Bahrain Work Permit for a Chef: LMRA Steps, Fees and Pay

A Bahrain restaurant hires a chef from abroad through LMRA's Expat Management System: apply for a New Expatriate Permit, pay a BHD 5 admin fee and a BHD 30 advertisement fee, then BHD 195 (one year) or BHD 390 (two years) once approved, plus BHD 7.5 to 12.5 a month per expatriate after that. LMRA quotes 21 working days from abroad. Bahrain sets no minimum wage, so the salary is yours to set against what the chef earns in Japan and what Dubai and Saudi Arabia are paying.

1. A small market, and hiring from the Gulf

MAFF counted 50 Japanese restaurants in Bahrain in 2025, up 10 on 2023. MOFA recorded 188 Japanese nationals on 1 October 2025: 171 long-term residents, 17 permanent residents. With fewer than 200 Japanese nationals in the country, a Bahrain restaurant that wants a Japanese chef will almost always recruit from Japan or from a chef already working in Dubai, Riyadh, Doha or elsewhere in the Gulf. LMRA's published process describes no separate GCC transfer category: a chef currently on a Dubai or Saudi permit applies the same way as one still in Japan, with the same fees and the same 21 working day processing time. Build the notice period they owe their current Gulf employer into your schedule.

2. What to pay a Japanese chef in Manama

Bahrain has no statutory minimum wage and no official wage survey for chefs or cooks. Indeed Bahrain returned zero postings for "Japanese chef" or "sushi chef" on 27 September 2026, so there is no job-ad benchmark either. Set the number yourself:

1. Start from Japan. MHLW's 2025 survey puts a cook's pay at ¥286,600 a month plus a ¥351,600 bonus, about ¥3.79m a year. Bahrain levies no personal income tax, which helps your offer.
2. Anchor against the Gulf. Our Dubai guide uses an illustrative AED 10,000 a month (about BHD 1,020 at each currency's dollar peg) to show the arithmetic, not as market data. A chef with Gulf options will not move for much less. See sushi chef salary by country for the official figures that exist elsewhere.
3. Split the package. Basic salary, housing, transport and an annual flight home, each its own line, since the Wages Protection Scheme pays the basic salary through the bank.

3. The LMRA permit and its fees

LMRA issues permits through its Expat Management System (EMS). The employer applies for a New Expatriate Permit: submit the application, pay the admin and advertisement fees, wait for verification, pay the permit fee on approval, then print the work and residence permits. Documents needed: a passport valid at least 6 months (LMRA recommends 2 years) and a medical fitness report from a Gulf Health Council accredited centre, no older than two months. Processing is 21 working days from outside Bahrain, 3 if already inside. A failed post-arrival medical means immediate deportation arrangements, so get it done properly before travel.

On top: BHD 5 admin fee per application, BHD 30 advertisement fee for a worker outside Bahrain, and a monthly fee of BHD 7.5 for each of your first five expatriates and BHD 12.5 from the sixth. Checked against LMRA's Commercial Services Fees page, updated 31 December 2025.

4. Bahrainisation and the advertising wait

LMRA's fee schedule lists an optional Bahrainisation exemption fee (BHD 125 to 500) tied to the requirement to employ Bahraini nationals. We could not find a published Bahrainisation percentage specific to restaurants; LMRA instead runs a calculator inside its employer portal that sets each company's own ratio by sector and headcount. Ask LMRA or check EMS for two things before you budget: your current ratio, and whether the exemption fee applies to you.

The BHD 30 advertisement fee funds a local labour market test. Two LMRA notices, 2020 and 2021, describe a pre-approval waiting period (14 days, then 21) with a 7 day newspaper listing; we found no newer notice superseding either. What we can confirm now: LMRA's current process page gives one processing time, 21 working days from abroad, without a separate advertising wait added on top. Plan your schedule on 21 working days, and take seriously any application from someone already in Bahrain during that window.

5. Contract terms under the Labour Law

The ILO's Bahrain factsheet (updated December 2023) summarises Law No. 36 of 2012:

• Contract: two Arabic originals, translation attached. Non-compliant employers risk a BHD 200 to 500 penalty.
• Hours: 8 a day or 48 a week, 6 a day and 36 a week for Muslim workers in Ramadan. One rest day (Friday unless agreed otherwise). Overtime: 125% by day, 150% at night. A Japanese kitchen often exceeds 8 hours a day; put the schedule and overtime pay in writing.
• Annual leave 30 days. Health insurance compulsory, employer paid, dependants included. Passports may not be confiscated. Wages run through the Wages Protection Scheme.
• Mobility: a worker can change employer any time with consent, or without it after one year. No exit permit needed.

After year one your chef can move to a competitor; pay, housing and how the kitchen treats them keep a chef more reliably than any permit rule. See retaining Japanese chefs and our contract checklist.

6. Total cost and a start-date schedule

Government fees only; salary, housing, flights and any Bahrainisation exemption are your figures.

7. Offer summary to copy, in English and Japanese

General information checked against LMRA, ILO and Japanese government sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. LMRA fees and procedures change, the Bahrainisation percentage for restaurants was not published where we could find it, and the ILO factsheet dates from December 2023. Confirm with LMRA before acting.