714,165 left for foreign job destinations in eight months

KATHMANDU: A total of 714,165 Nepali workers left for foreign employment over the first eight months of the current fiscal year 2025/26.

Data from the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), however, show the number of outbound workers declined sharply in the eighth month of the fiscal year, i.e., Falgun (mid-February to mid-March), largely due to rising tensions in the Middle East — the largest source market for Nepali workers.

A total of 70,503 workers had received labour approvals, including re-entry permits, in Magh (mid-January to mid-February). The number fell by around 26% to 52,944 in the review month.

The decline is largely due to the government’s decision to suspend labour approvals for 11 countries, including major Gulf destinations, Israel, and Turkey, amid escalating conflict in the Gulf region.

Through a ministerial decision on March 1, the government suspended labour approvals for countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Israel until further notice.

Malaysia remained the top destination in the review month, with 12,601 approvals, followed by the United Arab Emirates (11,492), Qatar (6,775), and Saudi Arabia (6,225).

Meanwhile, 68,110 workers left for foreign employment in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August), followed by 67,972 in Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September). The number rose to 74,434 in Ashiwin (mid-September to mid-October) before slightly declining to 73,094 in Kartik (mid-October to mid-November). Departures then dropped to 65,705 in Mangsir (mid-November to mid-December) and further to 62,559 in Poush (mid-December to mid-January), before climbing again to 70,503 in Magh (mid-January to mid-February).