Companies in Bahrain have been given two weeks to present details of their expatriate employees to the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA).

Only 50 per cent of companies in Bahrain have registered with the LMRA, despite repeated appeals, said chief executive Ali Radhi.

'All companies must present photocopies of their employees' passports and CPRs card at the LMRA,' he told the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

'Even some companies which have registered with us have not presented these documents of their employees.

'It is important for us to have these documents in order to cleanse the data available with us.'

Though the number of expatriates working in Bahrain is estimated at around 350,000, the LMRA has the documents of only about 50,000 so far, said Radhi.

'This means thousands of companies have not yet cleansed their data with us,' he added.

'The LMRA will start billing companies according to the records available with us, starting July 1.

'We do not want companies to wait until the end of June to present the passport details and CPR photocopies of their expatriate employees.

'As there is a lot of paperwork involved, we want them to visit the LMRA and present the necessary documents over the coming two weeks.'

For those companies which fail to do so, the LMRA will go according to the data provided to it by the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence (GDNPR), said Radhi.

'Companies cleansing the data will be informed about the Bahrainisation percentage required,' he said.

'The LMRA board has approved the Bahrainisation percentage required for the private sector in Bahrain, based on the nature of their activities.

'Companies, which have already registered with us along with the documents of their employees, will be able to know about the percentage from the LMRA website very soon.'

The LMRA will start issuing work visas for expatriates in the private sector from July 1.

This is to coincide with the new labour fees coming into force on that date, said Radhi.

The original plan was for the LMRA to take over responsibility from the Labour Ministry on January 1 to issue work visas for all expatriates and to start billing the private sector companies for each foreign worker employed by then.

However, following the business community's meeting with Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the new fees' implementation date was changed to July 1. The LMRA has already started issuing work visas for expatriates employed in the government.

Under the new law, the work visa for an expatriate in the private sector will cost BD200 for two years and the employers will also pay a levy of BD10 every month for each expatriate worker to the LMRA.-TradeArabia News Service