Bahrain has opened the door for foreign workers to take on short-term assignments with a second employer for up to 90 days, in a move designed to give companies more room to manage temporary staffing gaps without bringing in new recruits from overseas. The change, introduced by the Labour Market Regulatory Authority, marks a notable shift from the previous framework, under which such temporary arrangements with another employer were not allowed.
According to the authority’s announcement, the arrangement is tightly controlled. A worker must keep a valid permit throughout the assignment, and the existing employer, the second employer and the employee all have to agree. The application is submitted through the LMRA’s Expat Management System, and the temporary deployment must be properly recorded in the regulator’s records. Industry summaries of the change also say the policy was issued on 22 September and publicly announced on 28 September, with immigration advisers later flagging the practical implications for employers.
The LMRA says the reform is intended to strike a balance between economic flexibility and Bahrain’s wider labour policy, which continues to prioritise nationals in the local jobs market. Nibras Talib, the authority’s chief executive, said in the LMRA’s September statement that documenting temporary assignments would improve oversight, discourage irregular employment and provide greater protection for all parties. The authority has also said the new system is meant to prevent short-term deployments from drifting into unregulated work.
The rules do not only cover workers moving between unrelated employers. They also allow an employer to assign a foreign worker to another establishment owned by the same business or linked to the same corporate group, provided separate conditions are met. In those cases, the other establishment must be properly registered and must satisfy Bahrainisation requirements. That requirement reflects the government’s continuing effort to ensure that reforms aimed at business flexibility do not weaken its labour-nationalisation policy.
The change has been welcomed by the Bahrain Chamber, which said the measure would better align the labour market with private-sector needs. Chairman Nabeel Kanoo said in a statement on 27 September that the added flexibility should help companies respond more effectively to operational demands and make better use of workers already in Bahrain, reducing the need for new recruitment procedures where existing staff can fill short-term gaps.
For employers, the reform creates a lawful route to cover seasonal surges, project work or other temporary pressures without immediately transferring a permit or starting a fresh overseas hiring process. For expatriates, it offers a chance to take on additional work for a limited period, but only within the conditions approved by the regulator. The change is therefore more of a controlled flexibility measure than a free transfer system, and it appears designed to give businesses breathing space while keeping the labour market closely monitored.