Bahrain has retained its position as the most affordable country in the GCC to hire domestic workers, with Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) continuing to be the best paid in local households.
This was revealed in the GCC Domestic Worker Cost Index – Q3 2026, published by GCC Domestic, compiled from published government fee schedules and verified salary tables.
Saudi Arabia is the most expensive and Kuwait has the highest government fees, the report said.
“Upfront hiring costs in Q3 range from about BD600 to BD900 in Bahrain, making it the cheapest year-one entry.
“It costs between 8,000 and 21,000 riyals in Saudi Arabia, making it the most expensive, while the UAE’s Tadbeer packages set the costs between 2,500 and 7,000 dirhams.
“The 150 Kuwaiti dinars work-permit fee plus 350 dinars for transfers makes Kuwait’s government-fee load the highest in the region.
“Transferring a worker already in Qatar for a fee between 1,500 and 3,000 Qatari riyals remains roughly a third of the cost of international recruitment.
“As for Oman, citizens pay around 260 to 330 Omani rials in total government fees, including a work permit, a domestic worker visa, a residence card and renewal, and a medical examination.”
According to the study, a Bahraini or GCC resident in the kingdom looking to hire a domestic worker pays on average around BD86 for one year and BD118 for two years. Senior citizens aged 60 and above enjoy a discounted rate of BD78.500 per year for one domestic worker and BD103 for two years.
The aforementioned fees include costs of a work permit, administration, a Non-Objection Certificate issued by the Labour Market Regulatory Authority and NOC accreditation and a residency permit by the Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs.
It also includes a health check accreditation by the Health Ministry and Identity Card (CPR) issuance by the Information and eGovernment Authority.
An additional BD250 fee applies only when a domestic worker who is currently in Bahrain on a visit visa applies to convert to a work permit. This does not apply to workers coming from abroad with a fresh work permit.
Expats, meanwhile, have to pay around BD586 on average (BD86 plus a BD500 guarantee) for one year and BD618 (BD118 plus BD500 guarantee) for two years.
As for other costs, Wafid medical examination costs around BD20 to BD60 (depending on nationality), a recruitment office fee ranging from BD300 to BD800, air tickets costing between BD50 and BD200, and optional insurance which could cost BD50 to BD100.
In total, this brings up the overall cost of one domestic worker ranges between BD600 and BD1,300 on average.
As for salaries, Filipino nannies remain the highest paid group in the kingdom, earning on average BD195, followed by Filipino maids at BD155.
Indonesians have the second highest salary on average, earning BD125, followed by Indians (BD115) and Ethiopians (BD105).
When it comes to drivers, Indians and Pakistanis earn the highest with BD210 on average.
There were more than 4.5 to five million domestic workers in the GCC in 2022.
LMRA data for the second quarter of 2023 showed that there were 78,900 domestic workers, including males, employed in Bahrain, of whom the top nationality was the Philippines (21,617 household workers).
nader@gdnmedia.bh
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