Migration from Saudi Arabia

[Truthful Soul]

Greetings

I'm an ex-muslim who has the Saudi citizenship. I'd like to thank you for this nice forum.

The satellite TV and the net opened my eyes to the terrible reality of Islam, which is that it is false, and billions are in a delusion. I've discovered many errors in Quran, and I've written a little article on it in Arabic.

I'm considering migration; as I don't think I should keep pretending and being in caution, and at risk of getting destroyed; just for believing this nation follows a bad religion.

I could use some advice regarding the procedure for safe migration from Saudi Arabia; i.e. how to collect documents, transfer funds, and leave, without getting caught by the authorities. I've heard we are not allowed even to migrate. It is a big prison; as you may know.

Thank you.

[Marie]

Welcome to the forum.

[Ariel]

Welcome to the forum Truthful Soul.
I am sorry, but I can;t help you with advice regarding the procedure for safe migration from Saudi Arabia. I do not live in America. Perhaps you can try going for a student visa?
http://www.usastudentvisa.org/
I wish you good luck though, and I hope that you soon may escape Saudi Arabia.

Regards.
Ariel.

[ringmaster]

Welcome to the forum Truthful Soul.
I am sorry, but I can;t help you with advice regarding the procedure for safe migration from Saudi Arabia. I do not live in America. Perhaps you can try going for a student visa?
http://www.usastudentvisa.org/
I wish you good luck though, and I hope that you soon may escape Saudi Arabia.

Regards.
Ariel.

I don't think he mentioned America as a possible place to go, although that may very well be the place he has in mind.

I would advise him against America. They have a muslim president. If he has any money, Ecuador or the Argentine Patagonia would be better. Mendoza would be good too. In Mendoza, the climate is good and the food and wine are outstanding. I would suggest that he also consider Uruguay.

Nobody will bother him in those places.

[peterpin]

I would suggest the following

1) Get a tourist visa to a western country, anywhere in Europe. Perhaps pick a place where you can speak the language.
2) Get on a plane. ideally from Dubai.You can go there without problems, and there are more flight connections there. Also, you are not likely to be subjected to quite so rigorous checks when leaving from there. DON'T take tons of luggage. It's only stuff, and stuff can be replaced.
3) Once arrived claim assylm on the grounds that you may be physically harmed for renouncing Islam.(A week or so after arriving may be a good idea) It is best done by seeing a solicitor who specialises in Immigration.

If you have money in Saudi Arabia, go to an international bank in Saudi arabia, like HSBC, it's a UK bank, but with big shareowners in China and Hongkong. They have branches in SA. Open an account with them, and put your money there. SwissPrivateBank.com is also a good option for that, but you need to have a fair amount of money to work with them. Don't take a large amount of cash, you may get hassle with costoms.

Once you have arrived in Europe you can ask the bank in Saudi Arabia to transfer your funds to a European bank account. You need to to that quickly,and ideally before you declare your intention to claim assylum.

When calling friends and family in SA be sure you uses Skype and a proxi server, because you don't want the friendly neighbourhood Saudi religious police get on a plane and pay you a visit.

Settle in a big city, one with other Arabs living there. Consider changing your name.

You can also go to a number of countries without a visa or with visa on arrival. New Zealand? Equuador? South Korea? (Now, that is a really nice place to live) Thailand? There are direct flights from Dubai, and nobody in SA needs to know you are going there. If then you want to go to Europe, you can get your visa there, and take a direct flight out.

Here is a list:

[Truthful Soul]

Thank you, Marie.

[Truthful Soul]

Ariel, ringmaster

Thanks; but my concern is not about where to go or how to be accepted there; it is about how to get the required documents, transfer big funds, and leave, without getting in trouble.

[Truthful Soul]

peterpin

Thank you so much for the detailed guide that should help me and others like me.
You seem familiar with how things are in SA. Don't you think HSBC would cooperate with the authorities if a big transfer is requested, and withhold the funds? What about the documents? The police record is required in many cases.

[peterpin]

While the money is held in SA, the bank must follow instructions by the Saudi government; however, once you have moved to money to an HSBC account OUTSIDE SA, say in the UK, then the law of THAT country applies. The Saudis can jump up and down and shout foul, the assets will not be frozen, unless they can prove that you have obtained your money through criminal activities. They is the only reason a European government will touch your bank account. If you put you money into a Swiss account, the bank will not even acknowledge to the Saudi government that they have any of your money.

About documents, if you go to country backed blue or light blue, your passport will do to get in.

To get a tourist visa to a place in Europe, you need to show that you have travel insurance, money to support yourself during the stay, and in some countries a hotel booking and a return plane ticket. They will not ask for your police record,if you have one. However, if you bring things in your luggage like testimonial letters or certificates from school or university, customs my suspect you are not a tourist and you will get problems. Also, SOME European countries, notably Greece, will try to get information from you home country about criminal records., most don't bother for a tourist visa. (Australia is different...)

[Truthful Soul]

How about using an online brokerage account to put the funds until opening a bank account in the destination?

[ringmaster]

How about using an online brokerage account to put the funds until opening a bank account in the destination?

Initially, until you are settled into an agreeable country, I would only deal online with the Swiss.

Peter's information is very useful, and I notice that his map shows Ecuador as a place you can go. I mentioned Ecuador in my earlier post, so now that Peter has put on his map, I would like to comment about it.


(1) The people are very warm and friendly.

(2) Most places are very safe.

(3) Infrastructure is not world class, but it's OK. Your internet will work there. It's safe, clean, and the essentials work.

(4) Ecuador uses the US dollar as its currency.

(5) Medical care is very good.

(6) Cost of living is low. I live in Colombia, and if it were not for having a Colombian wife, I would be in Ecuador already myself.

(7) There are places where it would be virtually impossible to find a better climate. Cuenca would top my list. The climate is one of eternal spring. It just doesn't get any better.

In Colombia we have a slogan:

"Colombia..el riesgo es que te quieras quedar". It means.."Colombia...the risk is that you will want to stay".

I think the same applies to Ecuador.