The move aimed to curb forged passports has especially affected the migrants employed as drivers, who travel frequently between the Gulf countries as part of their job. “The Saudi embassy denied us visa as we had hand-written passports,” said Dhan Bahadur Shris, who works as a driver for a Bahrain-based cargo company.

 

He said the company has employed six Nepalis as drivers and that the new visa regulation has threatened their employment.Sarbajit Buda, another Nepali employee with the company, said as part of their job they have to travel to countries like Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Jordan frequently. There are around 20,000 Nepali migrant workers employed as drivers in the Gulf countries.  

  

The Nepali workers have appealed to the government back home to address their problem. The Nepali Embassy in Saudi Arabia said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested the Saudi authority to recognise hand-written passports issued by the Nepali government until November 24, 2015.

 

“The Saudi authority could relax the period for up to eight months,” said Uday Raj Pandey, ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He said the new visa rule was implemented after the Saudi authority found that 300 people had entered the country on fake Iranian passports during the Hajj pilgrimage.