Expatriate Employee Transfer

Through this service, expatriate employees can transfer to another employer without the need of canceling their existing work permit. The transfer can be done with or without the consent of the current employer. (Conditions Apply)

Process Description

In case the transfer is based on the former employer's approval, the new employer needs to do the following:

Login to the LMRA’s EMS system to complete the electronic transfer application form. The entered information should be matching to the information in the passport and other related documents. The expatriate employee will be transferred after the payment of the fees.

In case the transfer will be done without the former employer’s approval, the following steps will be taken:

The expatriate employee should notify the current employer of his intention to leave by sending his resignation through Bahrain Post office to the commercial register's address during the specified notice period of the employment contract termination, in accordance with the provisions of the labour law.
The second (new) employer will submit a transfer request/ application to LMRA prior to the date set for the transfer by one month, providing all the required documents.
Upon transfer, the first (old) employer will be refunded the fees of the remaining period in the expatriate employees work permit .

Required document	Special Considerations
Expatriate Employee's Transfer with the (Employers Consent)
Expatriate Employee passport	Copy The passport should have all the information and alterations or updates and First Name in addition to Father or Family must be written in 1st page of the passport in all Employment/Dependant Application. As well as the page that states the father or spouse’s name (for Indian and Pakistani nationalities) as well as the page that contains the old passport number. The passport must be valid for at least 6 months, but it is highly recommended to have it valid for at least 2 years before applying.
Expatriate Employee ID card	Copy
Work contract between the employer and the expatriate employee	Copy The contract is mandatory. It should be in Arabic (or a bilingual contract that includes Arabic) on the company’s letterhead or on a government paper. It must include the commercial register’s name and number, the duration of the contract be it 1 year or 2 years, name of the expatriate employee as per passport, passport number, nationality, occupation, salary, employment, and notice periods. It should be signed by the employer and the expatriate employee and (should bear the seal/ stamp of the employer on the company’s letterhead).
Dependants’ passports. (if applicable)	Copy
Approval letter/ no-objection certificate from the relevant authority for certain specialized occupations. The approval must be as recent as possible and should not be older than 6 months	Copy
For 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 the electricity is not your responsibility (for example: shops in Malls, or electricity paid by the landlord) you will need to attach the lease contract as proof.	Copy 3 months should not have elapsed from the electricity bill’s issue date. Supply address in the bill must match the CR’s address. Should not be a disconnection notice.
In case of employment transfer without the current employer’s consent, please submit the below documents in addition to the above-mentioned documents
Resignation and notice letter (as per the labour law and/or the employment agreement between the expatriate employee and the employer) addressed to the current employer by the expatriate employee who wants to transfer	Copy The notice letter must be sent to the Commercial Register’s (cr’s) address registered in the CR (as per the Ministry of Industry and Commerce). More details can be found on MOIC's site Sijilat. The letter must be sent to the employer within the specified period of notice for the termination of the employment contract in accordance with the provisions of the labour law for the private sector (not exceeding three months) from the date specified for the transfer. The notice period can vary from the minimum of 30 days to the maximum of 90 days.
Post office registered mail notification card (pink card) or slip for the resignation or notice letter sent by the expatriate employee to his/her current employer.	Colored Copy
For 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 a proof, like the lease contract.	Copy The bill should not be older than 2 months. Supply address in the bill must match the CR’s address. It should not be a final notification to cut the electricity supply. Current account guarantee deposit bonds are not accepted.

Special Conditions

The transfer process is only available while the expatriate employee's permit is still valid for at least 3 months.
If applying for transfer, without the consent of the old (current) employer, the expatriate employee needs to have completed at least 12 months of service with the same employer before a new employer can apply for his/ her transfer.
Once the transfer application has been processed, the old (current) employer would be credited with the unused remaining period of the work permit as a credit note in the Expat Management System (EMS).
If the consent of the expatriate employee’s old (current) employer is obtained electronically in the EMS system through the “allow transfer function, the transfer will be instant (the expatriate employee does not need to wait or to complete 12 months of service). The employer would be then instantly credited with the unused remaining period of the work permit as a credit note in the system.
Expatriate Employees with expired work permits need to apply for a new work permit (Not Transfer).
In case of permit expiry or termination/ cancellation the expatriate employee has 30 days from the cancellation or expiry date in order to obtain a new work permit on the new employer, otherwise he/she needs to travel out of the Kingdom of Bahrain first, before the new employer can apply for him / her.
The expatriate employee continues to work for the first employer; and his due monthly fees shall be paid until the approval of the transfer application and the new employer’s payment of the new work permit fees.
The new employer commits to pay the new work permit fees within thirty days from the date of the transfer approval otherwise, the approval will be declined.

The expatriate employee would not be allowed to transfer in the following cases:
- If the expatriate employee ceases to comply with one or more of the conditions for issuing the permit.
- If a final criminal judgment has been passed against the expatriate employee for a felony ‎or a crime that violates honor or honesty.
- If the expatriate employee violates the terms under which his work permit was issued.
- If the new employer does not have the required Bahrainisation quotas or has a violation which prevents him from applying for transfer.
- If the employee has a violation which prevents his transfer.
- If the date of the transfer request falls within the last three months of the validity of the work permit (in the case of the expatriate employee’s transfer without the consent of his employer).

Service Access

Service Counter	Headquarters, Mina Salman, Seef Mall - Al Muharraq
EMS system	https://www.lmra.gov.bh/EMS_Web/
e-Support	https://esupport.lmra.gov.bh/
Contact Centre	+973 17506055

Working Hours

Centre	Area	Day	Service Counter Hours
LMRA Front Offices	Sanabis	Sunday - Thursday	7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Mina Salman (For Clearing offices)	Mina Salman	Sunday - Thursday	7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Seef Mall - Al Muharraq	Al Muharraq	Saturday - Thursday	8:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Phone Service Hours: 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM

Last Update: Wednesday 3 May 2023