In responding to queries from Arab News concerning SCE registration, Kamal Al-Hamad, Eastern Province branch manager, Saudi Council of Engineers, stated that in recent months the Council has invested millions of riyals to create a better system and that the organization is just a month or so away from launching many improvements. These improvements will include payment through the Sadad online payment system and even integration with the Kingdom's eGovernment system.

"We are aware of the difficulties in the current system and are working to overcome them. I anticipate that soon, the entire application process will be able to be completed from a computer at home," Al-Hamad said.

In the meantime, attention to certain details will ensure that an application moves forward smoothly. Employers should inform engineering recruits of the requirement for degree attestation, transcript and certification before the engineers leave their homelands. Most importantly, applicants must follow the instructions in the "Help Manual" at www.saudieng.org. Al-Hamad stated that some days his team is forced to reject more than a hundred applications as the documents submitted don't comply with the requirements or the applications are incomplete.

Al-Hamad urged engineers to enter their own mobile telephone numbers and e-mails in the online application and not the telephone number or e-mail of their company's government relations manager. He commented that in some cases, dozens of notices come to a single mobile telephone number and then there is confusion over which applications are complete and which are rejected.

For graduates of India, Pakistan and the Philippines, the attested diploma document must be supported with the mark sheet or transcript. Engineers from the Philippines, except for state owned universities, must submit a certificate showing the Certification, Authentication and Verification (CAV) of the degree. The front and back of the degree certificate is required for engineers from Egypt and Pakistan. Scans of submitted documents must be clear, PDF or JPG format and each file should be no larger than 512 KB.

An important point is that only those professionals with four-year degrees may apply for membership in the SCE. Whether a degree is an engineering qualification or not is determined by SEC’s examination of the transcript of study. No approved list of degrees is published.

Once an application has been approved, a request and amount for payment will be sent by SMS to the mobile number in the application.

The bank's payment slip must be physically submitted at the council as proof of payment for an application. To save time, applicants can pay using their SPAN cards directly at the SCE office until 2 p.m. Payment by online bank transfer, cash or credit cards is not acceptable. If an applicant needs help, SCE staff are available from Saturday to Wednesday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Telephone lines to the offices are limited and it takes persistent dialing to reach the correct individual. In Dammam, applications may be followed up through 03-8439288 extension 17. The headquarters of SCE may be contacted through 01-2405777.

After an application is accepted and payment has been made, the next business day the applicant must return to the SCE office to collect the letter for the residence permit issuance or renewal. This step will be phased out once SCE's database is viewable by the passport office. Currently, such letters become available after 9:30 a.m. Although a certificate of membership in the SCE is supposed to be issued as well, non-Saudis have yet to be provided with such documents. (MYBI)