Since middle July, over 600,000 Nepalese migrants have left the country

KATHMANDU: In the current Fiscal Year, which started in mid-July, more than 600,000 people have left the country in search of employment abroad.

According to the Department of Foreign Employment, with three months left until the fiscal year’s end, 650,798 new labor permits and renewals of existing permits have been issued for employment abroad.

This year, after slowing down after the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of migrant workers traveling to work abroad is on pace to break previous records. Over 70,000 people went to work abroad in some months of this year as a result of the increased demand for foreign labor. However, this number has been gradually declining in recent months.

Only in mid-March, 61,478 Nepalese youths left the country with permission to work abroad. 544,320 Nepalis had left their country for work between mid-July and mid-March.

387,839 individuals (institutional and individual-new) had final labor approvals as of March, according to the Department of Foreign Employment. 224,979 people took flights while having their work permits renewed during this time.

This year, Malaysia has seen an increase in demand for Nepali laborers. Even though the demand for workers from the Gulf nations has decreased, there is still hope.

16,265 people have applied for work permits in Malaysia as of mid-March, according to departmental data. 11,249 people have applied for work permits in Qatar, compared to 11,364 who have entered Saudi Arabia. The United Arab Emirates has only lost 10,193 citizens to travel abroad.

Comparably, according to the department’s data, 2,794 people have traveled to Kuwait, while 2,323 have obtained approval to travel to Korea. A total of 1,578 Nepalese have traveled abroad, including 319 to Macau, 928 to Japan, 674 to Bahrain, 540 to Croatia, 478 to Poland, 453 to Oman, and 444 to Cyprus.