Adopted: 03 July 2015
Date Filed: 04 September 2015
Work permits issued to expatriates, including Filipino workers will become null and void the moment the Industry and Commerce Ministry cancels employer ™s commercial registrations. The Bahrain Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LRMA) announced this new measure following a meeting with Industry and Commerce Ministry which will regulate the situation of commercial registers (CRs). A signing of MOU was also discussed which will ensure the private sectors' compliance with rules and regulations and protect the labor market and national economy. There will be inspection campaigns, e-networking, organization of issues and cancellation of CRs and work permits.

Under the new measure, the cancellation of commercial registers will lead to the automatic annulment of the work permits linked to it from the LRMA database, which will leave affected expatriate workers with no option but to leave Bahrain.

To date, the Industry and Commerce Ministry has cancelled 9,000 inactive commercial registrations.

According to the LRMA, expatriates who will be affected when their employers ™ commercial registrations are cancelled will have to immediately apply for mobility permit with LRMA which would be valid for one month. The mobility permit would qualify the foreign workers to look for employers where they can transfer locally. The affected workers may seek also assistance from the LRMA.

(SGD) HANS LEO J. CACDAC
Administrator