Practical guide
LMRA View Expatriate Employee Data: Steps and Results
By Gaurav Agarwal · Updated 12 October 2026
Open LMRA's View Expatriate Employee Data (Commercial Sector) form. Enter your Personal Number, select your country of origin and enter your Passport Number to check the work permit's status and validity. The public form has no login, OTP or payment step before the search. MyGov offers the same service using Advanced Electronic Key 2.0.
01Which LMRA employee service should you use?
The public form in this guide is for an expatriate employee in the commercial sector. LMRA lists a separate View Domestic Worker Data service. It also separates the public status lookup from Registered Worker eligibility, the Expat Portal and employer-side permit applications.
Choose by the record you need. A permit-status result is useful, but it does not replace a CPR-card check or an NPRA residence-status check.
| Your situation | Use this service | What it answers |
|---|---|---|
| You work for a company | View Expatriate Employee Data (Commercial Sector) | Work-permit status and validity |
| You are a domestic worker or domestic employer | View Domestic Worker Data | Domestic-worker record |
| You need permit duration or contract details | Expat Portal | Permit validity, duration and contract details |
| You want to join the Labour Registration Program | Registered Worker Eligibility | Whether the worker may use that separate programme |
| You have an expired permit | Cancellation of an Expired Work Permit | Worker-initiated cancellation route |
| A new or renewal application is still in progress | Cancellation of an In-Progress Application | Cancellation of that pending application |
02How to use LMRA View Expatriate Employee Data
Use the employee's own details exactly as recorded on the Bahrain ID and passport. The public form shows three fields before search and does not ask you to create an account. Do not use guessed details or another person's identifiers.
Select the country of origin, as the form instructs. If the form returns no match, recheck all three inputs before assuming the permit is invalid.
- Open the official View Expatriate Employee Data (Commercial Sector) page.
- Enter the employee's Bahrain Personal Number.
- Select the employee's Country from the dropdown.
- Enter the Passport Number exactly as recorded, including letters where applicable.
- Submit the search and read the work-permit status and validity shown by LMRA.
- If the details or result look wrong, check the passport and personal number once, then contact LMRA instead of repeatedly submitting different data.
What to have ready
Keep the employee's Bahrain personal number, current passport number and country of origin ready. The public lookup page does not publish a fee or processing time. There is no document upload on the entry form.
Use MyGov instead
LMRA says the same employee-data service is available through the MyGov application using Advanced Electronic Key 2.0. Use that route when you already have MyGov and prefer an authenticated government app.
03What the LMRA result means
LMRA describes the service narrowly: it checks the status and validity of the work permit. Read the status and validity exactly as displayed. The public page does not publish a glossary for every possible result label, so do not invent meanings from colour, wording or assumptions.
A matching record confirms that LMRA found the permit using the submitted details. It does not by itself confirm that a CPR card is active, a residence record has no separate issue, a medical result is complete or an employment dispute has been resolved. Those records belong to separate services and authorities.
The Expat Portal is the broader worker route when you need permit validity, duration and contract details. LMRA also links workers to contractual-obligations information from the public lookup page.
| What you need | What this lookup can do | Next route if needed |
|---|---|---|
| Work-permit status | Shows the LMRA status returned for the employee | Contact LMRA if it conflicts with employer records |
| Permit validity | Shows validity information for the work permit | Use the Expat Portal for duration and contract details |
| CPR card status | Not the purpose of this service | Ask the Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA); LMRA sends enrollment data to it |
| Residence or visa status | Not the complete NPRA record | Ask the Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs (NPRA) office |
| Registered Worker eligibility | Different programme | Use LMRA's eligibility checker |
| Domestic-worker data | Different service | Use View Domestic Worker Data |
04Fix no record, mismatched details or an unexpected status
Start with the three search fields the form asks for: Personal Number, Country and Passport Number. Do not enter random combinations because work-permit information is personal.
If the data is correct but the result is unexpected, ask the employer for the application or permit reference and compare it with the LMRA record.
Call LMRA on +973 17506055 when the official record and the documents do not agree. Keep the personal number, passport and any application reference ready, but share personal data only through an official LMRA channel.
| Problem | Check first | Then do this |
|---|---|---|
| No record found | Personal number, country and passport number | Retry once with exact official details |
| Permit appears expired | Validity date and employer records | Use the worker cancellation service if an expired permit must be cancelled |
| Application is still in progress | New-permit or renewal reference | Use Cancellation of an In-Progress Application only if cancellation is intended |
| You are a domestic worker | Service heading | Move to View Domestic Worker Data |
| You expected a CPR or residence result | Which authority owns the record | Ask iGA or NPRA, the authorities listed on LMRA's biometric page |
05Biometric enrollment is a separate compulsory step
LMRA says all expatriate employees and domestic expatriate employees must complete biometric enrollment. It collects the data needed for identity-card issuance and helps combat fraud and passport forgery.
