The thousands of Nepalis who leave the country in search of employment in the Gulf states and Southeast Asia continue to face myriad difficulties and humiliations. It is well-known that labour conditions in the Gulf countries are poor and migrant workers are often exploited. The Nepal government has taken some measures to help migrant workers in these countries. For instance, labour attaches in embassies in the Gulf provide support to migrant workers when they have problems with their employers or the law. There have also been efforts to train workers so that they will have useful skills when they travel abroad and gain some familiarity with the laws and customs of the host societies in which they live. Yet, there are many ways in which the Nepali state itself makes life difficult for migrant workers traveling abroad. Many of them continue to resent the fact that they have to pay such high customs duties for goods that they bring back to Nepal. And many of them are troubled by the difficulties involved in securing a passport to travel abroad.

Granted, it is much easier to get a passport now than it was when the Machine-Readable Passport (MRP) was first introduced. Previously, passports could only be issued through the Foreign Ministry in Kathmandu. Now, it is possible for individuals to submit applications and receive passports at the CDO office in each district. But this process takes an inordinately long time: between six to eight weeks. As a result many people who live outside of Kathmandu choose the fast-track option, through which they can get a passport within a week of submitting their application. The problem here is that fast-track passports are only issued in Kathmandu. Applicants have to wait for hours in long queues both when they submit their applications and when they receive them. They have to pay an inordinately high amount of money—Rs 10,000—for the passport. On top of all that, people from outside the Valley have to spend money for travel, food and accommodation for their weeklong trip to Kathmandu.

These are extremely high costs for the average Nepali seeking employment abroad. Given the high numbers of Nepalis who travel for work and the importance of remittances to the economy, it is necessary for the government to streamline this process. The passport fee needs to be reduced. Furthermore, measures need to be taken to ensure that people are able to receive a passport within a week in any district of the country. This may not be an easy task. But it is an important one. The Foreign Ministry needs to take steps to expand its infrastructure and personnel to areas all across the country to make the acquisition of passports easier and cheaper than it currently is.

Published on: 6 June 2013 | The Kathmandu Post