Why a permit is cancelled
A permit ends when the relationship between company and worker ends: by resignation, by the end of a contract, or by final departure. Cancellation is what establishes that ending with the authority. Until it is established, the worker remains recorded against the company in law, even if they have in fact left the Kingdom.
The cancellation route
- Period
- Two working days from the point the documents are in order.
- Immediate effect
- The monthly fee stops and a place is freed in the company's permit ceiling.
- Condition
- The company's monthly fees must be settled, or the cancellation stalls as other filings do.
The cost of a forgotten permit
An uncancelled permit costs the company in three places at once:
- A monthly fee paid for a worker who is no longer there.
- An occupied place in the ceiling that blocks a permit for a new worker.
- An inflated headcount that raises the Bahrainisation rate required of the company.
Transferring a worker between employers
A transfer is a route separate from cancellation, moving a worker from one company to another without leaving the Kingdom. Its conditions fall on the receiving company rather than the departing one: room in its ceiling, a Bahrainisation rate that is met, and fees settled.
The order of steps
The receiving company checks its ceiling and its rate before agreeing with the worker, not after. Many stalled transfers happen because the agreement was made and only then did the ceiling turn out to be full, leaving the worker suspended between two employers.
This guide is a general account, and the Labour Market Regulatory Authority is the final reference for any condition or fee.