The Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs (NPRA) is the directorate within Bahrain's Ministry of Interior responsible for nationality, passport issuance, entry visas, and residence-permit affairs. It is the authority behind much of the immigration and residency side of living in Bahrain, working alongside the LMRA, which handles the labour and work-permit side.
For expatriates, the NPRA is relevant to entry visas, residence-permit stamping, dependent and family visas, and exit and re-entry matters, while employment permits themselves run through the LMRA. Many NPRA services are accessed through the national eGovernment portal, with the CPR number used to identify the applicant.
Because responsibilities are split between the NPRA and the LMRA, it helps to know which body governs a given step; residence and family matters typically point to the NPRA, while work permits point to the LMRA.