Lawmakers hopeful over EU visa exemption for Bahrainis

The lawmakers are hopeful of obtaining visa exemption for Bahrainis travelling to Europe. The MPs are working closely with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior on exploring the possibility of obtaining visa waiver to secure on-arrival visa for Bahrainis on Schengen visa.

A meeting was held on Monday between the parliament members, Ministry of Foreign affairs officials and Ministry of Interior officials to discuss the subject.  A parliamentary committee headed by MP Mohammed Al Buainain is taking the initiative to take the matter forward. 

Mr Al Buainain said that the ministry is now taking measures to reach the goal. He added that the ministry would discuss with the Interior Ministry on converting Bahraini passport to electronic ones that fall into EU requirements. He also added that officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with the European Union and has made advancement in securing the waiver.

The Foreign Ministry was called into action on the matter after the Parliament speaker made a proposal to have Bahrainis exempted from European visas. Tribune reported in May that Parliament Speaker Fawzia Zainal had urged the Foreign Ministry to push for relaxed visa rules including visa on arrival for Bahrainis travelling to Europe.

The proposal aims to add to the convenience to Bahraini travellers by saving time. Ms Zainal pointed out that Bahrain has already provided European citizens with relaxed visa rules including visa on arrival facility. Currently, the vast majority of countries across Europe require prior visa for Bahrainis. Only a handful of European countries such as Ukraine, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia and Georgia offer visa on arrival to Bahrainis.