Over 2,000 leaving for foreign employment every day

KATHMANDU: More than 2,000 Nepalis are leaving for foreign employment every day.

Data released by the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) shows that 62,147 individuals received labor approval and re-entry approval in the month of Magh (mid-January to mid-February).  The DoFE provided labor approvals and re-entry approvals for 99 countries in the review month.

This is 666 fewer than the previous month of Poush (mid-December to mid-January). A total of 65,813 Nepalis left for overseas job destinations during that month. The numbers for the Nepali months of Kartik (mid-October to mid-November), Ashwin (mid-September to mid-October), Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September), and Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August) were 43,622, 56,235, 50,884, and 55,575, respectively.

A total of 405,552 Nepalis left for foreign job destinations in the first seven months of 2023/24, which is 43,278 less than the same period in the previous fiscal year.

During the review period, over 54,000 Nepali women left for job destinations in 71 countries. The popular destinations for migrant Nepali workers are UAE, Japan, Israel, and Cyprus.

The DoFE has classified foreign job destinations into three categories: Gulf countries, South East Asia, and Europe. The number of Nepalis leaving for Europe is comparatively low.

Foreign employment expert Purna Chandra Bhattarai said Malaysia and three Gulf countries are the major recipients of Nepali workers. “The departure of nearly 2,300 Nepalis daily for foreign employment is not normal. The number excludes those leaving the country for higher education. This can invite severe problems for the country,” Bhattarai added. He suggested that the government should not view foreign employment solely in terms of remittances.

According to the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), Nepal received Rs 733.22 billion in remittances in the first seven months of the current fiscal

year.