Live in Bahrain n commute for work to Dammam.... Pls advice.

Hi Everyone,

I am from India working in Dammam , living with my family in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia since May 2015 . We got our children admission at IIS,D , however they are finding it difficult to adjust to the ways here , I have been thinking about ways for my family to move and go to live in Bahrain  (we often travel on weekends to Bahrain , which they liked comparatively ) . We have multiple re-entry/exit KSA Visa  for myself and family (renewable every 06 months ) .
Believe many Indian expats have family  living in Bahrain and for work travel daily to KSA via the causeway , Luckily my job doesn't require me to go to office every day ( I travel across GCC and many a times use work from home option too ) , and so daily travel across the causeway is not an issue .
Can the learned expat members help me with following questions ( might be repetitive , however having gone through several links here haven't quite been able to get all the answers at one place  )

1.Any suggestions , if now ( mid session ) admissions to a CBSE school is possible ( my Daughter is in 10th & Son in the 05th Standard presently )
2.Typical cost & formalities to get an apartment for my family (semi / unfurnished 2BHK house in a safe middle class area / compound which has Indian expats ) (Will 300-400BD  / Month be O.K  or suggest a range )
3. Bahrain residence permit
4. Bahrain multiple exit re-entry to allow me easy access to Saudi
5. Can anyone suggest a reliable  agent / agents' phone number I can contact & the typical cost for this + an idea about the time it takes .

I will appreciate your answers to help me take a decision as soon as possible.

Thanks in advance.

In Gratitude ,

Mayank
REPLY

Hi Mayank,

what i can answer you is this, if your family have a saudi Iqama, then you don't need a Bahraini Residency or even a multi exit reentry, because everytime you cross the causeway, bahrain will issue you a 2 week visa, so you will only need to get in and out of the island every 14 days, your family too.

Now the question remains, whether your kids will be admitted to school without a Bahraini CPR, this is something that you need to check with school.

As for housing, 400 BD should get you an apartment anywhere in Bahrain.

bear in mind that if you do pull off this plan and end up living in Bahrain, your entire family will need to revisit KSA every 14 days (if that's all the visit visa that Indians get - I'm not sure) and every time their multi-entry needs renewal. The first you can do with a u-turn on the Causeway, the latter you will probably need to stay at least one night in KSA depending on how good your HR guy is that does your renewals. Thankfully, the new residency permit does not need to be renewed in person but if you currently have iqamas (old style) you will also need to be there when these need renewing. That can take several days.

All these things have an impact on your family while they live in Bahrain and add stress to life there. So, it's something to consider.

Hello Mayank, If I would you I would research a bit deeper and make sure that nothing could go wrong even if that does mean that it delays your familys move to Bahrain for a few extra months. My advice for your questions are as follows:

1. Any suggestions , if now admissions to a CBSE school is possible?

Sorry I cant help you too much with this, all I know is there is an Indian based school in Al Riffa but I don't know what the waiting list is like for children to get in there. Might be worth calling a few schools and asking them what the procedure is like.


2.Typical cost & formalities to get an apartment for my family (semi / unfurnished 2BHK house in a safe middle class area / compound which has Indian expats ) (Will 300-400BD  / Month be O.K  or suggest a range )

300-400 should be plenty to find semi and unfurnished accommodation however it may be that you would get better quality if you went for an apartment rather than a house. Just keep your options open when looking as there are some bargains out there.


3. Bahrain residence permit

I'm not sure about this as my company sorted this out for me. But until you and your family have this your family would have to leave Bahrain every 14 days and then re-enter.


4. Bahrain multiple exit re-entry to allow me easy access to Saudi

I am not sure what the procedure is like for Indian expats but your place of work may be worth asking regarding this. From what I understand you would have to inform them of why you are entering Saudi and have proof that you work there (I may be wrong)


5. Can anyone suggest a reliable  agent / agents' phone number I can contact & the typical cost for this + an idea about the time it takes .

Most agents I know do not charge you to contact them, look at accommodation or charge you directly if you take up one of there apartments/houses. The amount you pay per month includes there charges and this can differ but its normally about 10%.