How to Check Your Bahrain Work Visa Status (LMRA)

To check a Bahrain work visa, open LMRA's View Expatriate Employee Data service, enter your personal number, choose your country and add your passport number. The result shows the status and validity of your work permit. This guide gives the exact steps on the official LMRA website, explains what the results mean and shows what to do if your work visa is rejected, cancelled or expired. Fahdan handles work visas and LMRA permits for companies in Bahrain, so you do not have to chase LMRA yourself.

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Work Visa or LMRA Work Permit: What Are You Checking?

In Bahrain, a foreign employee's work visa is an LMRA work permit. The employer applies for it on the company's Commercial Registration (CR) through LMRA's Expat Management System (EMS). The residence permit is a separate record: once the work permit is approved, it is printed through Bahrain's National Portal or with Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs (NPRA).

So a "work visa check" means checking your work permit on the LMRA website. Visit visas are checked on a different government site, covered below. For the company side of the process, see our page on work visa agents and PRO services in Bahrain.

LMRA Visa Check: Step by Step on the Official Website

Open the LMRA website. Go to lmra.gov.bh and, under E-Services, choose Expatriate Employee, then View Expatriate Employee Data (Commercial Sector). It is also listed under Top Services on the home page. The direct page is View Expatriate Employee Data.
Enter your personal number. This is the 9-digit number on your Bahrain ID card. The form checks that it has 9 digits.
Select your country (your nationality) from the list.
Enter your passport number exactly as it appears in your passport.
Search and read the result. LMRA describes the service as a way for an expatriate employee to check the status and validity of their work permit in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Note the expiry date.
Set a reminder before expiry. LMRA accepts renewals 6 months before expiry for a 1-year or 2-year permit and 5 months before expiry for a 6-month permit.

Domestic workers have their own page: View Expatriate Employee Data (Domestic Worker). LMRA also states that the commercial-sector service is available through the MyGov application using the Advanced Electronic Key 2.0.

Other Ways to Check a Bahrain Visa

The right place to check depends on who you are and which permit you hold.

Who is checking	Where to check	Link
Employee checking a work permit	LMRA, View Expatriate Employee Data (or the MyGov application with the Advanced Electronic Key 2.0)	Open the service
Employer checking a new, renewal, transfer or cancellation application	Log in to LMRA's Expat Management System (EMS) and open the application in its folder (for example, View Permit Cancellation and Deportation)	Open EMS
Employee with a personal number and passport expiry date	LMRA Expat Portal, which asks for these two details	Open the Expat Portal
Domestic worker	LMRA, View Expatriate Employee Data (Domestic Worker)	Open the service
Visit visa or eVisa application	Bahrain eVisa website, Check Application Status	Open eVisa
Residence permit print-out	Bahrain's National Portal, or NPRA	National Portal / NPRA

What Your LMRA Work Visa Status Means

LMRA does not publish one list of screen labels, so treat this table as a guide to the life of a work permit. The exact wording on your result screen can differ.

Status	What it means	What to do
Valid, with a future expiry date	Your work permit is active. Note the expiry date.	Plan the renewal. LMRA accepts it 6 months before expiry for 1-year and 2-year permits, and 5 months before for a 6-month permit.
Application submitted, awaiting admin fees	The employer has applied but the admin fee is unpaid.	Pay the fee before the invoice due date. LMRA cancels the application if it is not paid in time.
Under verification	Fees are paid and LMRA is checking the application.	Wait for approval. LMRA's processing time is 3 working days for a new permit inside Bahrain, 21 working days from outside Bahrain, and one working day for a renewal.
Approved, permit fee and print-out pending	LMRA has approved the application.	The employer pays the permit fee and prints the work permit from EMS. The residence permit is then printed through the National Portal or NPRA.
Cancellation and deportation requested	The employer has ended the employment. The permit stays valid until the employee leaves Bahrain or transfers to another employer.	Leave Bahrain before the permit expiry date, or arrange a transfer. The permit is cancelled at LMRA and NPRA when you leave.
Expired	The permit end date has passed.	A transfer is not possible. Apply for a new work permit. See the section on expired permits below.
Absence-from-work notice	The employer has reported 15 days or more of absence without a justifiable reason.	An employee can submit a grievance through LMRA's Expatriate Services System within 11 working days of the notice.

What to Do if Your Work Visa Is Rejected or Not Approved

LMRA does not publish one list of rejection reasons. These are requirements listed on its own service pages. An application that misses one of them can stop or be cancelled:

Passport validity. The passport must be valid for at least 6 months, and LMRA recommends at least 2 years.
Medical report. For employees applying from outside Bahrain, the report must be no older than two months, show the employee is fit, and come from a Wafid-accredited centre where one exists in the home country or country of residence.
Missing approval for specialised jobs. Occupations such as teachers, doctors, engineers and banking roles need an approval letter or no-objection certificate from the relevant authority.
Unpaid fees. The application is cancelled if the admin fee is not paid before the invoice due date.
Employer limits. LMRA sets a limit on how many work permits a CR can hold, and a new employer without the required Bahrainization quota, or with a violation recorded, cannot apply for transfers.

