Three-Year Falcon Passports Launched
Falcon owners in Bahrain will be able to take their birds abroad on three-year passports under new rules covering 38 species and requiring identity checks, health papers and proof that each bird was lawfully acquired.
Decision No. 6 of 2026, issued by Supreme Council for Environment President Shaikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, creates a passport scheme for falcons travelling with their owners, or with someone given written authority, to countries that accept the document.
The passport will last three years and can be renewed for further three-year terms.
To qualify, the owner must be a Bahraini citizen or resident and the falcon must be lawfully acquired and registered with the council. Each bird must bear an identification ring, an electronic microchip under its skin, or both.
Owners must also produce a medical report from an approved veterinary hospital in Bahrain showing that the falcon is free from epidemic disease. The report cannot be older than 15 days when the application is filed.
The bird must then be taken to the council so its ring or microchip can be checked against its records. The required fee must also be paid.
The council department dealing with protected species has 30 days to decide a complete application. No reply within that period will count as a rejection.
The list attached to the decision covers 38 members of the Falconidae family, including peregrine, Barbary, gyrfalcon, saker, lanner, sooty and prairie falcons, along with several kestrels and hobbies.
Six species are placed under CITES Appendix I, while the Madagascar kestrel is listed under Appendices I/II. The remaining 31 species fall under Appendix II.
Passport details cannot be changed without another identity check. The falcon must be brought to the council, its ring or microchip checked and the service fee paid before a replacement passport carrying the new details is given.
A passport will be cancelled if the bird dies, escapes or is lost, or if it is moved out of Bahrain for good. It can also be cancelled at the owner’s written request.
False papers or information will also lead to cancellation, as will altering passport data, removing or tampering with an identification ring or microchip, or fitting a falcon with multiple identification devices.
If a falcon dies, its identification ring, where fitted, must be handed back. Owners must also surrender a cancelled passport and tell the council if the bird is lost, dies or is permanently moved abroad.
A microchip or ring can be removed for health reasons after the owner refers the matter to the council.
Anyone who breaks the rules faces the penalties laid down in Article 26 of Law No. 5 of 2021 on international trade in endangered wildlife and plants.
An applicant whose passport request is rejected can appeal to the council president within 30 days. The appeal must be decided within another 30 days, with silence treated as rejection. A further challenge can then be brought before the competent court within 60 days.
The decision takes effect the day after it is published in the Official Gazette.
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