By SOMAN BABY<\/p>\n
NEARLY half of the work visas issued by the Labour Market Regulatory Authority are now processed within 24 hours, a top official has revealed.<\/p>\n
Out of 13,200 issued last month, more than 6,300 were processed within a day, said Interior Ministry Nationality, Passports and Residence assistant under-secretary Shaikh Ahmed bin Isa Al Khalifa.<\/p>\n
An average 1,500 e-visas are also issued every month for visitors from different parts of the world, he told the GDN.<\/p>\n
“The e-visa technology enables General Directorate of Nationality Passports and Residency to process all types of visas faster than ever before,” said Shaikh Ahmed.<\/p>\n
“This specially helps the LMRA, which is responsible for issuing work visas for expatriates.<\/p>\n
“Once the documents are cleared by LMRA and Central Informatics Organisation, it is sent to GDNPR to issue the visas.<\/p>\n
“Though it is estimated to take an average five days for processing at GDNPR, we are now able to clear almost half of them within 24 hours.”<\/p>\n
The number of work visas issued by LMRA since July has been increasing steadily.<\/p>\n
The number, which was only 786 in July, increased to 12,773 in September and 14,510 in December.<\/p>\n
“We have launched a campaign to encourage more visitors to make use of the e-visa facilities,” said Shaikh Ahmed.<\/p>\n
“All five-star hotels, major airlines and leading travel agents are now linked to the GDNPR e-visa portal at www.evisa.gov.bh.<\/p>\n
“Government agencies, the financial sector, universities and exhibition companies have also been linked to the system.”<\/p>\n
The e-visa system has helped reduce the workload at GDNPR and minimise inconvenience to major customers, said Shaikh Ahmed.<\/p>\n
Up to five user names with password are given to major institutions, said Shaikh Ahmed.<\/p>\n
“Their administrator and related staff are being trained at GDNPR on how to access our system and make the best use of the facility,” he said.<\/p>\n
“They can apply for visit visas online. Customers can also make the payment online.<\/p>\n
“The system has proved a great boon to thousands of visitors to Bahrain.”<\/p>\n
Nationals of more than 35 countries are now granted visa on arrival at Bahrain International Airport.<\/p>\n
“We advise them to apply visa online and make the payment with credit cards,” said Shaikh Ahmed. “The e-visa facility makes their entry to Bahrain easier as they do not have to wait in the queue at the immigration counters or worry about changing currency.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By SOMAN BABY NEARLY half of the work visas issued by the Labour Market Regulatory Authority are now processed within 24 hours, a top official has revealed. Out of 13,200 issued last month, more than 6,300 were processed within a … Continue reading