MPs seek exit controls on indebted foreign investors and flexi-visa workers

TDT | Manama | Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Foreign investors and flexi-visa workers who leave Bahrain without paying their debts are in the sights of MPs pressing for stricter exit controls tied to outstanding financial obligations.

A group of MPs has lodged an urgent proposal calling on the government to impose extra conditions, within existing laws, on foreign investors, commercial registration holders and workers under the registered worker (flexi visa) scheme. Their aim is to stop permanent departure from the country before all dues are settled.

The proposal is backed by Khalid Buanaq, Mahmood Fardan, Zainab AbdulAmeer, Mohammed Al Ma’arafi and Hisham Al Awadhi. They say recent years have seen more foreign investors and workers leave Bahrain without paying what they owe to government bodies or private companies, which has led to a build-up of unpaid debts and, in their view, affected confidence in the investment climate and commercial dealings in the kingdom.

According to the MPs, small and medium-sized enterprises are the most exposed. Many such firms, they say, are left unable to recover what they are owed once debtors leave the country, which hits their cash flow and frustrates state efforts to back entrepreneurship and help these businesses grow.

They add that the ease of opening commercial registrations and working under the flexi-visa system, without firm checks before final exit, has allowed some people to take advantage of the rules and walk away from contractual duties. This, they argue, weakens the principle of the binding force of contracts and shakes trust in the local market.

The MPs also note that the unpaid sums cover a range of liabilities, including rent, bank finance, government fees and fines, leaving landlords, lenders and other parties unable to collect their money once the debtor has gone.

In their proposal, they say that introducing further controls within legal limits would reinforce enforcement measures, protect the rights of all sides and help maintain confidence in Bahrain’s commercial and labour environment, while curbing practices they believe damage the reputation of the local market.