How to set up your own company in Bahrain

Another question please, If I was an owner for a company in Bahrain,

what will be the easiest way to enter KSA through? Is to have a residency better or other ways?

and what about the cost?

You need an NOC from your employer stating that they have no objection to you setting up or being a partner in a company. Without it, MOIC will not approve your application. As long as you are on the visa of any other company or entity in Bahrain, you need this document.

In addition, government entities have different rules which you need to check with your HR.

For KSA, read the thread. As a Bahrain resident, you still need a visa and we have had discussions on the topic and costs in the beginning of the thread.

Many thanks I read it again and found the required info

"Depends on the time of the visa.  A 2 year, if I am not mistaken, is 800 to a 1000 BD.  A 6 month is cheaper but around 300-400 BD I think.  They raised the fees two years ago.  Not sure of the exact fees now but check VFS site or call them."

Sorry my brother and thanks again

In case of unexpected termination of the employment contract, do banks in Bahrain drop off the remaining period of the personal loans if the remaining is 12 months or less?

Unrelated question to the thread. But no, why would they?  You can approach them to renegotiate a payment plan but thats pretty much it.  They don't drop anything - if you stop paying, they will start recovery proceedings and you could have a travel ban on you which will stop you from leaving Bahrain.

U r amazing 😊

I heard that I need medical insurance if I want to set up an SPC and I'm over 60.  Is this true?  I cab't find anything about this on the Government Website.

It's not for setting up company.  That would be the payment of 144 BD at the time of the visas.

This is a very informative post. Thanks for all the information. I don't know this thread is still valid or not.
I am working in Saudi and exploring ways to get my family live in Bahrain. Recently an agent offered 1,000BD route. Based on that I was wondering about the other requirements you mentioned like bank account etc. Will that be taken care by the agent or we have to do it personally. Thanks in advance.

The thread is still valid.

The only benefit of using an agent is that you have someone who coordinates for you and tells you what to do.  But practically, you have to do a lot of things yourself.

You will need to go twice to MOIC (initial POA and then articles), once to LMRA (to register company) and at least once to the bank to open the account.

Thanks, XTang for your valid input as usual.

Hi XTang. My employer cancelled my work visa on 28th January 2019. I am now trying to set up a WLL after the visa has been cancelled. Do I need a No Objection Letter from my ex-employer? I didn't think I needed one since they cancelled my visa but for some reason Sijilat is asking me for one in order to set up my WLL. Your reply would be greatly appreciated.

This is linked to the information on your CPR which is what MOIC checks against.  If your CPR information has your sponsor as your employer; NOC will be needed.  The only other way is to update your CPR but you cannot do that now as you don't have a visa.

I had a friend who resigned from his job and went to Saudi.  He then came back on a dependent visa from his wife who was an investor in a company.  He then wanted to add himself as an investor to that same company but MOIC asked for NOC as his CPR data was linked to the previous employer.  He then updated his CPR, got an NOC from his wife and reapplied.

Hi Marlie007,

1.Please check your visa status in

https://lmra.bh/portal/en/express_services
If your visa has been cancelled,you have one moth grace period to stay in bahrain.You can extend it for two times for the duration of one month.So,you have three months grace period from visa cancellation date.I hope you have your passport with you.

2. In the process of setting up new WLL, LMRA  asks No Objection Letter from your ex-employer,if your visa is already cancelled and you are in grace period.If you do not have NOC from your ex-employer,a bahraini should give introduction letter to LMRA for you.The catch is parents of that bahraini  should be bahraini by birth.

3.Most of the banks will ask you valid visa,when you try to open company account for your new WLL.You have to explain that you are in grace period and in the process of starting new WLL.Unfortunately,Most of the banks do not accept this valid point.

If you are able to find 1)a bank to open  account for your WLL, 2) NOC from your previous employer (or) a Bahraini(parents of this Bahraini should be bahraini by birth) introducing you to LMRA,then you can skip exit from Bahrain.Otherwise you exit from bahrain and come to Bahrain in visit visa to setup wll as per advice of Xtang.

I currently have a paper CPR, can I still apply for a ekey or do I need to hire a lawyer/consultant?

As far as I know, you can't. You may be able to get standard ekey but advanced ekey requires biometric verification in person and they don't do biometrics for paper cpr holders as far as I know.

Thanks.

Can you recommend a consultant that can assist in setting up a SPC?

I have lost touch with the one I used.  But pretty much any consultant is the same as another.  Maybe other people can recommend some.

kumarmanama wrote:

Hi Marlie007,
If you are able to find 1)a bank to open  account for your WLL, 2) NOC from your previous employer (or) a Bahraini(parents of this Bahraini should be bahraini by birth) introducing you to LMRA,then you can skip exit from Bahrain.Otherwise you exit from bahrain and come to Bahrain in visit visa to setup wll as per advice of Xtang.

Yep. Keep in mind that the trickiest part is the bank.  You will really have to make an effort there.

On point 2, I would suggest to get the NOC as that is the easiest route.  The letter of introduction from Bahraini is a complex affair some times and while it works for LMRA at times, MOIC still persists in asking for NOC through Sijilat.  These are two separate entities.  MOIC process is at the very beginning whereas LMRA is at the very end.

Hi Xtang,

Thanks for your inputs.


Hi Marlie007,

Please proceed as per XTang advice.He is expert and very experienced person.

Hi Xtang,

1.Are there any advantages having investor visa in Bahrain apart from setting up WLL or SPC ?.Can a person having investor visa in bahrain travel to other GCC countries without visa?.

