UK ETA for Bahraini Citizens

Do Bahraini Citizens Need a UK ETA?

Eligibility turns on the passport you carry and on your own circumstances. The airline you fly, the airport you leave from and the place you bought your ticket do not change the answer. Three questions settle it: which passport you will present, what the trip is for, and whether an exemption covers you personally.

Bahrain’s Place on the ETA National List

The ETA National List groups nationalities by the date from which an approval is needed. Bahrain sits in the group for travel on or after 22 February 2024. That group also contains several other Gulf states, but the grouping is by nationality and date, so a Bahraini passport holder should read paragraph 1.1(b) and nothing else.

Being on the list is the first step, not the whole answer. The Immigration Rules require an application made on a national passport, a facial image that meets the photograph standard, an email address for the Home Office and payment through the official process. The application must then pass the suitability grounds in ETA 2. If one of those grounds applies, the application is refused whatever the nationality.

Rollout and the Current Position

The first group on the ETA National List was Qatar, for travel from 15 November 2023. Our Qatari guide covers that earlier group. Bahrain’s group came next. Applications for paragraph 1.1(b) opened on 1 February 2024, and the requirement began to apply to travel on or after 22 February 2024.

Older travellers may remember the Electronic Visa Waiver. The UK’s EVW page now states that the EVW can no longer be applied for, and it directs nationals of Bahrain, along with several neighbouring states, to apply for an ETA instead. Older material that mentions a waiver for Bahrain is out of date. The ETA is the route.

The Immigration Rules appendix was last updated on 3 August 2026 to reflect Statement of Changes HC 1333, and the caseworker guidance carries the same date. Rules of this kind change, so check the current wording before you travel. This guide is a summary and does not replace the official text.

Who Needs an ETA

A Bahraini national who wants to come to the UK as a Visitor for up to six months needs an approval unless an exemption applies. So does a Bahraini national who wants to enter as a Creative Worker under the Temporary Work rules. A Bahraini national who must pass through UK border control on the way to another destination also needs one, unless the connection is airside and the temporary exemption covers it.

The requirement is not tied to one method of travel. The caseworker guidance applies it to all routes and modes of entry, including juxtaposed controls and travel through the Common Travel Area. A Bahraini passport holder arriving by ferry, by rail or from elsewhere in the Common Travel Area needs the same approval as one arriving by air, unless the traveller is exempt.

Who Is Exempt

Exemptions attach to the individual. Read the list against your own position rather than a companion’s. The caseworker guidance treats the following as not needing an ETA:

• British citizens.
• Irish citizens, except those subject to a deportation order, an exclusion order decision or an international travel ban.
• British Overseas Territory citizens travelling on a British Overseas Territory passport.
• British National (Overseas) passport holders, under ETA 1.7.
• Anyone with entry clearance, or with permission to enter or stay in the UK, including people who are settled.
• Anyone who is exempt from immigration control.
• Eligible nationals transiting airside, which is covered in its own section below.
• Non-visa nationals lawfully resident in Ireland and travelling from elsewhere in the Common Travel Area, under ETA 1.3.

The Irish-residence exemption is the category that most often needs evidence. A person aged 16 or over who relies on it may be asked to prove residence under ETA 1.6, so keep the document available in case the officer asks for it.

Bahraini Passport Requirements

ETA 1.1(d) requires a national passport that satisfactorily establishes identity and nationality. The application is made on that passport and nothing else takes its place. A national identity card, a residence document or any other travel document is not the ETA document for a Bahraini national.

The authority responsible for passports is the Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs, known as NPRA. Its service pages describe the documents needed for each passport service. The pages reviewed for this guide do not state a validity period for a standard adult passport or a child passport, so this guide does not give one. Read the expiry date printed in your passport instead.

Expiry and the approval

The approval ends two years after it is granted, or when the passport named in the application expires, whichever comes first (ETA 4.1). A passport with little validity left produces an approval that ends early, and the approval cannot be extended to match a later passport.

When a renewal is offered

NPRA’s renewal service page says that renewal is offered for passports with a validity of less than one year, and that the passport should be in good condition and not lost or damaged. A passport that still has a long validity period is not renewed through that service, so check the position before you plan the renewal.

New and Replacement Passports

A new Bahraini passport is a new document with its own number. For UK purposes it is a different passport from the one it replaces. An ETA issued against the old passport does not move to the new one, because ETA 4.3 limits permission to the passport specified in the application.

Renewal through NPRA

The renewal service is for Bahraini citizens. It requires personal attendance or an authorised person, the previous passport and a clear copy of its biodata page. Passport holders aged 14 and over must provide their own authorised signature. Applications run through the national eGovernment portal using an eKey account.

