Work permits: issue, renewal and cancellation
The work permit is the basis of the relationship between a company and its foreign worker. This guide sets out the procedure for issuing, renewing and cancelling a permit, the documents required in each case, and the usual completion periods.
What a work permit is
A work permit is a document issued by the Labour Market Regulatory Authority allowing a company to employ a foreign worker in a defined activity. It attaches to the company, not to the worker alone, so any change in the company's standing or in its permit ceiling bears on it.
The permit carries a monthly financial obligation that the company settles for every permit it holds. It runs for as long as the permit is valid, even if the worker has not started, and any lapse in payment blocks every other filing the company makes with the authority.
The authority's published fees
These are government fees paid to the authority and have nothing to do with an office's charges. A commercial permit is settled as a package covering the permit and basic health care together:
| Period | Whole package |
|---|---|
| Six months | 97.5 BHD |
| One year | 195 BHD |
| Two years | 390 BHD |
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Work permit: issue, renewal or transfer — one year | 105 BHD |
| Basic health care — one year | 90 BHD |
| Visit visa converted to a work permit | 250 BHD |
| Change of occupation — per application | 10 BHD |
| Permit outside the Bahrainisation rate — one year, optional | 250 BHD |
| Late payment of the monthly fee | 2 BHD a month, capped at 6 |
Source: the fees page on the Labour Market Regulatory Authority's website, last updated 2025-12-31. The fees are set by the authority and may change by its decision; it is the final reference.
Issuing a new permit
Before filing, the company's permit ceiling must have room for the new permit, the Bahrainisation rate prescribed for its activity must be met, and its monthly fees must be settled.
- Documents
- The worker's valid passport, a photograph, and the company's details and commercial registration.
- Period
- Three working days on the usual route, extending to twenty-one days depending on the application and the activity's conditions.
- After issue
- Entry formalities and the identity card follow, and the renewal date is entered in the calendar.
The visa issued under the permit has a window for use. If the worker does not enter the Kingdom within ninety days, it is cancelled automatically and the procedure begins again.
Converting a visit visa into a work permit
A holder of a visit visa can be converted to a commercial work permit without leaving the Kingdom. Companies use this route when they find the right employee already inside Bahrain.
- Fee
- Two hundred and fifty dinars, a prescribed government fee for the conversion.
- Conditions
- A valid visa, room in the company's ceiling, and a Bahrainisation rate that is met.
Domestic workers follow an entirely different route with its own fees; neither the conditions of a commercial permit nor the fees above apply to them.
Renewal
Renewal is completed in one working day once the documents are in order and the company's monthly fees are settled. A permit that expires before it is renewed leaves both the company and the worker in breach.
For that reason every permit's expiry is entered in a follow-up calendar, and notice is issued sixty days ahead. That is enough time to close any gap in the documents or to settle any question over the ceiling.
Cancellation and transfer
When employment ends the permit is cancelled, the monthly fee stops, and a place is freed in the company's ceiling. A permit left standing after a worker has left keeps its monthly fee running against the company.
Transferring a worker from one company to another has its own route and conditions, and requires room in the receiving company's ceiling and a Bahrainisation rate that is met.
Where applications fail
- Filing when the ceiling has no room, so the application is returned days later.
- Unsettled monthly fees, which block every filing the company makes.
- A passport whose remaining validity falls short at the time of filing.
- A visa issued and left unused for ninety days, so it lapses automatically.
- Permits for workers who have left and were never cancelled, so their monthly fee runs on.
This guide is a general account of the procedure. The Labour Market Regulatory Authority is the final reference for any condition or fee, and conditions may change without prior notice.
What is the monthly work permit fee?
Two bands: 7.5 BHD for each of the first five workers and 12.5 BHD for each worker from the sixth onward. Late payment costs 2 BHD a month, capped at 6.
What does a work permit cost for a year?
195 BHD as a package covering the permit and basic health care for one year; 97.5 BHD for six months and 390 BHD for two years.
What happens if a departed worker’s permit is not cancelled?
Its monthly fee keeps running against the company, its place stays occupied in the permit ceiling, and the registered headcount no longer matches the facts at the authority.
Can a visit visa be converted to a work permit?
Yes, without leaving the Kingdom, at 250 BHD. It requires room in the company’s ceiling, a Bahrainisation rate that is met, and monthly fees settled.
The Bahrainisation rate and the work permit ceiling
How the rate for your activity is calculated, how the ceiling shifts as the company grows, and what follows when the rate is not met.
Read the guide Procedural guideCancelling a work permit and transferring a worker
What follows from leaving a permit standing after a worker has left, and the route and conditions for a transfer between employers.
Read the guide Procedural guideViolations: how they arise and how they are settled
How a violation arises with the authority, what it halts, the route to settling it, and why it is expertise work rather than a routine filing.
Read the guide Reviewing a worker’s permit
Send your commercial registration number and the worker’s situation, and we set out the step required, its documents and its period at the authority.