Businessmen entering Bahrain from Saudi Arabia via the King Fahad Causeway can get free business visas, a top government official has announced.

Nationality, Passport and Residence Authority (NPRA) Visa and Residence Permit director Shaikh Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa said that the regulation had been in place since April.

He was addressing businessmen at the second open meeting of the Bahrain Asian Traders Committee (BATC) at the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) in Sanabis, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

BATC chairman Mohammed Sajid said this was the first time in the GCC such a facility was extended to businessmen.

“As we learn from Shaikh Abdulla, anyone living in Saudi Arabia, who holds a managerial position, can enter Bahrain without any fees,” he told the GDN.

Shaikh Abdulla also said the NPRA was supporting traders and investors keen to do business in Bahrain.

“Anyone with a business visa to any GCC country can get an online visa to Bahrain and doesn't need a sponsor, which is another business-friendly measure we have adopted,” he said. - TradeArabia News Service