Bahrain has appointed an international expert to help streamline its immigration services.

The consultant from Australia will join the General Directorate of Immigration and Passports (GDIP) this month, said Shaikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the under-secretary for immigration and passports.

The new consultant is being appointed at the directives of Interior Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.

"An expert in human resources development, the consultant will look into the functioning of various departments at GDIP," Shaikh Rashid said.

"He will focus on enhancing the quality of immigration services and management, with special emphasis on staff development.

"The consultant will organise a series of training programmes for staff from different departments."

Over the years, GDIP has introduced various measures to increase its efficiency, said Shaikh Rashid.

"New services are also being introduced to cater to the needs of the public," he noted.

Online visa processing is among new services planned, following the official launching of the GDIP website.

"We want to draw the attention of the public to the communication and feedback facilities in the website, where their comments are welcomed.

There is a special page for people to give their suggestions."