What goes into a Bahrain residence permit
A Bahrain residence permit is not a single payment. It is a stack of lines that clear through the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) and the eGovernment system, and the largest two lines by a wide margin are the LMRA work permit and the LMRA monthly fee. The work permit is BHD 390 for a new 2-year issue or BHD 210 for a 2-year renewal. On top of that sits a small admin or processing fee of around BHD 5 per application. Then the basic health care fee, which is BHD 180 for a 2-year permit or BHD 90 for a single year, secures access to the public health system. The 2026 LMRA monthly fee is BHD 7.5 per worker per month for an employer's first five expatriate workers (BHD 12.5 from the sixth), which over a full 2-year permit totals BHD 180 at the first-five rate and is one of the largest cash lines in the whole stack. Finally the CPR smart card, the physical residence and identity document, costs on the order of BHD 5 per year, and a new issue adds a one-off medical examination of roughly BHD 20.
For a single worker on a new 2-year permit the typical total lands near BHD 785, of which BHD 180 is the aggregated 2026 LMRA monthly fee. A 2-year renewal runs lower, around BHD 585, because the work permit drops to BHD 210 and the medical examination is usually not repeated. Note the monthly fee is scheduled to rise in stages towards BHD 30 per worker by 2029, so totals will climb in later years. The calculator above sums every line for the exact combination you pick and shows the LMRA monthly fee aggregated over the permit period so you see the real two-year cash flow, not just the headline permit fee. For the LMRA portal walkthrough and how to verify a permit online, see the LMRA visa check and work permit guide.
What is included
The calculator covers the government and labour-market lines that every employer pays to put a worker on a compliant residence footing. The table below lists each line, the figure used and how reliable that figure is.
| Line item | Figure used | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| LMRA work permit (new, 2-year) | BHD 390 | High (LMRA schedule) |
| LMRA work permit (renewal, 2-year) | BHD 210 | High (LMRA schedule) |
| Admin / processing fee | BHD 5 | Medium |
| Basic health care fee (2-year) | BHD 180 | High (LMRA schedule) |
| LMRA monthly fee (2026, first 5 workers) | BHD 7.5 / worker / month | High (Edict 79/2025; BHD 12.5 from 6th, ramps to BHD 30 by 2029) |
| CPR smart card | ~BHD 5 / year | Medium (varies by tier) |
| Medical examination (new issue) | BHD 15-25 (mid BHD 20) | Range (by centre) |
| Dependant residence permit | ~BHD 30 / dep / year | Indicative |
New issue vs renewal
The biggest swing between a new issue and a renewal is the work permit fee itself: BHD 390 against BHD 210 for the 2-year permit. A new issue also carries the one-off medical examination, which a renewal usually does not. Everything else, the LMRA monthly fee, the basic health care line and the CPR card, applies to both. Because the LMRA monthly fee runs for the whole permit period regardless of whether it is a new issue or a renewal, the BHD 180 two-year monthly-fee total (at the 2026 first-five rate) is the same in both scenarios; the renewal simply saves on the permit and medical lines. Choosing a 1-year permit instead of a 2-year permit halves the health care line and the monthly-fee accrual but doubles how often you pay the permit fee, so the 2-year permit is usually the cheaper path per year of cover.
Worked examples
| Scenario | Permit + admin | Health + monthly + CPR + medical | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| New, 2-year, 0 dependants | BHD 395 | 180 + 180 + 10 + 20 | BHD 785.000 |
| Renewal, 2-year, 0 dependants | BHD 215 | 180 + 180 + 10 + 0 | BHD 585.000 |
| New, 2-year, 1 dependant | BHD 395 | 180 + 180 + 10 + 20 + 60 | BHD 845.000 |
Example 1: new, 2-year, no dependants. Work permit BHD 390, admin BHD 5, health care BHD 180, 2026 LMRA monthly fee BHD 7.5 times 24 months which is BHD 180, CPR BHD 5 times 2 which is BHD 10, medical BHD 20. Total BHD 785.000.
Example 2: renewal, 2-year, no dependants. Work permit BHD 210, admin BHD 5, health care BHD 180, 2026 LMRA monthly fee BHD 180, CPR BHD 10, no medical. Total BHD 585.000, a saving of BHD 200 against the new issue.
Example 3: new, 2-year, one dependant. The single-worker BHD 785.000 plus the dependant residence permit at about BHD 30 per year times 2 years which is BHD 60. Total BHD 845.000. Remember the family file also has a sponsorship salary requirement that must be met first; see the GCC family sponsorship salary requirements.
Edge cases
Faster CPR processing tiers
The CPR smart card has tiered processing; the fastest same-day tiers cost more than the standard line used here. If you need the card urgently, budget above the BHD 5 per year figure. The calculator uses the standard tier.
Sector and category variations
Some categories of worker, free-zone arrangements and flexi-permit holders sit under a different fee structure that this calculator does not model. Domestic workers in particular fall under a separate LMRA regime with its own fees. Treat the total as the standard private-sector employee case.
Attestation of supporting documents
Degrees and other documents needed for the permit often require certificate attestation before they are accepted, which is a separate cost not in this calculator. See the certificate attestation guide for the GCC for what that adds.
Lapses and overstay
A lapsed permit triggers daily overstay charges that quickly exceed the renewal cost. For how Bahrain compares with the rest of the Gulf on overstay penalties, see the GCC overstay fines comparison.
Related calculators
The residence permit cost is one line in a connected Bahrain employment stack. These free tools handle the adjacent numbers:
- Bahrain end-of-service calculatorThe leaving-indemnity lump sum at separation.
- Bahrain leave salary calculatorAnnual-leave pay accrued during the permit period.
For how this Bahrain residence bill compares against the equivalent paperwork across the Gulf, see the GCC paperwork cost index, and for the wider country picture the Bahrain country guide and our residency and visa service cover the end-to-end handling.