Visa requirements for entering Bahrain vary depending on nationalities and therefore, it is always advised to check regulations before traveling. At present, every nationality entering Bahrain require a visa, except citizens of other GCC countries and visitors who have been residing in the GCC for a minimum of six months, and those possessing a return visa for the country of GCC residency.

Citizens of the European Community, Australia, Canada, USA, Japan, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, and South Korea can gain visa on arrival. All visas require a fee for initial grant, and then for subsequent extensions.

For all other nationalities, visa need to be applied before entering the country through their respective embassy, or Bahraini sponsor or a travel agent or local hotel.

Visas for Kingdom of Bahrain could be classified based on several different characteristics such as the purpose of visit, sponsorship requirement, eVisa, multiple or single entry visa and place of issue.

Purpose: The possible reasons for requiring a visa to Bahrain could be business visit, work related visit, general tourism, or family visit.

Sponsorship: Almost all visas for Bahrain need sponsorship. Un-sponsored visa exist, buy only for certain nationality groups and for certain purposes.

Standard or eVisa: Some visas are ‘standard’ as they are visible in the passport as a stamp or label. The term ‘eVisa’ is used to refer to a visa where, there is no visibility in a stamp or label. Such a visa is called electronic visa (eVisa). The visa will be valid the moment one enters Bahrain border.

For instance Visit eVisa is an electronic visa, which could be obtained from the site www.evisa.gov.bh.

Multiple/Single entry visas: This is based on the number of visits made. Most visas are single entry visas, but multiple entry visas are also used for certain nationality groups.

Place of issue: Few visas are available on arrival in Bahrain, while others need to be pre-arranged through a sponsor or an embassy.