Foreigners’ Rights in Bahrain: News and Trends

Published on April 23, 2026 and written by Cyril Jarnias

In an ever-changing global context, foreigners’ rights in Bahrain is an area that deserves particular attention, marked by recent legislative changes and complex developments.

Bahrain, this dynamic island nation in the Persian Gulf, addresses crucial issues related to immigration and residence, integrating innovative policies while meeting international human rights expectations.

Debates surrounding foreign workers’ rights and new reforms regarding access to residence and citizenship highlight the importance of thorough analysis of projected trends for 2025, thus providing informed insight into how the country is addressing these contemporary challenges.

Latest Reforms in Foreigners’ Rights in Bahrain

Recent Reforms in Bahrain’s Foreigners’ Rights Legislation

• Ban on converting visit visas to work permits
  Parliament approved a bill prohibiting the conversion of visit visas to work permits. This reform amends the 1965 Immigration and Residence Law, adding an article that explicitly prohibits this practice. The stated goal is to prioritize Bahraini nationals in the job market, in line with the “Bahrainization” strategy aimed at reducing dependence on foreign labor and promoting local employment.
• Strengthening Bahrainization quotas
  A bill under consideration proposes limiting the proportion of foreign workers to 30% in private sector establishments. Employers exceeding this threshold face fines of up to 20% of the concerned foreign worker’s salary. The state aims to hire 20,000 Bahrainis and train 10,000 more by the end of 2024.
• Increase in visa fees
  Since December 20, 2024, the cost of converting a visit visa to a work visa has increased from 60 to 250 BHD (+400%). This increase also applies to conversions for family reunification. Companies not meeting Bahrainization quotas must pay double these fees.
• Mandatory health insurance
  Starting in 2025, all private sector employers must provide mandatory health insurance to their foreign employees.
• Unified GCC tourist visa
  Bahrain will participate in introducing the unified tourist visa for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), facilitating regional movement for tourists and business residents. This reform, expected in 2024 or 2025, will simplify travel procedures among the six member countries.

Measure	Description	Main Objective	Expected Impact
Ban on visit/work visa conversion	Inability to transform visit visa into work permit	Priority to national employment	Reduced flexibility for employers
Limitation of foreign workers	30% quota of foreign workers per private company	Strengthening Bahrainization	Financial penalties for exceeding quota
Increase in visa fees	Visa conversion fees multiplied by over 4	Deterrence of improper conversion	Increased costs for businesses
Mandatory health insurance	Mandatory health coverage for all foreign employees	Improved living conditions	Enhanced social security for workers
Unified GCC tourist visa	Unification of tourist visas for six GCC member countries	Regional integration, attractiveness	Simplified travel within the Gulf

Goals Pursued by the Bahraini Government

• Strengthen immigration controls and limit the entry of foreign workers through indirect channels.
• Promote employment of nationals through quotas and incentives.
• Improve living and working conditions for foreigners via mandatory health insurance.
• Optimize regional integration through facilitated tourism and business within the GCC.

Stakeholder Reactions

Several MPs and SME representatives have expressed concern about the disproportionate impact of these measures on small businesses, highlighting the risk of penalizing the local economy, which is predominantly composed of SMEs.

Parliamentary committees have expressed opposition to the strict ban on visa conversion, considering the measure too rigid and likely to harm labor market flexibility.

Human rights organizations and the international community are closely monitoring the evolution of these reforms, particularly for their implications on foreign workers’ rights and security. NGOs have already emphasized that tightening employment conditions could expose some workers to increased precariousness.

“The government must ensure not to weaken SMEs, which constitute the backbone of our economy, by imposing overly strict measures on foreign employment.”

A Bahraini parliamentarian

Statistics and Impact Cases

In 2023, foreign workers represented approximately 77% of Bahrain’s total workforce. Strict application of quotas could lead to a significant decrease in this figure, with consequences for certain key sectors (construction, services).

The increase in visa fees has already been felt by companies, which see their administrative and recruitment costs rising, potentially slowing some hiring.

Note: The reforms are still under discussion or implementation. Their definitive impact will depend on implementation modalities and any accompanying measures for businesses and workers.

Current Trends for Expatriates in Bahrain

Recent Developments in Bahrain’s Immigration Policies (2024-2025)

• In 2025, Bahrain continues an enhanced “Bahrainization” policy, with the adoption or study of new laws aimed at limiting the share of expatriates in the workforce:
• Bill under consideration to impose a ceiling of 30% foreign workers in private commercial establishments, with fines of up to 20% of the foreign worker’s salary for non-compliance.
• Government objective to employ 20,000 Bahrainis in the private sector and train 10,000 citizens by end of 2024.
• New law requiring 50% of the workforce in privatized state services to be composed of Bahrainis.
• Planned limitation of the total number of work permits issued to foreigners per given period.
• Since March 2024, end-of-service contributions for expatriates are now collected by the General Social Insurance Authority, aiming to better guarantee contract termination payments.
• Extension of the ban on outdoor work during the hottest summer hours, increasing from 2 to 3 months starting in 2025, to improve protection of migrant workers.

Sectors Attracting the Most Expatriates

Sector/Industry	Reason for Attractiveness	Majority Expatriates
Construction	Demand for unskilled labor	Asian (India, Bangladesh)
Services (hospitality, restaurants, cleaning)	Tourism growth, urbanization	Diverse, mainly Asian
Healthcare	Need for specialized skills	Philippines, India
Technology and finance	Economic development, free zones	Westerners, Arabs
Oil and gas	Historical tradition, attractive salaries	Diverse (mainly MENA region and Asia)

Economic and Cultural Factors Influencing These Trends

• Economic growth in non-oil sectors and infrastructure investments.
• Employment nationalization policies to reduce local unemployment.
• Expatriate community networks fostering continued attraction of foreign labor.
• Relative cultural openness but desire to preserve national identity.

