Government Prepares to Formalize Nepali Worker Deployment to Europe, Addresses Visit Visa Abuse

Kathmandu. The government has moved forward with preparations to formally open the process of sending Nepali workers to various European countries. The government is preparing to open foreign employment institutionally to make it systematic and safe as Nepali workers are increasingly being cheated when going abroad for employment individually.

According to the Minister for Youth, Labour and Employment, Ramji Yadav, the Ministry of Youth, Labour and Employment is coordinating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to bring this process to a conclusion. However, if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not authenticate the demand letter, homework is also being done on the option of taking necessary steps with the presence of the Ministry of Labour itself in European countries.

Although the process towards Europe is currently limited due to some procedural reasons, Europe is an important destination for citizens seeking employment opportunities and safe destinations, hence it has become necessary to reorganize it institutionally. Some processes have not been able to move forward due to the non-authentication of necessary documents.

If the expected cooperation is not received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Labour has also considered the option of expanding its own presence abroad. There is also a different situation regarding the legalization of Nepalis working in Europe. Although the legalization for some workers after September 30, 2024, has been opened, the issue of workers who went before that still remains a problem. Separate action plans have been prepared to open this, as certain conditions will be necessary for it.

On the other hand, the government has expressed serious concern about human trafficking through countries like Dubai and Kuwait by misusing visit visas. Since the process of going to other countries from abroad after going abroad on a visit visa is direct human trafficking, it is necessary to regulate this immediately, and the government is aware of this. Strict measures will now be taken to control problems seen in the use of domestic workers and visit visas, especially activities like human trafficking. Since many workers go to various countries using visit visas but are not reflected in government data, it is necessary to bring reforms to this system. Previously, there was a provision for a round-trip ticket, but now there is a one-way provision, which will also be regulated again.

The government aims to provide skilled labor to make foreign employment safer and more systematic. The ministry is now digitizing everything from demand attestation to the hiring process. A plan is being made to implement a schedule system to streamline the recruitment process, which is expected to increase transparency and ease in foreign employment. The ministry has also prepared to conduct all tasks from demand letter authentication to recruitment process online soon.

Currently, with 17 websites, 39 procedures, and dozens of laws and regulations under the ministry, both employees and service recipients get confused and bewildered, hence it has been announced to 'merge' all of them and create a single integrated system. Similarly, since no new employment policy has been introduced in the country since 2061 BS, preparations to bring a new 'Employment Policy' and 'Care Policy' within the next 3 months are in the final stage. This new policy is believed to completely improve the country's internal and foreign employment ecosystem.