VISIT-to-work visa conversions have dropped by more than 92 per cent since last year, a top official has revealed.
Legal Affairs Minister and Acting Labour Minister Yousif Khalaf said a parliamentary investigation committee had uncovered 37,000 visa conversions in 2023 and more than 33,000 in 2024 – figures he described as ‘very concerning at the time’.
However, only 2,469 people converted their visas in the first nine months of this year – a 92.5pc drop compared to last year, he said.
Mr Khalaf explained that the practice was ‘once widespread’ but has now ‘almost disappeared’ following stringent government measures.
The statistics were revealed yesterday after MPs asked for a debate and vote on a bill to prohibit converting entry visas into work permits.
The bill – an amendment to the 1965 Foreigners (Immigration and Residence) Law – seeks to ban visa conversion under all circumstances.
MPs approved the legislation earlier this year, but the Shura Council rejected it in principle, sending it back to Parliament for an insistence vote.
The government asked MPs to reconsider, stating that the issue had already been resolved administratively and no longer required new legislation.
Mr Khalaf said the dramatic decline in visa conversions began after Interior Minister General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa issued Decision No 16 of 2024, raising the conversion fee to BD250 and restricting it to cases in which the individual is guaranteed by the same sponsor.
He presented updated figures that, he said, prove the effectiveness of the new rules.
“In the first quarter of 2025, only 708 people converted their visas. In the second quarter, 849 and in the third quarter, 912. So, in the first nine months of 2025, the total is just 2,469 – compared to tens of thousands in previous years,” he said.
The minister stressed that tourist visas cannot be converted under any circumstances. Only visit visas with a sponsor may be converted and only to a permit under the same sponsor, and subject to the BD250 fee.
Mr Khalaf argued that if Parliament insists on passing the bill, individuals wishing to convert their status would be forced to leave Bahrain and re-enter on a new work visa issued abroad.
“The government does not disagree with the goal of the draft law,” he said.
“But the question is: do we still need it? The phenomenon that prompted the proposal simply no longer exists.”
He added that visa entry and regulation remain ‘a sovereign matter’ and that recent executive measures have already addressed the problem.
While some MPs said the law is still needed to protect jobs for Bahrainis, Parliament opted to suspend the debate for two weeks before taking an insistence vote.
If MPs and the Shura Council insist on their original positions, the bill will be escalated to a joint National Assembly session for a final decision.
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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