Challenges and Opportunities for Expatriates

List of Main Challenges:

• Job stability threatened by new quotas and restrictions.
• Dependence on kafala system: visa tied to employer, risk of deportation if contract terminated.
• Exclusion from certain social protections (particularly for domestic workers).
• Health risks: mandatory medical tests, restrictions for HIV-positive individuals.
• Limited social integration due to language and cultural barriers.

List of Opportunities:

• Access to higher salaries than in home countries for many expatriates.
• International professional experience and regional mobility prospects.
• Some recent improvements in rights protection (payment of benefits through social insurance).

Quality of Life, Integration and Access to Services

• Variable quality of life depending on professional category: high for executives, more difficult for unskilled workers.
• Integration: relatively low, most expatriates live in separate communities.
• Access to services:
  • Healthcare: adequate access but restrictions for certain conditions (e.g., HIV).
  • Education: expensive international schools.
  • Housing: wide availability, but residential segregation.

Local Perceptions and Impact on Bahraini Society

• Contrasting perceptions: recognition of expatriates’ economic contribution, but concerns about preserving national identity and job market competition.
• Societal impact:
  • Demographic transformation: expatriate population representing over half of total population.
  • Strengthening integration and nationalization policies to address social concerns.
  • Sometimes increased tensions during difficult economic periods, but generally peaceful coexistence.

Summary Box of 2024-2025 Developments:

– Strengthening of expatriate quotas and employment nationalization requirements.

– New partial protections for foreign workers, but maintenance of kafala system dependence.

– Persistent economic opportunities in construction, services and healthcare.

– Increased challenges regarding job stability and social integration.

– Local perceptions oscillating between economic pragmatism and preservation of national identity.

Analysis of Recent Legislative Developments on Immigration

Since 2023, Bahrain has pursued a series of legislative reforms aimed at regulating immigration and improving migrant labor regulation, but these measures spark significant debate regarding their actual scope and consequences.

Recent Legislative Developments (2023-2025):

• Strengthening of Wage Protection System (WPS)
  Since 2022, the government requires employers to pay salaries via bank transfer for all private sector workers. In March 2024, the Social Insurance Organization began directly collecting end-of-service benefit contributions from employers for migrant workers, aiming to avoid frequent non-payment of benefits upon contract termination.
• Modifications around Flexible Permit (“Flexi-Permit”)
  The flexible permit allowed irregular migrants or victims of wage abuse to obtain legal status by paying high fees to self-sponsor. Already criticized since 2019 for its rising cost and restricted access (excluding domestic workers), this system is now under government review with several proposals for its elimination under pressure from local businesses wishing to maintain control over worker mobility.
• Access to unemployment fund
  Bahrain remains a regional pioneer in theoretically allowing access to unemployment funds for certain laid-off migrants. However, in practice this access remains very limited: long administrative delays incompatible with constraints imposed on migrants (need to quickly change employers), frequent lack of clear information about their rights.
• Regulatory extension related to work environment

Measure	Description	Objective
Extension of outdoor work ban during summer	Extension by ministerial decree in May 2024; now covers three months (June-August) versus two previously	Reduce risks related to extreme sun exposure

Stated Objectives and Implications:

• Combat non-payment of wages
• Improve traceability and limit employer abuse
• Encourage national recruitment through progressive increase in costs related to foreign employment

However, many remain excluded or vulnerable:

• Domestic workers do not fully benefit from either WPS or Flexi-Permit.
• Legal dependence on sponsor remains strong: automatic visa loss if contract terminated without employer consent.
• Criminal penalties remain heavy for administrative “irregularity” or absconding.

Main Involved Actors:

Summary list:

• Bahraini Government (Ministry of Interior; Labour Market Regulatory Authority; Cabinet)
• General Organization for Social Security
• Local businesses & influential economic groups
• Local/international NGOs such as Human Rights Watch or Migrants-Refugees Section

Actor/position table:

Actor	Position/Main Action
Government	Strengthening administrative control; wage protection
Businesses	Opposition to Flexi-Permit; desire to maintain kafala
NGOs/Human Rights Watch	Criticism of reform effectiveness & persistence of abuse
Immigrant workers	Advocacy for extended protections

Global Migration Policy Trends:

Bahrain displays a stated “modernization” will while maintaining a restrictive framework inspired by its GCC partners. Innovative mechanisms like the Flexi-Permit are limited or even challenged under internal pressure while some social rights progress timidly under international constraint.

Public Reactions & Debates:

Experts often denounce a progressive facade masking few concrete improvements: persistent administrative obstacles, systemic exclusion in key sectors like female domestic work. Civil society mainly expresses itself via social networks where documented accounts circulate about wage delays and arbitrary deportations despite official discourse favoring better economic integration.

Current debates:

• Actual utility versus cosmetic effect of Flexi-Permit reform
• Effective access to unemployment benefits versus practical obstacles
• Absence of deep kafala reform perceived as structural obstacle

---

⧉ Critical Assessment of Potential Impacts

Short term:

• Likely improvement in payment traceability thanks to WPS but effectiveness will depend on rigorous implementation.
• Major uncertainty regarding flexible permit future increasing status precariousness if eliminated without alternative.

Long term:

• Persistent risk of socio-economic marginalization of immigrant community due to lack of full social protection inclusion,
• Maintained limited attractiveness towards qualified international talent,
• Potential brake on sustainable development linked to low legal security for foreign workforce essential economically but structurally vulnerable.