Teaching English in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia offers its qualified English teachers tax-free monthly salaries in the range of $1,500-$3,000 along with benefits such as furnished housing, airfare to and from the place of their assignment, and even a health insurance. When it comes to teaching positions in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has the largest number of positions on offer with the lion’s share going to highly qualified English teachers who are typically from native English-speaking countries.

Those looking to teach English in Saudi Arabia will typically require a TEFL certification alongside a 4-year college degree (BA/BS).

Thanks to the large number of vacancies on offer coupled with the challenge of attracting young 20 or 30 something Westerners to the highly restrictive social environment, schools are open to accepting teachers having fewer substantial qualifications unlike what is the norm in neighboring countries such as Qatar and UAE. Salaries and benefits on offer are nothing short of excellent provided the teachers are willing to live in a society bound by traditional Islamic customs and laws. This means a complete ban on movie theaters and alcohol consumption while most public institutions including schools are subject to a gender-based segregation.

Advance hiring of teachers from their own countries is usually the norm with the visa processing formalities getting completed long before they are actually required to leave for their teaching destination. A visa is likely to be provided only after an individual passes an HIV and physical test while many cases a criminal background check along with academic transcripts is also considered necessary. The visa and interview processes take around 1-3 months for completion.

There is a concentration of English-teaching jobs typically in some of the larger cities such as Dammam, Jeddah, and Riyadh.