Lost or damaged passports

NPRA’s lost or damaged passport replacement is available to Bahraini citizens. It can be requested in person at the Muharraq Security Complex or the Isa Town branch, or online through the eGovernment website using an eKey. A lost passport application needs a recent photograph and a copy of the information page, if one exists. A damaged passport needs a photograph of the damaged document and a letter explaining how the damage happened. NPRA may contact an applicant by video call where it is needed.

Under the caseworker guidance, an ETA application made with a passport reported lost or stolen must be rejected, and the applicant may apply again with a valid passport. Enter only the replacement passport when you reapply.

Renewing while living abroad

NPRA’s replacement-abroad service is for citizens living outside Bahrain whose passports have expired and which are neither lost nor damaged. The page asks for a signed application, a recent photograph, the original passport and a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that contains the applicant’s details. An appointment is booked through the application named on that page. A separate DHL-based service lets applicants outside Bahrain submit online, with DHL contacting them when the passport is ready.

Check the current NPRA page for the steps that apply to you, and confirm that the passport is neither lost nor damaged before choosing the route.

How to Apply

Use the official UK application route only. An ETA can be applied for through the UK ETA mobile app or the specified online form. The app takes a scan of the passport and a face image from your phone. The online route asks for an image of the passport’s biodata page and a facial photograph, both meeting the official rules.

The application also needs an email address the Home Office can use, a payment made through the process and a facial image that meets the UK photograph standard. Fees change, so this guide does not quote an amount. Our fees page explains how the charges are presented on this site.

Avoid look-alike services

Some third-party sites copy government branding or promise faster decisions. The official route is the only one that issues an approval, and other websites may charge more than the official route to apply. Check the address and the wording before you enter passport details.

After you apply

The decision is sent by email. No particular timescale is guaranteed, so do not book non-refundable travel until the decision email has arrived. Keep the email, and any reference it contains, with your travel papers.

Information to Gather Before You Start

Assemble these details before you open the form, so that every entry matches the passport:

• The passport you will travel on, with the biodata page clear enough to read.
• Your full name exactly as printed, including every given name.
• Passport number, issue date, expiry date, date of birth and place of birth.
• An email address the Home Office can use, and that you check regularly.
• A payment method accepted by the official process.
• A recent facial image that meets the UK photograph rules.
• Your planned travel dates, route and purpose.
• Any earlier refusal, cancellation or immigration history, because relevant facts must not be left out (ETA 2.5(b)).

The national identity card is not part of the ETA form. Keep it with your other documents at home, and make the application on the passport.

ETA Validity and Repeat Travel

An ETA is valid for two years from the date of grant, or until the passport used in the application expires, whichever is sooner (ETA 4.1). During that time the holder may make more than one journey to the UK. Each journey seeks permission to enter on arrival, either as a Visitor for up to six months or as a Creative Worker (ETA 4.2).

The approval is not a standing right to live in the UK in instalments. Each arrival is assessed again by the border officer, who decides on that occasion how long the visit may last. The approval also remains open to cancellation where a requirement of ETA 1.1 or 1.2 was not met, whether at the time of application or later (ETA 5.8).

Frequent, long or successive visits raise questions about whether the trips are genuinely visits. Our guide to repeat visits covers how those questions arise.

Children and Family Applications

Each traveller needs an ETA, including children and babies. The caseworker guidance says so directly, and the public guidance adds that an adult can apply for another person. Each application is decided on its own, so one family member may receive an outcome before another.

Children’s passports

A child’s approval is linked to that child’s passport. A parent’s approval cannot be used by a child, and a child’s approval cannot be used by a parent. Check each child’s passport expiry before you book, because a passport close to expiry shortens the approval.

NPRA’s child passport service

NPRA’s page for children’s passport issuance describes the service as being for children of Bahraini fathers. It says that the father, or an authorised person, makes the application, that newborns and people with limited capacity are dealt with through personal attendance, and that the father’s presence is required when the passport is collected. The documents listed include the child’s birth certificate, the passports of both parents and the marriage certificate, with a death certificate where it applies.

Families in other circumstances should read the current NPRA page or contact NPRA directly. This guide does not describe any other route to a child passport.

Dual-National Travellers

A dual national with British or Irish citizenship cannot obtain an ETA. The public guidance says such a traveller can prove citizenship with a valid British passport, with another valid passport carrying a certificate of entitlement that proves the right of abode in the UK, or with a valid Irish passport.

