About the Authority

The Labour Market Regulatory Authority is considered a legal entity and it is under the supervision of the Minister of Labour. In addition, it enjoys the same privileges as the other ministries, governmental organizations and public bodies in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The Authority was founded on 31/05/2006, when His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa decreed Act No. (19) of 2006 regarding the regulation of the labour market, which stated: the Authority will assume all the tasks and specialities required to organize the labour market in the Kingdom, regulate work permits for expatriate employees, handle licences of manpower agencies and employment offices, and handle work permits for the expatriate employers in the Kingdom.

The Authority is also concerned with developing a comprehensive national plan for the labour market that includes the general strategy and policy regarding local and expatriate employment, in addition to collecting and analyzing data, statistics, and information related to the economic situation in the Kingdom. The Authority issues reports regarding this matter to be published via the appropriate means and in a manner that is accessible to all.

Being a central entity, The Labour Market Regulatory Authority supervises the following:

Issuing entry visas to the Kingdom and residency permits, issuing official identity cards for expatriate employees in coordination with the concerned authorities, such as the Nationality, Passport & Residence Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Information and eGovernment Authority and the Social Insurance Organization. The Authority issues work permits for domestic expatriate employees and all who fall in this category, requests medical examinations and necessary tests for expatriate employees in coordination with the concerned authorities, collects all fees related to work permits and licenses issued in accordance with the provisions of the law, and proposes programs and policies to develop the labour market in matters unrelated to it specialties and provides them to the concerned authorities.

Vision

An organized labour market that meets the needs of the labour market, preserves the rights of all its parties, achieves social security, and ensures economic growth.

Mission

Achieve the satisfaction of citizens, employers and expatriate employees by providing distinguished services through professional national efforts and simplified procedures.

Values

Quality: Providing integrated services with high quality standards.
Transparency: Adopting transparency in all the Authority's operations and adopting clear systems.
Humanity: Dealing with expatriate employees, employers equally, and adopting humanitarian considerations in decision-making.
Continuous Improvement: Establishing a high-performance Authority that aspires to achieve international standards.
Continuity: Maintaining the aspirations and goals of the Authority over time.

The Strategy of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority

As one of the pillars of the labour market reform project in the Kingdom, the Authority seeks to regulate the local labour market through fair laws and transparent, durable, dynamic, and effective services, taking into account the preservation of societal and human rights.

The Authority works within an integrated governmental group to provide quick services to employers and expatriate employees. It introduced the one-transaction system for issuing work permits, where it seeks through its services to establish solid bases for the labour market that preserve the rights of expatriate employers and expatriate employees alike.

The Authority is proceeding in an integrated format with its partners in (Team Bahrain), based on the government action plan and Bahrain's strategic economic vision 2030, in order to ensure providing a distinguished service that contributes in turn to providing all local economic growth possibilities and facilitates doing business in the Kingdom. This is achieved by ensuring effective and humane management that is focused on facilitating businesses for all categories of employers, citizens, people of determination, and the elderly, in addition to continuous follow-up on expatriate affairs.

The Labour Market Regulatory Authority adopts a set of foundations, principles and values that guide all its work and services; these are represented in humanity, transparency, quality, continuous improvement and social responsibility. The Authority made great efforts in committing to these principles. This has reflected positively on the Kingdom's reputation and international position as a distinguished work environment that enjoys flexibility, justice, continuity, and safeguards the rights of work parties without discrimination.

The Labour Market Regulatory Authority also educates expatriate employees and their families coming to the Kingdom of Bahrain, in order to guarantee their rights and achieve a community partnership based on fair foundations that guarantees the rights and duties of all parties in cooperation with the embassies of labour-exporting countries and foreign communities' civil society institutions.

Last Update: Tuesday 18 July 2023