# Visa policy of Bahrain

Most visitors to Bahrain may obtain a visa on arrival or an e-Visa before traveling.
Citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries have freedom of movement in Bahrain and may enter with a national ID card.
Passport must be valid for 6 months from arrival and visitors must hold return or onward ticket.

## Overview

In October 2014, Bahrain implemented a new visa policy that makes it easier for incoming travelers to get Bahraini visas. Travelers must have a passport that is valid for at least six months and a visa to enter Bahrain. However, travelers from approved countries can now get their visas online or when they arrive in the country. Bahrain has issued more visas since the policy was implemented than it did before. Starting in April 2015, Bahrain began sending applicants confirmations of their application status by text messaging.
In November 2016, Bahrain adopted new visa policy rules defining a two-week allowed stay on a single entry visa and a 90-day stay on a multiple entry visa valid for one year. In addition, a multiple entry visa valid for three months allows stay for one month. Citizens of Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom may obtain a five-year multiple entry visa allowing a 90-day stay on each visit.
In October 2020, the United States and Bahrain introduced a reciprocal agreement for a 10-year multi-entry visa scheme for citizens of both countries which also unifies the processing fees and validity of the visa at 90-days per visit for a cost of 160 USD (60 Bahraini Dinars).

## Visa exemption

Citizens of the following GCC countries may enter Bahrain without a visa and may use a national ID card:
* Freedom of movement
* Kuwait
* Qatar
* Oman
* Saudi Arabia
* United Arab Emirates

### Non-ordinary passports

In addition to countries whose citizens are visa-exempt, holders of diplomatic or official/service passports may enter Bahrain without a visa for the following period:
| China  France  Greece | Israel  Japan  Jordan |
| Botswana  Hungary  India  Indonesia  Italy | Kazakhstan  Malaysia  Singapore  Sri Lanka  Tajikistan |

## Visa on arrival or e-Visa

Citizens of all countries may obtain a visa on arrival or online, except for the following countries whose citizens must have a guarantor (Bahraini commercial entity or a Bahraini individual) to obtain a visa:
* Iran
* Kosovo
* North Korea
Visas may be either single entry or multiple entry, and must be used within 3 months from the date of approval. In case of a visa rejection, processing fee is non-refundable whereas visa fee is refundable under certain circumstances. However, the refund request must be initiated by the applicant.
| Visa policy | Validity | Number of entry | Duration of stay | Total price |
| eVisa | 2 weeks | Single | 2 weeks | 9 BHD |
| eVisa | 3 months | Multiple | 1 month | 16 BHD |
| eVisa | 1 year | Multiple | 90 days | 44 BHD |
| eVisa | 5 years$^*$ | Multiple | 90 days | 64 BHD |
| Visa on arrival | 2 weeks | Single | 2 weeks | 5 BHD |
| Visa on arrival | 3 months | Multiple | 1 month | 12 BHD |
$_{*-Citizensofsomecountriescannotget5-yeare-Visa.}$

### E-Visa Application Requirements

E-Visa applicants must supply scanned copies of following documents along with their visa application:
* Applicant's passport
* Confirmed return air ticket
* Hotel booking in Bahrain or ID card of relative/friend (in case of staying with them)
* Bank statement under the visitor's name covering the last 3 months with an ending balance of at least the equivalent of 1000 USD
Applications are processed in approximately 3 to 5 working days.

## Residents of GCC Countries

Legal residents of Gulf Cooperation Council countries, irrespective of their nationality and except Iranian citizens, may obtain a visa online or on arrival at any port of entry, subject to the following conditions:
* Have held a residence permit issued by their country of residence for more than 3 months.
* Residence permit is valid for at least another 3 months at the time of the visa application.
* Occupation as per their resident permit must not be labourer.

## History

For a period of time, citizens of Qatar were banned from entering Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain unless they were married to a local person.