Visa requirements for Bahraini citizens

Bahraini citizens need a Schengen visa, which covers all member states for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

Of the 198 countries whose entry rules are known in both directions, Bahrain and 20 of them let each other’s citizens in without a visa obtained in advance (visa-free, on arrival or with an ETA; an e-visa counts as a visa).

51 countries ask holders of the Bahraini passport for a visa beforehand, although their own citizens enter Bahrain without one: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium and 46 others.

The reverse holds for 66 countries: holders of the Bahraini passport get in without a visa obtained in advance, but their citizens need one for Bahrain (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados and 61 others).

79 countries ask holders of the Bahraini passport for a visa obtained before travel from an embassy, a consulate or a visa centre. 6 of them have an embassy or consulate on record in Bahrain.

73 countries have no embassy or career consulate on record in Bahrain, so the application usually goes to one of their posts in another country. Counting the post an official diplomatic list names for Bahrain, or else the nearest one within 2,000 km, those posts are most often in Saudi Arabia (8), Qatar (7), the United Arab Emirates (6) and Israel (3).

The United States refused 24% of visitor-visa (B1/B2) applications from citizens of Bahrain in fiscal year 2025, by the State Department’s adjusted refusal rate. 80 of the 197 nationalities with a published rate had a lower one and 116 a higher one; the middle value was 32%.

Schengen consulates in Bahrain refused 11% of short-stay visa applications in 2025 (all Schengen consulates worldwide: 15%). Among the 74 countries where they received at least 10,000 applications, that is the 51st highest rate. The figure counts every nationality applying there, not only citizens.

Visa-free travel with the Bahraini passport

By continent, the Bahraini passport is visa-free in 25 countries in Asia, 11 countries in the Americas, 7 countries in Africa, 5 countries in Europe and 2 countries in Oceania. The longest visa-free stays for Bahraini citizens are allowed in Georgia (360 days), Armenia (180 days), Egypt (180 days), Lebanon (180 days), El Salvador (180 days) and Vanuatu (120 days).

Visa on arrival

Bahraini citizens can get a visa at the airport or land border of Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, the Comoros and 24 others.

E-Visa and electronic travel authorisation

An e-Visa, applied for online before the trip, is how Bahraini citizens enter Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso and 26 others. Ivory Coast, Kenya, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname and the United Kingdom ask instead for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), a lighter online check than a visa.

How the passport compares

Of the 198 passports in the data, 5 can enter visa-free, 66 get a visa on arrival, 126 need an e-Visa and 1 need a visa from an embassy or consulate for Bahrain.