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Asia · BH

Bahrain — Citizenship Guide

Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation is restricted; dual citizenship is generally not permitted.

Why Bahrain?

The Bahrain passport offers visa-free, visa-on-arrival, ETA, or e-visa access to 119 destinations, ranking it #108 globally.

Naturalisation rarely granted.

Citizenship by descent

Bahrain applies jus sanguinis — citizenship can be acquired by descent from a citizen parent, and in some cases from grandparents or more distant ancestors.

Naturalisation

Naturalisation in Bahrain is restricted or not standardised — there is no straightforward residency-based route for most people.

Dual citizenship

Bahrain generally does not permit dual citizenship — naturalising usually requires renouncing your existing nationality.

Fees & timeline

There is no standard published application fee — costs vary, so check with official sources.


Compiled from the Citizenship Hub law dataset (approximate). Verify with official government sources before relying on this information.

Where the Bahrain passport can travel

Visa-free, visa on arrival, ETA, and e-visa access by destination. Hover for details.

Fiji — Visa required Tanzania — Visa on arrival W. Sahara — Unknown Canada — Visa required United States of America — Visa required Kazakhstan — Visa-free Uzbekistan — Visa-free Papua New Guinea — e-Visa Indonesia — Visa on arrival Argentina — Visa required Chile — Visa required Dem. Rep. Congo — e-Visa Somalia — e-Visa Kenya — ETA Sudan — Visa required Chad — e-Visa Haiti — Visa-free Dominican Rep. — Visa-free Russia — e-Visa Bahamas — Visa-free Falkland Is. — Unknown Greenland — Unknown Fr. S. Antarctic Lands — Unknown Timor-Leste — Visa on arrival South Africa — Visa required Lesotho — Visa required Mexico — Visa required Uruguay — Visa required Brazil — Visa required Bolivia — e-Visa Peru — Visa required Colombia — e-Visa Panama — Visa required Costa Rica — Visa required Nicaragua — Visa-free Honduras — Visa-free El Salvador — Visa-free Guatemala — Visa-free Belize — Visa required Venezuela — Visa required Guyana — e-Visa Suriname — ETA Ecuador — Visa-free Puerto Rico — Unknown Jamaica — Visa required Cuba — e-Visa Zimbabwe — Visa on arrival Botswana — Visa-free Namibia — e-Visa Senegal — Visa on arrival Mali — Visa required Mauritania — e-Visa Benin — e-Visa Niger — Visa required Nigeria — e-Visa Cameroon — e-Visa Togo — e-Visa Ghana — Visa required Côte d'Ivoire — ETA Guinea — e-Visa Guinea-Bissau — Visa on arrival Liberia — e-Visa Sierra Leone — Visa on arrival Burkina Faso — e-Visa Central African Rep. — Visa required Congo — Visa required Gabon — e-Visa Eq. Guinea — e-Visa Zambia — Visa-free Malawi — Visa on arrival Mozambique — Visa on arrival eSwatini — Visa required Angola — Visa required Burundi — Visa on arrival Israel — e-Visa Lebanon — Visa-free Madagascar — Visa on arrival Palestine — Visa-free Gambia — Visa required Tunisia — Visa-free Algeria — Visa required Jordan — Visa-free United Arab Emirates — Visa-free Qatar — Visa-free Kuwait — Visa-free Iraq — Visa on arrival Oman — Visa-free Vanuatu — Visa-free Cambodia — Visa on arrival Thailand — Visa-free Laos — Visa on arrival Myanmar — Visa required Vietnam — e-Visa North Korea — Visa required South Korea — Visa-free Mongolia — Visa required India — e-Visa Bangladesh — Visa on arrival Bhutan — e-Visa Nepal — Visa on arrival Pakistan — Visa-free Afghanistan — Visa required Tajikistan — Visa-free Kyrgyzstan — Visa-free Turkmenistan — Visa required Iran — Visa-free Syria — Visa on arrival Armenia — Visa-free Sweden — Visa required Belarus — Visa-free Ukraine — Visa-free Poland — Visa required Austria — Visa required Hungary — Visa required Moldova — e-Visa Romania — Visa required Lithuania — Visa required Latvia — Visa required Estonia — Visa required Germany — Visa required Bulgaria — Visa required Greece — Visa required Turkey — Visa-free Albania — e-Visa Croatia — Visa required Switzerland — Visa required Luxembourg — Visa required Belgium — Visa required Netherlands — Visa required Portugal — Visa required Spain — Visa required Ireland — Visa required New Caledonia — Unknown Solomon Is. — Visa required New Zealand — ETA Australia — e-Visa Sri Lanka — Visa on arrival China — Visa-free Taiwan — Unknown Italy — Visa required Denmark — Visa required United Kingdom — ETA Iceland — Visa required Azerbaijan — Visa on arrival Georgia — Visa-free Philippines — Visa-free Malaysia — Visa-free Brunei — Visa on arrival Slovenia — Visa required Finland — Visa required Slovakia — Visa required Czechia — Visa required Eritrea — Visa required Japan — Visa required Paraguay — Visa required Yemen — Visa on arrival Saudi Arabia — Visa-free Antarctica — Unknown Cyprus — Visa required Morocco — Visa-free Egypt — Visa-free Libya — e-Visa Ethiopia — Visa on arrival Djibouti — Visa on arrival Uganda — e-Visa Rwanda — Visa on arrival Bosnia and Herz. — Visa required North Macedonia — Visa required Serbia — Visa-free Montenegro — Visa-free Trinidad and Tobago — Visa required S. Sudan — e-Visa
  • Visa-free
  • Visa on arrival
  • ETA
  • e-Visa
  • Visa required
  • No admission

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