KATHMANDU, Feb 13: The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS) has launched a crackdown on irregularities in health examinations for workers heading abroad. A special task force is monitoring medical institutions accused of issuing fake reports, certifying sick individuals as healthy, or charging fees beyond prescribed limits. Although complaints about such malpractice have circulated for years, the government had struggled to act—until now.
MoLESS spokesperson Pitambar Ghimire said the monitoring is being led by two under-secretaries from the ministry, with police support. “This process has been ongoing for a few days, and by Tuesday we had inspected 16 health institutions. Some documents have been seized, and a detailed investigation will follow,” Ghimire told Republica. “We took action after receiving complaints that reports were being issued without proper health checks, higher fees were charged, and sick individuals were wrongly certified as healthy.”
There have also been reports of medical institutions issuing certificates for people in remote areas, such as Humla, from Kathmandu, bypassing proper checks.
Medical centers including Cosmos, Fusion Centre, Sahara, Sudha, Lalupate, Anmol, and Chetana have already been monitored. In some cases, even political figures have been indirectly involved. Many workers who traveled abroad relying on Nepali health certificates were later deemed “unfit” and forced to return. Complaints suggest that manpower companies and agents sometimes collaborate to produce costly fake medical reports.
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By law, health checks are mandatory for workers going abroad. Those traveling with certificates claiming they are healthy but later found “unfit” waste both time and money. While the law provides for compensation, victims often struggle to claim it. Studies have shown that issuing certificates without proper health checks can put workers’ lives at risk.
Khima Dangi from Rukum is one such case. Last year, she went to Kuwait with medical pass papers provided by an agent and a manpower company. She failed the health check there and had to return within a week. Dangi said she suffered because fake medical reports were issued despite payment. She added that the agent and manpower company charged her Rs 230,000, promising higher earnings abroad.
Fake medical reports, document manipulation, and overcharging are often facilitated by registered manpower companies, casting doubt on the government’s claims of safe foreign employment. The ministry’s task force was particularly prompted to act after complaints emerged about “medical pass” certificates being issued to sick individuals.
Former Labour Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari had amended procedures to make 34 types of tests mandatory, increasing fees from Rs 6,500 to Rs 9,500. The opposition stalled implementation, and the current Minister, Rajendra Singh Bhandari, later canceled the fee hike. Although the matter is now in court, in the absence of an interim order, the fee remains Rs 6,500—but workers complain that some medical institutions still overcharge.
Minister Bhandari has acknowledged the existence of a syndicate in health checks and vowed to dismantle it. The ministry plans to conduct health checks for overseas-bound workers through government hospitals, with future policies based on the task force’s findings.
Despite a government ban on sending domestic workers abroad, agents and manpower companies continue to send workers to various countries for such jobs.
According to Section 72 of the Foreign Employment Act and Rule 45(a) of the Foreign Employment Regulations, 2064 (2007), workers must undergo health examinations at government-approved institutions. Labour and migration expert Rameshwar Nepal said many approved institutions have long been issuing medical pass reports without proper checks. “It’s not just one or two institutions; many are involved,” Nepal said. “Workers are in villages, but their health checks happen in Kathmandu.”
Nepal warned that workers carrying fake medical documents abroad face serious problems. Certificates issued without proper examinations have led to illness and, in some cases, life-threatening situations. What should have been a life-changing opportunity often turns into a debt trap, according to affected workers.