Enrollment requires personal presence and a copy of the passport or ID card. LMRA verifies the documents, then collects the photo, signature and fingerprint. The official service lists processing as immediate after the in-person steps.
| Branch | Days | Hours | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMRA Main Office, Sanabis | Sunday to Thursday | 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM | Book an appointment |
| Expat Protection Centre, Northern Sehla | Sunday to Thursday | 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM | Book an appointment |
| Al Muharraq, Seef Mall | Sunday to Thursday | 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM | Book an appointment |
06Choose the next LMRA action
Use a service that matches the actual permit stage. A status lookup does not change, renew, cancel or transfer a permit. Each action has its own eligibility, documents and processing time.
For a job change, LMRA's Intention to Transfer service is available to an employee with a valid work permit after half the permit period has passed. The intention can be filed only once. LMRA lists copies of both sides of the ID card and the passport, with a processing time of two working days.
For an expired work permit, the worker can apply for cancellation through workers.lmra.gov.bh. LMRA lists two working days and supporting proof for the reason. An in-progress new-permit or renewal application has a separate cancellation service listing one working day.
| Need | Official service | Time / access |
|---|---|---|
| Announce a planned job change | Intention to Transfer | 2 working days |
| Cancel an expired work permit | Cancellation of an Expired Work Permit | 2 working days |
| Cancel a pending new or renewal application | Cancellation of an In-Progress Application | 1 working day |
| Challenge an absence-from-work record | Grievance Against the Absence from Work | Check the dedicated service page |
| Check Labour Registration Program eligibility | Registered Worker Eligibility | Online, SMS or call route |
| View contract and permit duration | Expat Portal | Public search by Personal Number and Passport Expiry Date |
07Worker rights, complaints and official help
Bahrain's official expatriate information page says private-sector labour complaints are investigated by the Ministry of Labour's Labour Inspection Department under Labour Law No. 36 of 2012 and its implementing resolutions. Use that route for an employment complaint rather than treating a permit-status search as a complaint.
For exploitation or suspected human trafficking, the official End Trafficking Hotline is +973 995. For ordinary permit-service questions, LMRA lists +973 17506055. Registered Worker eligibility can also be checked by texting the CPR number to +973 33150150 or calling +973 17103103.
The Bahrain Open Data Portal reported 654,672 active expatriate work permits in 2025 Q4. That is aggregate labour-market data. Individual permit details remain a separate personal lookup.
What the official pages do not say
The public lookup page does not publish a fee, processing time or a complete glossary of result labels. It also does not explain every reason a correct search may fail. Use the exact form details, then contact LMRA when the record remains unclear.
08FAQs
What is LMRA View Expatriate Employee Data?
It is LMRA's public commercial-sector lookup for checking an expatriate employee's work-permit status and validity.
What details do I need for the LMRA employee lookup?
Enter the Bahrain Personal Number, select the country of origin and enter the Passport Number exactly as held in the LMRA record.
Can I check an LMRA work permit without eKey?
The public commercial-sector form shows no login or OTP before the search. LMRA also offers the service in MyGov using Advanced Electronic Key 2.0.
Is LMRA View Expatriate Employee Data free?
The public lookup page does not publish a fee and shows no payment step before the search.
Why does the LMRA lookup show no record?
Recheck the personal number, country and passport number. The commercial-sector form and the domestic-worker service are separate LMRA services. Contact LMRA if exact details still fail.
Does an LMRA valid result prove my CPR and residence are valid?
No. This service checks work-permit status and validity. CPR-card and NPRA residence records use separate official services.
How does a domestic worker check LMRA data?
Use LMRA's separate View Domestic Worker Data service, which is listed independently from the commercial-sector lookup.
How do I check Registered Worker eligibility?
Use LMRA's eligibility page, text the CPR number to +973 33150150 or call +973 17103103.
09Official sources
- View Expatriate Employee Data (Commercial Sector)
- Expatriate Employee Services
- LMRA Home
- Biometric Enrollment FAQ
- Biometric Data Enrollment with LMRA
- Intention to Transfer
- Cancellation of an Expired Work Permit
- Cancellation of an In-Progress Application
- Worker Registration Mechanism
- LMRA Active Work Permits for Expatriate
- Protection and Assistance
- Labour Inspection
Official details checked 12 October 2026.
Related guides: use the complete LMRA visa check guide · sign in to LMRA EMS and eKey 2.0 · understand LMRA mobility and changing employer · check and challenge an absence-from-work case