contract. One S76 is going but only for the 1st year, because they don't have enough B412s. They have been flooded with well qualified applicants and have started hiring and don't expect any difficulties in filling all positions.

I submitted a resume and was contacted back saying that since this is a new contract and logistics is a major challenge, that it was going to take time to put it all together, just hold on as this was going to be a long process. My reason for posting was to see if anybody else had heard any updates. Thanks for the info.

"They have been flooded with well qualified applicants and have started hiring and don't expect any difficulties in filling all positions."

I'm sorry, but I had to chuckle at that one. Of course they are going to get plenty of applicants, its one of the highest paying contracts in the world. The problem isn't finding people willing to go, the problem is retaining people once they arrive!:eek:

I applied for the Flight Paramedic position and had a phone interview 3 weeks ago and haven't heard anything since. They said they were sending over a total of 43 412's and were shooting for a September deployment. I dunno :ugh:

Mike lima papa said, Go in with your eyes wide open. Sometimes the money isn't worth the soul sucking day to day operations. The people you work with will be ok if you can stay away from those that are negative but there is more to life than a big pay cheque. Quality of life will be everything in a year. I sincerely wish good luck to those that get a position. I couldn't continue with just 60 flying hours in a year. Don't be disillusioned if in a year you want something more. Just chalk it up to experience.

Cheers

At least now there are multiple helicopter operators in Saudi Arabia instead of just ARAMCO. All of them have different pay scales as well as different living conditions, varying numbers of flight hours per month and different perks. I would also advise that not all parts of Saudi Arabia are the same. Jeddah has a very different personality than Riyadh.

28x28, US citizens working for a US company... I wonder how that is going to sit with the primary Middle East incentive of being tax free

43 412's, wouldn't that be nice. I'm not saying PHI isn't on the up and up, but I am saying that the SRCA isn't on the up and up. If it actually happens and PHI gets its invoices paid I'll be very happy for them and the staff working there.

Based on my experience working there with ADA I have serious doubts and I don't think that 43 412's will ever be operational in the country.

This is a contract with a government agency that had the power turned off on it at the hospital we were based at because they couldn't negotiate the bill. SRCA's response was to buy a generator and then expect the engineers and pilots to fuel it up.

The lights at the airport we were based at were off at night because SRCA owed the airport owner a ton of money and wouldn't pay it, so no lights at night.

The list of issues went on and on, couple that with an organization that wouldn't dispatch to its own calls because ground managers were fighting with air managers.

All that said, best of luck to PHI and the PHI staff who are going over there, get all the T's crossed and the I's dotted or the SRCA will screw you over.

Whatever dilemmas PHI might face during the course of this venture their staff presumably will be at arms-length to it all, meaning whether or not PHI get paid in a timely manner for the provision of their services should have no bearing on their staff getting paid on-time and in the correct amount.

Haven't PHI operated in KSA before? When I was working at Aramco 10+ years ago PHI always seemed to be on the radar in some context, whether they used to operate there at some point in the past or whether they just provided aircrew, I'm sure they're seasoned to know full-well what they might be up against there.

About the US citizenship requirement, presumably that's a PHI company thing. There's nothing preventing citizens of other countries working in KSA, unless of course you are Israeli!! In which case I imagine all staff on the 28/28 roster would be captured in the US taxation web in some way.

Haven't some Ppruners here have been offered a job there? Perhaps they could enlighten us on the question of tax??

Working in Saudi AND paying tax? NURSE!!

Your tax status is not determined by your employer's nationality. It is determined by your residency - either 330 days out of 365 days outside the U.S., or by establishing a residence outside the U.S.

In this case, your residence could be in Europe and you commute to the KSA on a 28/28. This would make you U.S. tax exempt.

Of course, depending on the laws of your county of residence, foreign income is taxable, especially if you haven't already been taxed on it in the country where the income was earned.

If you are a US citizen domicile in the US and working 28/28 in KSA I expect you will be liable to pay income tax. Just as if you were a NZ or Australian or UK resident for tax purposes you will be liable to pay tax on the foreign derived income in accordance with whatever the NZ/Australian/UK tax laws dictate.

You are giving incorrect information for U.S. citizens. See my post above.

Indeed. What a foolish notion of mine - after all, one hardly ever encounters a US citizen relying upon Middle East banking and residence permits to circumvent the 330 day rule :E

Math guy
 

43 412's for this contract????
Assuming two pilot crews on 12 hr shifts = 344 pilots needed!!! Plus floats and spares!
If they're only hiring US pilots and they say they've got all the applicants they need then that will leave a huge vacume of pilots in the US EMS industry!

I for one smell something a little fishy.

....there was an earlier post saying they needed 48 pilots, and then there were a few posts saying they needed 48 helicopters, or some such thing. So yes there is some confusion here. I have a hunch the former is correct, only because the enormity of 48 helicopters would be an overwhelming task even for a company as big as PHI. But I don't know, all I know is what the recruiter told me (they have commenced hiring, some internal applicants plus new hires, and on present indications they expect to fill all vacancies via local resources i.e. US citizens).

43 412's is what I was told. Does anyone know of any Paramedics that have been contacted and or hired yet?

PHI in Saudi Arabia
 

Just a quick question about compensation.

When has PHI ever paid the most for the area?

Their ad on JSFirm says " PHI offers a competitive salary "

Maintenance job at PHI - A & P Mechanic (International))

Competive to whom? Aramco? or Agusta who takes care of the 100 plus Bell 212s for the RSAF.

Also I believe I saw on another one of their ads. That they only pay to your "Gateway City" instead of your home of record.

So they get you on a Saudia flight to New York. Then you're on your own.