If you hold Bahraini nationality and a second nationality that is neither British nor Irish, the question is which passport you will present. An ETA is valid only on the passport named in the application (ETA 4.3). Where the second passport is the one you will use, it needs its own assessment, and this guide does not decide whether a second nationality opens an exemption.

Holders of a British National (Overseas) passport or a British Overseas Territory passport do not need an ETA under ETA 1.7. Other permissions can also change the answer. The public guidance notes, for example, that settlement under the EU Settlement Scheme is one such permission. Our dual citizens article explains the passport-use rules in more detail.

The Irish-Residence Exemption

ETA 1.3 provides that an applicant who is lawfully resident in the Republic of Ireland, and who travels to the UK from elsewhere in the Common Travel Area, does not need to obtain an ETA. ETA 1.4 defines lawful residence: the person must be resident in Ireland and entitled to reside there under the relevant rules when the application is made, and must not be barred from leaving Ireland without the consent of an Irish minister.

The Immigration Rules wording adds no nationality or third-country condition beyond those terms. The caseworker guidance describes the exemption differently, as covering third-country non-visa nationals lawfully resident in Ireland. For a Bahraini passport holder that description fits. This guide treats the Immigration Rules as the controlling text and the caseworker guidance as an explanation, and it adds no further condition of its own.

Evidence

ETA 1.6 applies the evidence requirement to a person aged 16 or over who relies on ETA 1.3. That person must provide evidence of lawful residence if required. The rule does not set that evidence duty for anyone younger, and this guide does not add one.

Travelling from Bahrain to the UK

The place where the journey begins does not change the ETA test. A journey from Bahrain needs the same approval as a journey from any other country, and the approval must be in place before you set off for the UK border.

This guide does not describe airlines, airports, direct flights or boarding procedures. Those sit outside the ETA rules and change over time, so check them with your carrier before you book. What the ETA rules do settle is that an eligible traveller must hold the approval before reaching the UK border, and that the approval is tied to one passport.

Put the approval first in the order of arrangements. Once the decision email has arrived, the rest of the trip can be booked with a clearer picture of what is allowed.

Airside and Landside Transit

Transit comes in two forms. In an airside connection you stay within the secure area between flights and do not pass UK border control. In a landside connection you pass through UK border control, even if only briefly, before continuing your journey.

The caseworker guidance states that eligible nationals transiting airside through the UK are temporarily exempt from the ETA requirement. Those transiting landside, meaning they pass through border control, continue to need an ETA. The guidance describes the airside exemption as temporary and says it will be kept under review.

Because the exemption is temporary, it should not be treated as a permanent feature of the rules. Check the current guidance before any connection, and do not rely on an older account from a friend or a forum. If the itinerary is unclear, assume the connection is landside and obtain the approval.

Your carrier can confirm whether your itinerary requires you to pass UK border control. For background, see our transit and layovers article.

Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man

Public guidance on the ETA says that it allows travel to the UK, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man for up to six months. The three islands are Crown Dependencies. They are self-governing, they are outside the UK, and they sit within the Common Travel Area.

That coverage describes what the ETA permits. It does not replace the local entry arrangements of each island, which can differ from the UK position. Confirm the arrival position for any island you plan to visit, and do not assume that a UK approval removes an island formality.

Tourism and Family Visits

Holidays, sightseeing, visits to relatives and friends, and a short recreational course all fall within the Visitor rules. A stay may last up to six months on each visit, provided it remains a genuine visit.

The Standard Visitor guidance allows a recreational course of up to 30 days, such as a dance course, and volunteering for up to 30 days with a registered charity. Courses longer than that, or courses that amount to a different purpose, need checking before you travel.

The limits are equally specific. A Visitor may not take paid or unpaid work for a UK company or work as self-employed in the UK, unless the activity is a permitted paid engagement. A Visitor may not claim public funds, live in the UK for long periods through frequent or successive visits, or marry or register a civil partnership. Our tourism guide and visiting family and friends guide expand on each point.

Business Meetings and Activities

Visitors may attend meetings, conferences, interviews and certain other business activities, provided they are not paid by a UK-based organisation or client for doing them. The Standard Visitor guidance also covers site visits and inspections, and overseeing the delivery of goods or services that a UK company provides to an overseas organisation.

Work for a UK business is a different matter. Paid work, and any activity that fills a role in the UK, needs a work route. Be precise when you describe the purpose of the trip at the border, because the officer will ask. Our business visits guide sets out the activities that are most often misunderstood.

Short-Term Study

The Standard Visitor guidance allows study on courses lasting up to six months within the Visitor permissions. A course that runs longer, or one that leads to a longer stay, falls outside the Visitor route.

