A mobile enrolment programme to register all expatriates in the private sector with the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) will begin next week.

LMRA officials will visit major private companies to take the photographs, electronic signatures, fingerprints and other data of expatriate workers using mobile equipment, LMRA chief executive Ali Radhi was quoted as saying by Gulf Daily News.

The process started with the registration of expatriates working with the government, he said.

"We plan to move into the private sector starting next week," said Radhi. "Besides basic data, our staff will collect the expatriate workers' mobile telephone number as well as their email address."

"This is to alert them via SMS or e-mail if there is any problem with their work visas."

The project will help the LMRA to update the data of expatriate workers available with them, said Radhi.

"It will also help the workers to identify themselves - about their legal status, their sponsors and other details," he added.

"There have been several cases where even the concerned embassies were not able to establish the identity, including the nationality of some people approaching them for help. The mobile enrolment will help correct this situation."

Radhi said about 30 LMRA staff would be deployed for the mobile enrolment project.

"Besides visiting the premises of major employers, they will also meet the staff of smaller establishments in malls and other public places," he added.

"The workers may also be allowed to register at the LMRA counters according to a fixed schedule. This will be done at a later stage. We want to complete the whole exercise before December 31 when the general amnesty would come to an end."

Radhi appealed to all expatriate workers and their employers to co-operate with the project.

The project will be carried out simultaneously with the programme for cleansing the data of employers.

Under the programme, employers and authorised personnel can visit the LMRA office in Sanabis, where they can register and "clean" their data.

Once registered, companies will be able to go to the LMRA's website (www.lmra.bh) and access their employees' details using the user number and password that has been issued to them by the authority.

"They will then be able to check whether the information registered with the LMRA is accurate and if it is wrong, can correct it online."

"We will collect fees, starting January next year, based on the expatriates registered with the company."

The LMRA will first target hotels and companies employing more than 100 foreign workers, next come the financial and insurance sectors and all companies employing more than 50 foreign workers, followed by the retail sector and companies employing more than 20 foreign workers.

Next in line will be the construction sector and companies employing more than 10 expatriate workers and lastly, all companies that employ foreign workers will be obliged to register and cleanse their employees' data.

By the end of the year all companies that employ expatriates must be registered and data cleansed with the LMRA, otherwise they will not be issued with work visas, noted Radhi.

The employees will be able to check if their details are correct by visiting the LMRA's website (www.lmra.bh), going to the E-Services section and entering their CPR number.

"An average 500 to 1,000 people visit the LMRA website daily, said Radhi. – TradeArabia News Service