Bahrainisation and the ceiling

The Bahrainisation rate and the work permit ceiling

The Bahrainisation rate and the work permit ceiling are set by the economic activity and the company’s headcount, and change as that headcount changes. This guide sets out how the rate is calculated, how the ceiling is read, and what follows from moving into a higher band.

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Reviewed 2026-09-07

Competent authority **Labour Market Regulatory Authority**

What the rate is

The Bahrainisation rate is the minimum share of Bahraini nationals among a company's total workforce. It is set by the economic activity recorded in the commercial registration, not by the company's preference or by the nature of its roles.

The Labour Market Regulatory Authority publishes reference tables giving each activity its required rate and the upper limit on the number of work permits allowed. Those tables cover eight hundred and seventy-four activities, which are the ones indexed in the Al Qabas calculator.

The rate moves with the size of the company

The tables do not give each activity a single rate. They give a rate for each size band, and the requirement rises as the company grows. The bands are:

Fewer than six workers: no rate required in most activities
Six to nine
Ten to nineteen
Twenty to ninety-nine
One hundred to four hundred and ninety-nine
Five hundred and above

This is where companies are caught out. A company with nine workers that meets its rate moves into a higher band the moment it hires a tenth. Its rate can fall short overnight, and the next application is returned for a reason that has nothing to do with the application itself.

The work permit ceiling

Alongside the rate, each activity carries an upper limit on the number of work permits a company may hold. The ceiling is a separate constraint from the rate. A company can meet its rate and still have a full ceiling, in which case no new permit can be issued until a place is freed by cancelling an existing one, or the ceiling is raised by a separate procedure.

Raising the ceiling is expertise work, not a routine filing: the company's position is studied, a reasoned application is submitted, and supporting documents are attached. It therefore sits outside the subscription and is quoted in writing.

How the rate is calculated

The current rate is the number of Bahrainis divided by the total workforce. Where it falls short, a company has two routes: hire more Bahrainis, or reduce the number of foreign workers.

Working out how many Bahrainis are needed is not a simple subtraction, because each Bahraini added also raises the total. We built a calculator for it: enter your activity and your headcount, and it returns the required rate, the shortfall, and how many additional permits your position allows.

Open the Bahrainisation calculator

When the rate is not met

A company that falls short cannot issue new permits or receive transferred workers, and renewals rest on the authority's discretion case by case. The practical effect is that the company's growth stops until the rate is settled.

Settling it calls for planning rather than reaction: knowing in advance at what headcount the company crosses into a higher band, and hiring Bahrainis before that point rather than after it.

This guide is a general account. The Labour Market Regulatory Authority's reference tables are the final authority, and rates and ceilings may be updated without prior notice. Activities indexed here: 874.

What is asked about this procedure

How is the required Bahrainisation rate worked out?

The rate follows the company’s activity and its size band, not its headcount alone. And working out how many Bahrainis are needed is not a simple subtraction, because each Bahraini added raises the total as well.

Why can a rate that was met suddenly fall short?

Because the company crossed into a higher size band. A company meeting its rate at nine workers can fall out of compliance by hiring the tenth: the band changed, not just the count.

What happens when the rate is not met?

A new permit application is refused and everything that depends on it stalls. A permit outside the rate is available at an optional fee of 250 BHD a year.

How does the Bahrainisation rate differ from the permit ceiling?

The rate measures Bahrainis against foreign workers in the company; the ceiling is the maximum number of permits allowed. Both must hold before any new permit.

Related guides

Procedural guide