Over 600,000 Nepali migrant workers went abroad since mid-July

KATHMANDU, April 20: The number of people going abroad for foreign employment has exceeded 600,000 in the current Fiscal Year that began in mid-July. 

With three months left until the end of the financial year, the number of new labor permits and renewal of old permits for foreign employment has reached 650,798, according to the Department of Foreign Employment.

The number of migrant workers going to work abroad, which slowed down after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, is on the way to set a new record again this year. Due to the increased demand for labor from abroad, the number of people going to work abroad was over 70,000 in some months of this year. However, in recent months, this number is gradually decreasing.

During the mid-March alone, 61,478 Nepalese youths have gone abroad with approval for labor. From mid-July to mid-March, 544,320 Nepalis had gone abroad for work.

According to the Department of Foreign Employment, 387,839 people have received final labor approvals (institutional and individual-new) as of March. During this period, 224,979 people flew abroad with renewing the work permit.

The demand for Nepali workers in Malaysia has increased this year. Although the demand for workers from the Gulf countries has slowed down, the situation is not hopeless.

According to the department's data, 16,265 people have taken work permits for Malaysia in mid-March. While 11,364 people have reached Saudi Arabia, 11,249 people have taken work permits for Qatar. Only 10,193 people have gone abroad in the United Arab Emirates.

Similarly, the department’s data states that 2,794 people have gone to Kuwait, 2,323 people have taken approval for Korea. 1,578 Nepalese have gone to Romania, 928 to Japan, 674 to Bahrain, 540 to Croatia, 478 to Poland, 453 to Oman, 444 to Cyprus and 319 to Macau.