Migrant-Workers.org released an article highlighting the plight of Flexi-Permit workers in Bahrain. Nearly 57,000 workers have signed up for a Flexi-Permit. However, more than 12,000 Flexi-Permits have been cancelled since the scheme started due to lack of payment. The article says that many Flexi-Permit workers revealed to Migrant-Workers.org that they prefer to have a sponsor who would pay for their residency permit rather than paying for it themselves, even if that means returning to the mercy of their sponsors under the restrictive Kafala arrangement.  

Bahrain’s Flexi-Permit scheme, which was introduced in 2017, is seen as the closet to "abolishing Kafala/sponsorship" for lower-income migrant workers. The scheme allows migrant workers to pay the state instead of individual sponsors for their residency permits. The scheme has been hailed by international organizations as the most significant step towards protecting migrant workers’ rights in the region. Under the Flexi-permit system irregular migrant workers can sponsor themself and are no longer dependent on employers for their residency permit.

However, the workers’ ‘legality’ under the this system is based on their ability to pay the Flexi-Permit fees to the government. Flexi-Permit fees is more than twice of what employers pay the government to issue a regular work permit for migrants. In addition, Labour Law does not apply to Flexi-permit workers, as freelancers, allowing exploitative employment practices against them. According to Bahraini Lawyer, Labour Law Felxi-Permit workers do not benefit from the protection of Labour Law because they do not have an employer/sponsor, and that as such, they are only able to file cases against employers at civil courts, not labour courts.

According to the article, some immediate and long term action must be taken to address the problem. It suggest, among other thing, the immediate establishment of a minimum hourly wage, Introduction of a standard freelance contract that enumerates the rights and responsibilities of both parties, set up mechanisms for dispute resolution and the inclusion of Flexi-permit holders in unemployment benefits, in proportion to their contribution.