Over 65,000 left for foreign employment in one month

KATHMANDU: More than 65,000 Nepalis left for foreign employment in the eighth month of the fiscal year 2023/24.

According to the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), 65,658 Nepalis departed for 99 countries for employment between mid-February and mid-March.

With this, the number of Nepalis that have left for foreign employment in the current fiscal year has reached 471,210.

The UAE was the top labor destination for Nepali workers in the review month, with 18,707 youths leaving for foreign employment in the Gulf nation, followed by Saudi Arabia (13,267), Qatar (11,390), Malaysia (8,417), and Kuwait (3,206). Likewise, 1,784 left for Romania, 1,360 for Japan, 928 for Bahrain, 859 for Mauritius, and 815 for Croatia.

In the seventh month (mid-January to mid-February) of 2023/24, 62,147 people Nepalis had obtained work permits from the government for foreign employment.

Data released by the DoFE shows that the number of Nepali workers heading to European countries has been rising significantly in recent months. The outflow of Nepali workers to Romania, Cyprus, and Croatia is increasing at a healthy rate, according to DoFE officials.

Meanwhile, 730 Nepali workers left for South Korea under the Employment Promotion Scheme (EPS) in the review month.

Of the 65,658 Nepalis who received labor permits in the review month, 39,920 received new approvals, while the remaining 25,738 received re-entry approvals.