What to do next

Find the reason. The employer opens the application in EMS and reads its status. Employees can also ask the employer or contact LMRA through its contact page.
Fix the cause. Replace the passport page, medical report or approval letter, or pay the outstanding fee.
Cancel and refile if needed. An employee can cancel an in-progress application through LMRA's Expatriate Services System (one working day). The employer can then submit a new application through EMS. See Cancellation of an In-Progress Application.
Challenge a wrong absence notice. Use LMRA's grievance service within 11 working days of the notice.
Book an LMRA appointment through the Appointment Management System if a counter visit is needed.
Hand it to Fahdan. We check the documents, file the application and follow it up with LMRA for your company.

What to Do if Your Work Permit Has Expired or Is About to Expire

The best fix for an expired permit is not to reach expiry. Check the date on LMRA today and ask your employer to renew early.

Before it expires

The employer renews the permit through EMS or an accredited bank, for 6 months, 1 year or 2 years. The renewal is validated as soon as the fees are paid, and if everything is in order the permit is printed the same day.
The passport must be valid for at least two months.
Employees in occupations that need a periodic medical check-up must complete it every two years before the renewal is processed.
The residence permit is then printed through the National Portal or NPRA.

After it has expired

You cannot transfer. LMRA's transfer service needs a permit valid for at least five days. Expatriate employees with expired work permits must apply for a new work permit.
The new employer files a new application on its CR. Fahdan can do this for the company.
Cancel the expired permit when needed. An employee can apply to cancel an expired work permit through the Expatriate Services System, with proof of the reason such as a job offer letter or a travel ticket. LMRA lists a processing time of two working days. See Cancellation of an Expired Work Permit.
Leaving Bahrain? If the employer has applied for cancellation and deportation, the permit is cancelled at LMRA and NPRA automatically when you leave within the allowed time.

How Fahdan Handles Work Visas in Bahrain

Fahdan handles work visas for companies in Bahrain. As your visa agent, we prepare the file, check the documents, submit and follow up the application with LMRA, and handle renewals, family sponsorships and residence permits. Our team works from Bahrain, so you do not have to learn each portal or wait in each queue.

Tell us the employee and the stage. A new hire, a renewal, a family permit, or an application that is stuck or was not approved.
We check the documents before anything is filed: passport validity, the medical report for employees abroad, and any approval letter the job needs.
We file and follow up through LMRA, then take the permit through to the residence permit with NPRA.
We hand over the result and manage the renewal when it falls due.

Setting up the company first? Read our guides to company formation in Bahrain and company registration (CR) in Bahrain. Founders who plan to live in Bahrain normally use the investor visa, which is a separate route from an employee work permit. See also the government authorities we work with and our CR and licence renewals service.

Need a work visa filed, renewed or fixed? Tell us the employee's nationality, the job title and where the application stands. We confirm the government fees, which are charged at cost, and our service fee before we start.

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Quick Answers

Bahrain Work Visa Check Questions

Short answers on checking, renewing and fixing a work visa in Bahrain.

Open LMRA's View Expatriate Employee Data service (Commercial Sector) on lmra.gov.bh, enter your personal number from your Bahrain ID card, select your country, enter your passport number and search. LMRA states that the service lets an expatriate employee check the status and validity of their work permit. It is also available through the MyGov application using the Advanced Electronic Key 2.0.

Three details: your personal number (9 digits, as shown on your Bahrain ID card), your country and your passport number. If you do not have a personal number yet, your employer can see the application status in LMRA's Expat Management System (EMS). If Fahdan filed the application for your company, we can confirm it for you.

According to LMRA, a new work permit takes 3 working days for an employee already inside Bahrain and 21 working days for an employee applying from outside Bahrain, and a renewal takes one working day. The clock starts once the admin fee is paid. If the fee is not paid before the invoice due date, the application is cancelled.

Not through the transfer service. LMRA's transfer service requires the permit to be valid for at least five days, and an employee with an expired work permit must apply for a new work permit instead. An expired permit can also be cancelled through LMRA's Expatriate Services System, for example when you join another company. Your new employer, or Fahdan on the company's behalf, can file the new application.

Yes. Fahdan handles LMRA work visas, renewals, family permits and residence permits for companies in Bahrain. We check the documents, file the application, follow it up with LMRA and keep you updated until it is approved. If an application is stuck or was not approved, tell us where it stands and we check the documents and follow it up with LMRA.