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Hey everyone,

I’m a 24-year-old U.S. Navy veteran, medically retired after about 5 years of active-duty service. I suffered a serious service-connected injury a few years ago, and I now receive a permanent, tax-free pension of around 1,600 BHD per month from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

I fell in love with Bahrain when I was first stationed here and moved back recently as a civilian retiree. I’ve been trying to find a legal and secure way to obtain long-term or permanent residency here, but I keep hitting walls.

I’ve looked into the standard self-sponsorship residency permit for retired foreigners, but one of the requirements is a retirement certificate from a government, private sector, or GCC employer showing at least 15 years of service. Since I only served 5 years before being medically retired, I don’t meet that time requirement, even though I have a lifetime pension from the U.S. government.

I’ve also looked into the Golden Residency program, but it requires 4,000 BHD per month in income. I currently make around 1,600 BHD, and even with pending increases from other disability entitlements, I’d still only reach about 3,800 BHD per month. So I fall just short.

Investor visas are also out of reach for me at the moment since I don’t have 50,000 to 100,000 BHD to invest in property or local businesses. Maybe I could look into loans, but I highly doubt any US Bank would give me a 265,000 USD loan at 24, and I also don’t think any banks here in the Middle East are willing to cough up that money for a loan to a US º£½ÇÂÒÂ× barley scraping 2,000 BHD a month.

Working is unfortunately not an option either due to my physical limitations and disability status. I’ve been approached by the shady companies offering fake sponsorships or Commercial Registrations just to get a residency. I’m not interested in doing anything dishonest or risking deportation.

I know Bahrain has been evolving in terms of expat-friendly pathways, and I’m really hoping someone out there knows of a legal, safe, and realistic route for someone like me. Whether it’s a workaround within the existing retiree permit, or some form of exemption due to government-backed medical retirement, I’m open to ideas.

Any insights or recommendations are truly appreciated. Thank you in advance.