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Legal Eagle

Overseas

Q: Do I need a visa and contract before I go?

I have been offered the chance of work overseas, in the Middle East. I have tried to obtain a visa and a contract but the promoter has told me I must wait until I arrive at the venue. Should I agree to this?

A: In no circumstances should you agree. If a visa is requited for your entry into the territory concerned, and you are not able to produce one on arrival at the airport, you will be turned back.

If that happens, and you do not have a valid return ticket, you would then have to pay the cost of your return and without a contract from the promoter you would have no recourse against him.

It would be folly to set out without a contract containing terms which are satisfactory in all respects and include details, not just as to the nature of your work but as to your accommodation, expenses, subsistence allowance and so forth.

Furthermore, even if you take the risk that on arrival at the foreign airport the promoter will be waiting for you with a visa and a contract, that contract might contain terms which are wholly unacceptable to you and, if the promoter refuses to change them to your satisfaction, your only recourse will be to return home at your own expense.

If the promoter is genuine, he should be able to send you a visa and a contract for signature well in advance of your departure. Even if he is able to give you a reason which sounds genuine, I would still advise against departing without both a visa and a contract because of the huge risk this would involve.

However, if the promoter is prepared to pay you in advance for a return air fare and any other expenses of a possible wasted journey then all you have to lose is the possible waste of time in making the trip unnecessarily.

First published July 1994