Expats Can Work for Second Employer for Three Months
Expat workers can now work for a second employer for up to three months without transferring their work permit, easing rules that had kept them tied to the permit holder.
The change also lets firms move foreign staff between businesses owned by the same employer or within the same group, even when they operate under different commercial registration numbers. Decision No. 2 of 2026 covers foreign workers outside the domestic worker category.
Under the old 2008 rules, a foreign worker could not work for another employer and was largely tied to the workplace named on the permit or branches carrying out the same activity.
A worker can now spend up to three months with another employer if the Labour Market Regulatory Authority agrees. The worker must give written consent and both employers must agree to the move.
The second business must usually have the same Bahrainisation rate as the business where the worker is registered, or a higher one.
If its rate is lower, the second employer must pay the fee required under LMRA rules. Both employers are jointly liable for the worker’s rights during the three months.
LMRA chief executive Nibras Talib said the three-month limit was meant to help firms meet short-term staff needs while keeping such work within the rules.
‘The three-month limit gives employers time to meet short-term staffing needs without the arrangement turning into unregulated work,’ he said.
The scheme is only for foreign workers who already hold valid permits and are in Bahrain. It does not let firms bring in workers from abroad under the scheme, and Bahrainisation rates stay unchanged. Workers moved between businesses under the same owner or group can only work in jobs covered by their permits.
An employer can also move a worker to another business it owns under a separate commercial registration, or to a company within the same group as recorded by the Industry and Commerce Ministry.
That business must have the same Bahrainisation rate as the one where the worker is registered, or a higher one.
MP Ahmed Al Salloom, chairman of Parliament’s Financial and Economic Affairs Committee said the move was in line with an idea he had earlier proposed to give employers greater freedom to move expat workers between businesses.
‘The three-month option gives businesses a way to meet short-term staff needs without resorting to unregulated work,’ Mr Al Salloom said.
He said the same-owner and group rule would also help when one business needs workers while another has staff available.
LMRA will record each three-month placement and inform the worker and both employers once it is registered.
The rules also give employers greater freedom over where staff work. Instead of being confined to the workplace named on the permit or same-activity branches, a worker can carry out the permitted job at a workplace chosen by the employer.
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