According to the ministry, the "Easy Exit" opportunity will cover all expatriates who did not renew their residence permits and wanted to go home voluntarily.
Shaikh Ahmad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa, the assistant undersecretary for nationality, passports and residence, who kicked off the scheme on Tuesday said, "I call upon all expatriate workers staying illegally to benefit from this scheme by approaching the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) and by arranging with their embassies to rectify their status and leave the Kingdom voluntarily".
"All the other illegal expatriates who entered the kingdom on visit visas should approach the General Directorate for Nationality, Passports and Residence to benefit from this pardon," he added.
He, however, said that the exceptional pardon was not an amnesty and that it was limited to the waiving of the fines and penalties accumulated for overstaying in the country.
Almost half of Bahrain's population are foreigners including a large number of Indians, but there is no official figure available about the number of those staying illegally in the country.