VisaBahrain employers should distinguish 2026 permit fees from the January 2027 increase
Current reporting checks the phased statutory charges, renewal windows and conflicting official instructions about employees who are outside Bahrain.
Official source date: 2025-12-29
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
The next scheduled fee step begins on 1 January 2027
Bahrain employers budgeting for foreign-worker permissions should distinguish the charges operating in 2026 from the next statutory increase on 1 January 2027. Edict 79 of 2025, announced by the Prime Minister’s Office on 29 December 2025, established a phased schedule through 2029. This is a follow-up on that existing timetable, checked on 30 October 2026, rather than a newly announced October fee rise.
The Arabic text published by the Prime Minister’s Office lists the annual issuance or renewal charge as BHD105 in 2026 and BHD111 in 2027. Monthly charges for the first five foreign workers move from BHD7.5 to BHD10, and those for workers above five move from BHD12.5 to BHD15. The annual amount is collected proportionately to the requested permit duration. Use the edict’s dated columns when preparing a budget rather than applying a later-year figure to every current transaction.
An earlier service-page amount does not settle a current invoice
The national portal’s Work Permit Renewal information page still displays BHD100 for a one-year permit and separate health-care charges. Those figures do not fully reflect the newer annual amount shown in the edict. An employer should therefore obtain the current LMRA assessment for the actual category and period, rather than combine figures from different versions of official guidance into a supposed complete price.
The practical question is which charge, duration and effective date the official payment request uses. Retain the assessment and receipt, separating a recurring monthly employer charge from the amount collected for issuance or renewal. A difference between two government webpages should be resolved with the authority before payment; it should not be treated as evidence that a private intermediary can select whichever fee is cheaper. The edict describes employer-payable charges, so its table should not automatically be represented as a personal debt owed by every employee.
Renewal can be prepared before the existing permit expires
The national renewal service says the responsible or authorised person submits the application and can request six months, one year or two years. It lists renewal windows beginning six months before expiry for existing one-year or two-year permissions, and five months before expiry for an existing six-month permission. Its passport condition is at least two months of remaining validity. Use that service guidance to check the current permit and responsible account before initiating renewal.
The same page says dependants are renewed with the primary worker and receive the same period. Employers should check which people are actually included and what the payment instruction covers; an employee’s household composition may have changed since the last issuance. A renewal window describes when an application can be made, not an obligation to choose the longest period or a guarantee that every requested duration will be approved. Resolve mismatched passport or family details before relying on the output.
Employees abroad face conflicting public instructions
The renewal service page says the employee must be present in Bahrain when the request is submitted. However, LMRA’s official report of a joint NPRA service launched in September 2023 says employers can renew expatriate work permissions while the employee is abroad through the Expatriate Management System or official channels. It identifies commercial and government employees, registered workers and domestic workers in the wider initiative and says renewal should occur before expiry.
That conflict matters to an employer whose employee is travelling. Use the LMRA report to frame a precise enquiry about the worker’s category and current overseas location, then obtain the applicable channel before allowing the permit to lapse. Do not assume that travel makes renewal impossible, or that the old launch announcement guarantees access for every present-day case. The report also distinguishes work renewal through LMRA from residence renewal through the national portal.
Registered-worker permissions are a separate category
LMRA’s Registered Worker Programme brochure describes a distinct route through approved labour-registration centres. It says not everyone with a terminated permit qualifies and identifies conditions including presence in Bahrain, a valid passport and the absence of specified offences or violations. A sponsored employee should not confuse that route with an ordinary employer renewal or treat a terminated permit as automatic eligibility for self-sponsored work.
The brochure directs applicants to approved centres or LMRA for eligibility help and warns against paying more than officially listed charges. For routine employers, the next action is to check the permit expiry, passport, dependant records and current assessment, then submit through the authorised renewal channel. For an employee abroad or a worker changing category, resolve that specific issue first. No universal assurance about future invoice treatment, refunds or automatic renewal was verified beyond the published service and statutory information.
