Health Tourism Visa and New Committee Included in Shura Draft Law

Invoices, upfront quotes and a health tourism visa would be introduced for medical visitors under a Shura Council draft law that also creates a national committee to coordinate the sector and increases what hospitals must tell patients before they fly in.

The proposal, put forward by Shura members Dr Jameela Al Salman, Dr Jehad Al Fadhel, Dalal Al Zayed, Dr Ebtesam Al Dallal and Ali Al Aradi, would require health providers to publish and stick to declared prices, give patients itemised bills, and submit periodic reports to the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA), which would oversee compliance.

Health establishments seeking to agree treatment with a patient before arrival would have to send a written invitation explaining an estimated diagnosis and the documents relied upon, the proposed course of treatment, major risks linked to the treatment because of its nature or the patient’s circumstances, and an assessment of expected outcomes. The invitation would also need to include a detailed price quote for the proposed treatment, alongside an approximate estimate for extra treatments outside the original plan that may be needed.

The draft defines a health tourism visa as an entry permit allowing individuals to enter Bahrain to receive health services. It defines the service recipient as any person who enters the kingdom for that purpose.

Health tourism services are described in wide terms, covering examination, diagnosis and treatment, as well as nursing, healthcare, dietary programmes, accommodation and convalescence. The definition also covers related support such as first aid, medicines, lab work and radiology tests, and allows the Supreme Council of Health to specify other similar services by decision.

Alongside the pre-arrival invitation requirement, the draft would place duties on health establishments providing health tourism services. Providers would have to give accurate and clear information about services and costs, comply with NHRA quality and safety standards, and submit periodic reports to the regulator on services provided to patients coming to Bahrain for treatment. They would also have to stick to declared prices, avoid adding extra fees, and give each patient an itemised invoice explaining what was paid for the treatment. The text also requires cooperation with relevant government bodies if complaints are filed or breaches are alleged.

The proposal would also create a ‘Supreme Committee for Health Tourism’, formed by decision of the Prime Minister following a submission by the President of the Supreme Council of Health. The committee would include representatives from the Supreme Council of Health, the ministries of interior, foreign affairs, health and tourism, NHRA, the Royal Medical Services, the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), government hospitals and the private medical sector. A separate decision by the President of the Supreme Council of Health would define membership terms as well as the committee’s working rules and procedures.

Under the draft, the committee would be tasked with drawing up and carrying out a national plan for health tourism, including the strategy and general policy. It would also be responsible for running periodic promotion campaigns and opening communication channels between Bahrain and other countries, while building multilingual online platforms to help patients compare services and costs. Those platforms would include a list of providers and doctors’ profiles and qualifications, according to the text.

The committee would also be charged with reviewing laws in force related to health tourism and recommending amendments, helping ease procedures for obtaining a health tourism visa, and recommending agreements with countries that send health tourists. It would gather and analyse data and statistics on the sector, and establish service offices to receive complaints from patients and work to resolve them quickly.

The committee would meet when called by its chair, or its deputy in the chair’s absence, and meetings would require a majority of members to be present, including the chair or deputy chair, to be valid.

Oversight would sit with the NHRA, which the draft gives powers to inspect health establishments to check compliance with the law and any implementing rules. Inspectors delegated by the NHRA chief executive, from among NHRA staff or others, would be authorised to enter health establishments and related premises, seek access to files and records and obtain copies, and hear statements from employees who may be linked to an administrative investigation.

Where a breach is found, NHRA would be able to impose administrative measures without affecting any criminal or civil liability. The measures listed in the text are a written warning or restrictions and conditions on the health tourism services provided by the establishment.

The draft states that the President of the Supreme Council of Health would issue the decisions needed to implement the law, while the Prime Minister and relevant ministers would be responsible for carrying it out within their remit. It would take effect on the first day of the month after publication in the Official Gazette.

In an explanatory memorandum attached to the proposal, the sponsors cite constitutional provisions guaranteeing the right to healthcare and placing public health duties on the state, while allowing private hospitals and clinics under state supervision and in line with the law. The memorandum also refers to constitutional language on cooperation between public and private activity as a basis for economic development.

The memorandum says regulating health tourism would support sustainable development aims, diversify income sources and develop healthcare services, with a view to position Bahrain as a regional destination for treatment. It argues that medical travel brings together healthcare and tourism services, drawing visitors to the kingdom for treatment while supporting safe care in line with international standards.

It also links the proposal to government plans, citing Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 and the Tourism Sector Strategy 2022–2026, which it says includes medical tourism as part of efforts to widen tourism offerings and raise tourism’s contribution to GDP. The memorandum cites an estimate from Fortune Business Insights that the global health tourism market could reach $162.80 billion by 2032, and says more patients can also help build clinical skills through exposure to a wider range of cases.