2. Please let me know initial work permit ceiling for WLL having following three activities
A)construction of buildings B)General cleaning of buildings C)Building completion,finishing and decor.

Yes you can travel to Oman and Kuwait and get visa on arrival. For Saudi you still need to apply for visa but the profession makes it easier to get one. UAE also requires all gcc residents to apply for an evisa in advance.

So basically an investor visa offers no advantage in travel over, say, a managerial profession work visa.

Hi XTang,

Thanks for your immediate reply.

Please let me know initial work permits ceiling for WLL having following three activities
A)construction of buildings B)General cleaning of buildings C)Building completion,finishing and decor.

I will look into it later but generally speaking, for companies into contracting works like construction and maintenance, the ceiling is 10. My guess is that if you put these three activities, you will get 10 permits to start with. With workload applications you can raise it.

But be warned and ready for high level of inspections from lmra and moic as these are the exact activities used by people to do the whole free visa / sale of work permit violations. So they scrutinise this very closely.

Hi XTang,

Thanks a lot for your detailed reply.

Hi Xtang & Kumarmanama,
Many thanks for your guidance. It has been very helpful.

A quick question guys. My ex-employer is asking for the name of the new company in order to provide the NOC. Is this normal? I am trying to avoid letting them know that I am setting up my own WLL as it will be in competition with their business.

Is there anyway around this?

Hi Marlie007,

Please request your ex-employer to provide  NOC  without mentioning WLL name.

Please have a look  https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=780733
In this link,Haseeb91 has given NOC format as below.

****
Ask Your company to make one letter where they will put all kind of conditions, like i asked my company incase anybody ask you why  you want all conditions, Tell them incase i don't find a job so i have all the possibilities

"We have no objection that mr X can join any company in or outside Bahrain.

Mr X can join a company and participate in it, become a shareholder, a partner or the owner.

This letter done to assert that right
****

Can someone explain which activity code would I use for a WLL providing VAT/Tax consultancy as I got this message from the MOIC:

Required business activity (accounting activities, bookkeeping and auditing activities, tax consultancy - audit firms) is not allowed to register at WLL.

Depends on what you want to do.  There are three activities for code 692.  The description is the same but the distinction is that these are split between audit firms, accounting firms and accounting consultancy.

Audit firms are NOT easy to register and some conditions must be fulfilled e.g.

Audit firms shall be licensed to open pursuant to the following conditions:

An application for a licence shall fulfil the conditions set forth in Article (2) of Legislative Decree No. 26 of 1996 with res​pect to auditors.
A period of five years shall have elapsed from the date of registration in the Auditors' Register at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism and the auditor shall have practised or their own account as an auditor at any licensed audit firm.
In case the applicant is not registered on the Auditors' Register for five years, they should be a member of an internationally recognised society of chartered accountants that are determined by an order of the Minister No. 58 for 2014 and shall have 12 years' experience in the audit field inside or outside Bahrain

Plus, you can only open these as:

Individual Establishment
Specialised Partnership
Foreign Branch​​

Choose accounting consultancy and try again.  Because even if you open this as a specialized partnership, the application will be rejected at later stage if you don't fulfill the conditions listed above.

kumarmanama wrote:

Hi Xtang,
2. Please let me know initial work permit ceiling for WLL having following three activities
A)construction of buildings B)General cleaning of buildings C)Building completion,finishing and decor.

I looked into it and the permits allowed are 10.

Check this:  http://lmra.bh/portal/files/cms/downloa … nglish.pdf

This is basically a calculator for Bahrainization by activity, however, on the far right, they also list the permit ceiling for each activity.

Many Thanks.

Hi XTang,

Thanks a lot.

HI XTang,

went through the Bahrainisation_Table_English.pdf.

Max visas allowed for following each activity is 10.  A)construction of buildings B)General cleaning of buildings C)Building completion,finishing and decor.

Can a WLL having these three activities provide totally 30 visas(10+10+10)  without submitting a request for a ceiling increase through LMRA EMS system ?

That is the tricky bit.   It used to be that you would get the 30 visas.  Nowadays, I am not so sure with the increased level of inspections and other issues.  Check in your EMS system - does it show the permit level?   check in the Update Unit/CR info (only responsible person can see this option) and it should show you as part of the Bahrainization calculator.  If it doesn't, then first ask e-support through raising a ticket.

Hello All,
Any help with document clearing agent to begin process for setting up SPC in Management Consultacy. I am on eVisa currently and obviously doesn't hold any CPR, trying to understand from what point the process should begin.

As per Xtang post:
It can begin with point#3, Registering company and login with E-key (if I am doing it myself). But how to get E-key?

There is ambiguity after speaking to few agents about opening of bank account. Is it Mandatory to submit previous 3months statement(for new Investor without CPR) and currently on eVisa.

What is minimal required amount to be deposited?

Unrelated query:  what is the exact fee for Saudi business visa for a Bahrian investor. Nationality Indian.

I found on Tasheel website as 117bd. Is it correct for 2year multiple exit re-entry visa. Has anyone applied it recently and what time it usually takes to get it after submission. Are there any other costs?

Thanks in advance.

I finally got the CR approved without Licence. Does anyone have a link for a standard MOA and Board Resolution?

Another area of confusion that I need help with. I have a CR w/o licence for a partnership company. Me and my partner both have 50% share each. While applying for the licence I was asked for Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO). I put my name in but it would not accept it. Can someone explain this to me?