Bahrain business visa for meetings and short business trips

The business option is meant for visitors attending meetings or similar short business engagements with Bahraini partners. In the eVisa eligibility form it is selected as "General Visit" with the detail "Business Meeting". The conditions shown after the eligibility check set out the stay and the supporting documents for your nationality.

This visa is distinct from the separate "Investment" purpose in the same form, which is for people setting up a business and requires a commercial registration pre-approval. It is also not a work permit.

Nationals of countries on the online list apply on their own. For others, a Bahraini organisation can act as guarantor. Companies with a Bahraini commercial registration may register on the eVisa portal and, according to NPRA, apply for visas for business clients and visitors with reduced documentation, through up to five user accounts.

The guarantor's own registration requires a printed application, an authorisation letter addressed to NPRA, a copy of the valid commercial registration and the user's ID card reader printout, stamped by the organisation. The registered user must be an employee of that organisation, not a clearing agent.

A visit visa can be extended after arrival. NPRA accepts extension requests at its main office on Exhibitions Avenue in Manama (Building One, ground floor) and at the Ministry of Interior service centre in Muharraq (Building 378, Sheikh Hamad Street, Complex 211). The eVisa portal also links to an online extension service on the Bahrain.bh government portal.

An extension fee is charged. The portal does not publish the amount or the maximum length of an extension, so check the conditions of your visa type and apply before your permitted stay ends.

NPRA does not refund the processing fee when an application is refused, and holding a visa does not guarantee entry: if an immigration officer refuses you at the border, no part of the fee is returned. After a refusal you may submit a new application; the refusal email tells you whether to contact NPRA or a Bahraini embassy.

Submitted applications cannot be edited. If NPRA finds wrong data or a missing attachment, it emails you, and you must open "Visa Data Correction" and fix only those items within 7 days of the notice, otherwise the application is cancelled. For any other mistake you have to request cancellation from the email address used in the application, quoting the visa reference number, and then apply again.

NPRA directs journalists covering an event in Bahrain to the Information Affairs Authority (iaa.bh) rather than the general business visa. Visitors coming for NGO or charity work are referred to the Ministry of Labour and Social Development, which handles the visa application through its own department.