I've read many posts on this topic and I've also gotten some useful feedback from people I've checked with; however, I am very confused.
I've been offered a job in Bahrain. My future employer told me to just come in on the visit visa upon arrival and they will sort everything out once we are there. I am not convinced that this is the right way though. I admit that I am ignorant on the topic though. In my confusion it seems that that while not the proper way to do it, this way might actually be possible too.
We can only get visas upon arrival for a 2-week stay. I've read that these can be extended while in Bahrain, but only for 2 more weeks. And it is still just a visit visa. I would not legally be allowed to work under this visa and we would also need to have a confirmed flights out of Bahrain too.
I'm a bit uncomfortable with all of this. Even if I just relax and trust that the company will take care of everything, then we have some planning issues that we can't take care of without knowing more. For example, even if entering on a visit visa and they can process things once we're there, can I leave Bahrain before they are or done or would this screw things up? Would we be required to leave Bahrain once my work visa was issued and return on it? And what about my family? Can they really come with me if doing the visa this way or would they have to wait until all is settled with me before they could come?
Furthermore, what about medicals? It seems that for a work permit the process clearly says medicals have to be done in your country of origin prior to arrival. Would I just have the medical done before departing for Bahrain and hold onto the papers for some point after I've arrived and the company needs them? And what if the country I reside in is not my country of origin (i.e. not the country of my passport)?
So many questions! So much confusion!
Visa Confusion
Hi
Are you working in Saudi or Bahrain? Medicals for Bahrain employee's can usually be done here.
You can come in on a visit visa BUT BE PREPARED TO LIE.
You must have a return flight - even if your country let you fly without this then you must still put one on your disembarkation card at customs here (look one up on the internet for 2 weeks time)
DO NOT SAY YOU ARE WORKING - It is illegal on a visit visa.
You can say you are a consultant in your home country and you are coming here for business or you can say you are flying in for a job interview and mixing it with a vacation.
You will also need to give an address in Bahrain of where you are going to be staying.
You can fly out once you are on a visit visa, but if your new company need your passport to process your work visa you will obviously be stuck here, but they only need it for 1 or 2 days.
Once your work visa is issued you don't have to fly out and back in again (that's only for first time Saudi visa's)
Personally I would leave your family where they are until you are sorted. It only takes a couple of days max to sort it out.
I would speak to your new employer and stress your concerns
It is not unheard of companies doing the visa process after their employees arrive in Bahrain, but this is not the way it should be done. If you don't want to put the name of your company on the forum for obvious reasons, send me a PM and I'll see if I know anyone in my network who works for the same company or if they know anyone who does.
Health checks need to be done before your arrival, again this is the proper way but I am hearing more and more expats coming here and somehow managing to get their CPRs without doing the health checks. It all depends on your company's reputation and the people they know to get things done.
They should not keep your passport for issuing your visa. They don't need to hold it. Once the visa is issued, they only need to keep for a day or two. For the rest of the time, you should keep your passport.
You should not have to leave Bahrain once you get your work permit.
I agree with Jo, don't bring your family here for a few weeks, just in case.
While I agree that the right procedure should be that of getting a working visa before moving to Bahrain, I should say that we also came on a visitor visa to speed things up. In fact, my husband got his working visa within 3 days of moving here. We weren't asked the reason of our visit in Bahrain and we had to provide a hotel address. Of course, if asked you might say that you are checking out the place before thinking of moving if you already had an interview with your employer.
Before getting my resident visa I had to return in Europe and came back again again on a tourist visa: I didn't have a return ticket and left blank this section in the landing card. I was perfectly fine and got my resident visa within few days. Of course, everyone's experience is different, but this is what happened to us. Hope this helps.
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