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Way back in 1986, when visas and work permits required a lot of paperwork and expats applied for something called a ‘re-entry visa’ every time they left Bahrain on holiday or work, I remember occasions when friends had to go home to handle emergencies such as a parent falling ill or worse, a death in the family – the tension and the time-consuming processes simply wrung everybody out because it was a situation when every hour counted.
Then things started getting easier and the puzzling ‘re-entry visa’ was shelved so that every residence permit holder was automatically allowed unlimited travel to-and-from Bahrain.
Now, with talk that the Capital Trustees Board is considering a mandatory rule that expats should clear their pending government bills before leaving Bahrain on holiday or, I presume, leaving anytime, it would seem the old days of red tape and rulebooks are creeping back.
It is also a reminder of the scary days when people used to be stopped from travelling at the airport for piffling telephone bill amounts in double digits and grounded for credit card payment delays and other financial problems.
It took a lot of lobbying to make the government loosen the restrictions so that people could try and rebuild their lives and repay their loans and (pay) bills and not come to a grinding halt.
Responsibility as a resident certainly means paying dues for the government services – delays can snowball into unpleasant budget deficits that affect us all. However, to single out expats for such announcements of penalties sends out the wrong signal. Are expats the only ones who delay payments? Do all Bahrainis and GCC nationals pay all dues on time?
If we are going to hear about BD 4.1 million in dues from expats, why not a comparative figure of what nationals owe the government?
You may argue that the step has been taken because expats can leave the country permanently whereas Bahrainis have to return because this is their home. But the structure of the proposal is unfair and singling out non-Bahrainis is downright discriminatory.
In these days of mini-holidays and budget airlines, even office peons and chauffeurs take several short holidays over their contracted term.
People these days are quicker to travel across the world for family emergencies because of a heightened awareness of family ties, their own rights to paid emergency leave and more accessible air fares.
At this point, to be faced with checking if one’s government dues are up-to-date is nit-picking. Unless you are a senior exec and your office or secretary pays your bills, there is bound to be minor delays in paperwork.
The authorities who are proposing this move were deafeningly silent when several expat organisations raised the alarm over foreign workers who went on annual leave and came back to find themselves stranded because their sponsors had cancelled their visas in their absence – a ploy to avoid paying indemnity or any pending dues.
Have a counter next to immigration to pay any dues electronically and proceed with travel and similarly, when an expat returns to find that s/he has been dismissed, have an emergency one-time entry so that closure can be effected for things like bank accounts, car sale, home goods freight etc.
Expat dignity cannot be held hostage.
meeraresponse@gmail.com
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