The Interior Ministry Undersecretary for Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs (NPRA), Shaikh Hisham bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, said that per the decision of His Excellency Interior Minister General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa about the NPRA services, it was decided to stop changing visit visas to work or dependent visas without a sponsor. It was also agreed to increase the fees for changing visit visas to work or dependency visas from BD60 to BD250 only if it will be for the same sponsor.
The decision is per the government directives to intensify rules of changing visit visas to work and dependency visas to support the local workforce by making them the first employment choice.
He said the procedures would be carried out in cooperation with the Labour Market Regulatory Authority to promote the National Labour Market Plan and stop the exploitation of visit visas.