Does the applicant need a job offer, employer, sponsor, transfer relationship or other employer involvement? What is important about that employer relationship?
For a standard Bahrain expatriate work permit, the employer applies through LMRA’s Expat Management System to hire the worker on its commercial registration and selects a permit period matching the employment contract. The employer provides the expatriate’s passport, a health examination for an applicant outside Bahrain (not required for a worker already resident in Bahrain) and any specialised-occupation approval; it pays administration and, for an outside-Bahrain applicant, vacancy-advertisement fees before verification and the permit fee after approval. The employer prints the work permit and, after arrival where relevant, the residence permit. LMRA currently lists 21 working days for an outside-Bahrain application and three for an inside-Bahrain application.
See recorded sources
- https://www.lmra.gov.bh/en/page/show/106 — service body
Through this service, employers can submit a request for issuing a new work permit for expatriate employees to be hired on their commercial registrations.
Start Service
Service Conditions
- https://www.lmra.gov.bh/en/page/show/106 — service body
Process Description
Click
here
to login to the LMRA EMS system and start the process of applying for a new work permit.
Click on New Work Permit folder, and then click on New Expatriate Permit.
Choose the Work Visa Type and enter the required data in the designated fields. Permit period chosen should match the period appearing in the employment contract.
Once you submit the application, an application ID will be issued and a notification will appear (Application has been successfully submitted, kindly pay the admin and advertisement fees for the job vacancies announcements for expatriate employees from outside the Kingdom of Bahrain, as the application will be cancelled if the fees are not paid before the invoice due date).
Kindly pay the admin fees either via the Expat Management System (EMS) or by visiting one of the
accredited banks
.
Upon completion of the admin and advertisement fees payment for the job vacancies announcements for expatriate employees from outside the Kingdom of Bahrain, the application will automatically be transferred for verification.
You can check the application status by:
Logging on to the
Expat Management System (EMS)
.
Calling LMRA's Contact Centre on
+973 17506055
.
After receiving the approval on the new work permit, pay the fees via the Expat Management System (EMS) or by visiting one of the
accredited banks
.
Print the work permit from the EMS system.
If the expatriate employee you applied for is out of the Kingdom of Bahrain then the Residence Permit should be printed by the employer via
Kingdom of Bahrain's National Portal
once the expatriate arrives.
If the expatriate employee you applied for is residing in the Kingdom of Bahrain, then you will need to print the Residence Permit via Kingdom of Bahrain's National Portal or you can contact
8000 8001
.
Legal Regulations
- https://www.lmra.gov.bh/en/page/show/106 — service body
Processing Time
3 working days for expatriate employees’ applications from inside the Kingdom of Bahrain (Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) approval).
21 working days for expatriate employees’ applications from outside the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Service Access
- https://www.lmra.gov.bh/en/page/show/106 — service body
Required Documents
New Work Permit Required Documents
No.
Document
Document Type
1
Expatriate Employee’s passport
Copy
The passport should have all the information and alterations or updates and First Name in addition to Father or Family must be written on the 1st page of the passport in all Employment/Dependant Applications.
As well as the page that states the father or spouse’s name (for Indian and Pakistani nationalities) as well as the page that contains the old passport number.
The passport must be valid for at least 6 months, but it is highly recommended to have it valid for at least 2 years before applying.
2
For Non-commercial Institutions and Non-governmental Organizations (NCNG): valid license from the concerned authority (If necessary, in some cases, such as Fishermen)
Copy
3
Medical examination report for the expatriate employee, done in his/her home or current country of residence
Copy
The report or certificate should not be older than two months from the issue date.
The medical examination result must be positive (healthy fit).
If you are applying for an expatriate employee who is out of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the medical report must be issued by one of the accredited health centres by the Gulf Health Council (
Wafid
) as published on LMRA’s website
Authorized Health Centres
.
In the absence of an accredited centre in the residential city or country of the expatriate employee, a Non Wafid medical checkup form available on LMRA’s website must be filled and stamped from any official medical centre.
Certificate of medical examination is not required if the expatriate employee is residing in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Medical examination is not required for dependants (family members).
4
Approval letter/ no-objection certificate from the relevant authority for certain specialized occupations. (for example, teachers, doctors, engineers, designations in the banking sector)
Copy
Process Description
