MANAMA: The validity of visit visas will be extended until January 21 with fee exemptions, it has been officially announced.
The Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs (NPRA) outlined details yesterday in line with the directives of the Government Executive Committee.
This means visitors currently in Bahrain who could not travel due to flight restrictions and other measures introduced to combat Covid-19 can now legally stay without paying any visit visa fees.
“The NPRA will automatically conduct the extension process without the need to apply for the renewal through the e-visa website,” said an official statement from the Interior Ministry.
“The service allows visitors to correct their residency situation in the country, or facilitate their departure in case of the availability of flights to their countries, because of the extraordinary global situation due to the pandemic.”
The ministry added it had previously taken a wide range of relief measures to help Bahrainis and non-Bahrainis too.
“The NPRA has provided facilities to visitors and residents in Bahrain since the beginning of the pandemic by extending the validity of residency permits and visas for foreigners in Bahrain without paying the administration fees based on humanitarian grounds,” added the ministry.
The GDN previously reported that immigration officials had helped visitors who overstayed to transfer to a work visa, and also looked at court and travel ban cases individually.
Hundreds of Indians have already left on Indian government operated flights under the Vande Bharat Mission – with more than 29,000 repatriated from Bahrain.
Among other nationalities around 1,700 Thai nationals have left the country since April in special flights arranged by its embassy.
The numbers are expected to increase as a nine-month amnesty government announced in April for illegal workers ends on December 31.
Under this, non-documented workers can either leave Bahrain or regularise their stay through a new employer or flexi-permit visa.
The amnesty launched by the Labour Market Regulatory Authority as part of Covid-19 measures aims to cover an estimated 55,000 expatriate workers of different nationalities.
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