Getting a causeway book for travel via the Saudi - Bahrain causeway

Thank you for sharing the info!  you're

Thanks this is very useful.

Does this mean I can cross the causeway without my passport?

I need to apply for a UK visa but my passport need to go to their embassy. As I work in Dammam and live in Manama I dont know how I will be able to do this.

Nooooooo! 

You absolutely must have your passport with you unless you are a national of a GCC country e.g. Saudis visiting Bahrain.

It saves you having your passport stamped all the time - they stamp your book instead. You still need your passport.

Thanks for the post - very useful  info

@ subarbansam > This topic is now a sticky one.

wow... I feel privileged. Thank you very much! 

Josnuggles wrote:

It saves you having your passport stamped all the time - they stamp your book instead. You still need your passport.

yes, thanks for adding that.

And a little tip: just because you give them the book, it doesn't mean they will stamp it instead of your passport. To help them be more motivated, many of us commuters put the book inside our passport and use a rubber band around the spine to keep the book in place.

suburbansam wrote:

wow... I feel privileged. Thank you very much! 

Lol, I asked for it to be a sticky as so many people ask for just the information you provided. 

The Multiple visa is that one issued at the airport for 3 months or 5 years issued by Bahrain immigration?

The 5 year visa is issued upstairs in the General Directorate of Nationality, Passport and Residence building. You can't get it at the airport, and you need to get it through a visa agent.

Your employer in Saudi should also be able to help.
I asked my Government Representative office in my company about the Causeway book and they arranged everything for me after providing the necessary copies of passport, visa and iqama and a photo.

I have a residency in Saudi. To avoid all that hassle I just go to a travel agent (al-fifa), pay them a minimal amount for their services and get the book a week later. Save me the hassle.

@suburbansam
Would you know the process for getting the toll gate card? I have been a daily commuter for past 3 years and yet to get the e-pass for toll gates.

yes I've got one of those. That's a separate thread though...

suburbansam wrote:

yes I've got one of those. That's a separate thread though...

Could you plesae post the thread handler.

I just wrote it...

Here

a useful update to this thread!!!
You can get the same thing done at the bahrain passport office on the bridge itself instead of driving into the city and trying to find parking etc.
Good luck.

Million thanks! I followed your instructions and got a booklet for causeway

suburbansam wrote:

You're not supposed to get a new book until the old one is full. But they didn't ask me if I already had a book and when I told them I did, they told me that I couldn't use the old one but should throw it away. When I told them that there were still a few pages left in it and that I rarely get a weekday off so came to get a new book, I was told that I could continue using the old one until it was finished and then switch to the new one. In other words, with no expiry date and no real investigation into your old book, you can have two on the go at once.

I should post a follow-up to this. I recently got a new book. However, the official with an inferiority complex in the little office wouldn't allow me to get it done there because I had one empty page in the book. All arguments were ignored.

I had to drive out to the Causeway where the guy I was looking for wasn't in the office. They said to "come tomorrow" which I couldn't do. I was however very impressed with the response of all the others there when I explained that I can't come during weekdays usually. They took a copy of my old book, my passport and I gave them my passport photo. They said that the guy would issue a new book for me and I could pick it up at my leisure. True enough, a few days later, I called in on my way home one day and the new book was behind the desk waiting for me.

So, you might find the Causeway officials more helpful than the ones in Manama. The office you need for this is the regular one on the ground floor of the building in the middle of the Causeway where you can get your passport stamped.

As per my understanding ,if you have Saudi Iqama, the book for causeway should be obtained from Saudi passport office  .There is another book for Bahrain CPR holders from Passport office in Bahrain please correct me if I am wrong

If you have a 5-year multi-entry for Bahrain (as mentioned in my first post) you are eligible to get it either way. From what I've heard, getting one on the Bahraini side is easier than from the Saudi side just in terms of the red-tape involved. That might not be true in actual fact though.

The book you end up with in Bahrain is the same for both full CPR holders and Saudi iqama holders with multi-entry visas in any case.

What if I'm having a CPR of Bahrain and multiple visit visa of Saudi? What is the procedure to travel daily through Causeway?

Your question is not clear.  You can travel daily through causeway.  No issue.  Pay the toll and wait in  the queue.

For the causeway book, the procedure is given above and you have to get it from the Bahrain side.

Ok. thank you so much for your reply

Do you have any comment on this : https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 03#4157353

They ask residence proof in Bahrain or no need anything

You will fill out a form with the details on it.  They usually don't bother to talk to you much!

But before you do all this hassle, just keep in mind two things:

1) Saudi has stopped stamping passports since a long time now.  Except when the guy is mad at you for some reason    In the 100 or so trips I have done over the last year, not one stamp from Saudi
2) Bahrain seems to have stopped stamping the passport as well since the last two weeks - at least that was my experience on the last two round trips. Let's see how long that lasts

Lastly, even if you get the causeway book, if they are in a bad mood, they will still stamp your passport

My husband (having Saudi Iqama only) wanted to get a new Causeway Booklet for stamping. He found out today that they have stopped issuing it on the Causeway.

We checked with the NPRA in Bahrain they said we have to compulsorily get a 6 month multiple entry visa and then they will issue the Causeway Booklet.

Is there a change in the rules? or a work around this?

Rules keep changing and generally there is no work around unless you know people.  As I said before, causeway book is not that big a deal now as Saudi immigration doesn't stamp your passport and Bahrain immigration still stamps wherever they please.

For the tt

Stamping of passports is back, most of the time. Since the introduction of female immigration officers on the Saudi side, they all stamp passports. I would say that Bahrain immigration stamp about 50% of the time. I usually travel from Bh to KSA at about 3 or 4 pm (I teach an evening degree program) and return from KSA at about 11pm. Interestingly, the Saudi side at night tends to have mostly female officers.
I am going to the Saudi passport office in Dammam early one morning sometime soon, and will report back on how easy or not it is to get a Saudi booklet.
I have a Saudi Iqama and work in KSA but live in Bahrain, without a CPR.

Yes, the female officers are here and are very particular about stamping .

The problem is that even with the causeway book, the officers on both sides will still stamp the passports most times and ignore the causeway book.

Well, just shows how out of touch I am - went to Dammam passport office this morning and discovered that the Saudi causeway book was discontinued 4 years ago!!!
However, when I went to our Gov Relations dept just now, he said he could get me one for 500 riyals.

I still have an old one from 6 years ago, and am sticking that one inside my passport when I cross. At least so far it has discouraged more stamping.

Hi.. i have 2 years multiple entry Saudi business visa and 1 year multiple entry Bahrain visit visa. i do have valid employment visa from UAE. pages in my passport is almost exhausted. can i able to get causeway booklet to travel Saudi - Bahrain by car daily?

Don't think so. You need to have residence in either Bahrain or Saudi for that.

Thanks. I need to know how feasible it is to travel daily with both countries multiple entry business / visit visa's? Are they stamping passport everytime nowadays or just doing entry on their system?

Nowadays it's bad.

Bahrain officers usually stamp both in and out even on residence visa holders. So for visit definitely.

And Saudi, has started the stamping with the ladies coming onto the counters.  They stamp my passport as a Saudi iqama and Bahrain residence visa holder 🙄

Noted. I need to confirm that is it legal to travel daily with having both country multiple entry visa's without IQAMA and CPR