For English-language study over a longer period, the guidance points to a short-term study visa for English language courses lasting up to 11 months. A course from a licensed student sponsor needs a student visa. Our short-term study guide explains where the Visitor limit ends.

Permitted Paid Engagements

Some paid engagements are allowed within the Visitor rules. The Standard Visitor guidance describes a permitted paid engagement as one for which you hold a written invitation from a UK-based organisation or client for a pre-arranged event, where you can show that you are an expert in your profession and the engagement is relevant to your expertise, qualifications and main job at home.

The guidance also limits timing. For the category it describes, a visitor may come for up to six months, but the engagement itself must take place within the first month. Read that rule against the category that fits you, and keep the invitation and proof of expertise with your papers. Our permitted paid engagements guide sets out the conditions in full.

The Creative Worker Concession

The ETA rules recognise a Creative Worker route. ETA 1.1(f)(ii) refers to an applicant seeking entry as a Creative Worker under the Temporary Work rules, and ETA 4.2(b) allows multiple journeys for that purpose.

Creative work that the Visitor permissions do not cover needs its own check. The Standard Visitor guidance allows professional artists, entertainers and musicians to take part in certain invited performances and engagements, but that permission is narrower than the Creative Worker concession. Read our creative worker concession guide before choosing a route, and do not assume that an ETA covers paid creative work on its own.

ETA or Standard Visitor Visa

Bahrain is on the ETA National List, which applies to non-visa nationals. A Bahraini visitor whose purpose falls within the Visitor rules therefore normally uses an ETA rather than a visa.

A visa becomes the right route when the purpose or the length of stay falls outside what the ETA allows. Medical treatment lasting longer than six months is one example. The Standard Visitor guidance also describes a long-term Standard Visitor visa for people who visit the UK regularly. Our UK visa guide lists the situations that call for a visa.

UK and Schengen Permissions

The UK is outside the Schengen Area and sets its own entry rules. A permission granted by a Schengen state does not allow entry to the UK, and a UK approval does not allow movement within the Schengen Area.

A journey that combines the UK with Europe needs each leg checked separately. The UK segment needs its own approval, its own passport check and its own Visitor limit. This guide does not set out Schengen rules, which belong to the states concerned.

Criminality and Refusal Grounds

ETA 2.2 contains two separate criminality grounds. Under ETA 2.2(a), an applicant who has been convicted of an offence in the UK or overseas, and who received a custodial or suspended sentence of 12 months or more, must be refused. Under ETA 2.2(b), an applicant convicted of any criminal offence in the UK or overseas must be refused unless more than 12 months have passed since the date of conviction.

The two tests are not the same. The first depends on the length of the sentence. The second depends on the date of the conviction and applies whatever the sentence was, including a fine or a non-custodial penalty. The second test is not limited to prison terms, so a recent conviction of any kind can engage it.

The other grounds are in ETA 2.3 to 2.9. ETA 2.3 covers a presence that is not conducive to the public good, including convictions outside the criminality grounds. ETA 2.4 covers certain earlier immigration breaches, including overstaying after age 18, subject to exceptions. ETA 2.5 deals with false representations and with relevant facts that were not disclosed. ETA 2.8 and 2.9 cover earlier cancellations and earlier Visitor refusals.

This guide offers no prediction of how any application will turn out. If a ground might apply to you, read the full rule and take advice first. Our refused and rejected applications article explains the options that follow a refusal.

Application Mistakes to Avoid

• Using a national identity card, or a passport that has since been replaced, in place of the passport you will travel on.
• Mixing up the passport number of an old document and a new one.
• Entering a child’s details against a parent’s passport, or the reverse.
• Treating an earlier Electronic Visa Waiver, or a relative’s approval, as covering you.
• Assuming that an approval guarantees admission at the border.
• Booking non-refundable travel before the decision email arrives.
• Confusing a landside connection with an airside one.
• Using a site that copies government branding or promises quicker decisions.
• Forgetting that the approval ends when the passport does, however long the approval runs.

Travel Preparation Checklist

Work through this list in the week before you leave:

• Confirm that the passport you carry matches the approval, including its number and expiry date.
• Keep the decision email with your travel papers.
• Map each connection and mark it as airside or landside.
• Check the entry arrangements for any island on your itinerary.
• If you rely on the Irish-residence exemption, carry the original residence document.
• For a child, carry the child’s own passport and check its expiry against the approval.
• Write down the purpose of the visit and the activities you plan to undertake.

An approval is permission to travel, not permission to enter. The border officer decides admission and may ask why you are visiting and for how long.

UK ETA FAQs for Bahraini Citizens

Want more answers? Browse our UK ETA FAQs or contact us. You can also return to the eligibility checker.