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Updated February 2024

If you have lived or worked in Bahrain for some time, it’s only natural to consider bringing along your family to the country. If so, one of the first things you’ll need to do is apply for a Bahrain family visa. In this article, we’ll discuss how you can start the process of applying for a family visa in Bahrain, including what documents you’ll need, how to apply, as well as the price of the dependant’s residency permit.

Table of Contents

Bahrain family visa

Bahrain Family visa, also known as the Dependants Residency Permit, is a type of visa that allows close family members of individuals who live in Bahrain to enter and reside with them in the country.

To obtain this visa, the employee or worker residing in Bahrain needs to work with their employer, who is responsible for requesting residence permits for the dependents through the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA).

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Bahrain family visa requirements

To obtain the Bahrain family visa, the following documents are required:

dependant’s passport
dependants’ birth certificate (in Arabic or English)
passport of the employee’s wife/Husband
Dependants Identity Card, if available
marriage certificate in Arabic or English
for children accompanying their working mother/father: No objection letter from the dependant’s father/mother, or, a divorce certificate and a statement proving the mother’s/father’s custody of the dependants, or, a death certificate if the father/mother is dead
for the private sector: Latest paid electricity bill:
- if a new CR is not yet billed, you need to upload a print-out from the electricity and water authority showing that the account had been opened or transferred to that specific CR
- if electricity is not your responsibility (for example, shops in malls, or electricity paid by the landlord), you will need to upload proof, like a lease contract

Bahrain family visa special conditions

Apart from the above-mentioned requirements, the Bahraini authorities have stipulated special conditions to be met for anyone looking to apply for the Bahrain family visa. These conditions extend to the applicant’s minimum salary as well as numerous others. The special conditions are as follows:

the applicant should be registered in the system as an authorized or responsible person with the authority on the respective CR or Unit
the foreign employee’s monthly net income (as per the SIO registration) must be BHD 400 or more
in case the employee’s family dependants are already in the Kingdom on a visit or any other type of permit, the permit must be valid for a period of not less than 7 working days upon submission of the application
in case the employee’s dependants are over the age of 24 years, the procedure of issuing the residence permit and renewing is directly through the Nationality Passports and Residency Affairs (NPRA), depending on the conditions and regulations of the department
dependants holding a previous personal number should fill in the same number in the personal number field when applying for the residency permit
for those born in Bahrain or those issued with a new passport in Bahrain, they should first open a new file (or update the data) at the Nationality Passports and Residency Affairs (NPRA). (The personal number of the newborn found on the birth certificate)

How to apply for the Bahrain family visa?

To apply for the Bahrain family visa, follow the steps given below:

Click here to log in to the LMRA EMS system and start the process of applying for a new residency permit for the employees’ dependants.
Print the application confirmation.
Check the application status by:
- logging to the EMS system and using the application ID
- visiting the Express Services section on LMRA’s website using the application ID, or the expat’s passport number/ personal number
- calling LMRA’s Contact Centre on +973 17506055 and giving the application ID to the service agents
After receiving the approval on the residency permits, pay the fees through the EMS system or visit one of the accredited banks.
Print the Resident permit by visiting the bahrain.bh website or by contacting NPRA.

Please note that if the employee’s dependants are over the age of 24, the procedure of issuing the residence permit and renewing is directly through the Nationality Passports and Residency Affairs (NPRA), depending on the conditions and regulations of the department.