Bahraini citizens may soon travel to Europe sans visas

Bahraini citizens may soon receive visa waiver for travelling to European countries amidst the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stepping up the campaign. Following a proposal by the House, the ministry has been putting in full efforts to secure a visa waiver for its citizens from the part of European Union.

It is learnt that the ministry would be successful in securing on-arrival visas for Bahrainis when they land in the EU or to have the citizens exempted from pre-entry visas to European countries. This came as a group of MPs held a key meeting with the ministry officials. Lawmaker Mohammed Al Buainain revealed that the ministry is in its best attempts to achieve the goal. He added that the Foreign Ministry would discuss with the Interior Ministry over converting Bahraini passports to electronic ones that fall into EU requirements.

Recently, the Foreign Minister also confirmed that it has been trying to obtain visa waiver from the European Union. The ministry jumped into action following a call made by the House of Representatives speaker. Fawzia Zainal had urged the Foreign Ministry to push for relaxed visa rules including visa on arrival for Bahrainis travelling to Europe. The proposal aimed to add to the convenience of Bahraini travellers by saving time.

Ms Zainal pointed out that Bahrain has already provided European citizens with relaxed visa rules including visa on arrival facility. Currently, the vast majority of countries across Europe require prior visa for Bahrainis. Only a handful of European countries such as Ukraine, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia and Georgia offer visa on arrival to Bahrainis. Meanwhile, Albania has announced that Bahrainis can travel to Albania without having to obtain a visa in advance this summer. Bahrain is one of the eight countries to which Albania has informed that they are lifting the visa regime.

The announcement was made by the Albanian Foreign Ministry. In a statement, the ministry elaborated that the change will only be applied for a few months. The ministry stated that this is a decision taken by the Albanian Council of Ministers on February 27. This allows the citizens of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Qatar, Oman, Thailand and Bahrain to enter Albania by using only their passports.  

“The decision allowing citizens of Russia, Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Qatar, Oman, Thailand and Bahrain to enter Albania without needing a visa will be in force from April 1 to October 31 in 2019, whereas for the citizens of the People’s Republic of China, it is valid from March 1 to October 31 of this year,” said a statement issued by the Albanian government.