Despite the recruiting agencies’ claim that no companies would be interested to employ Nepali migrants under the free visa and ticket system, several foreign companies have expressed interest to hire workers from Nepal.

 

The Nepali Embassy in Malaysia has received demand for 470 workers since the government made free visa and free ticket mandatory to hire workers. Seventeen Malaysian firms have sent expression of interest letters to hire Nepali workers.

 

“We have received job demands for 460 male and 10 female workers. They will be permitted to hire workers once the verification process of documents is completed,” the embassy said in a statement on Thursday.

 

Officials at the Department of Foreign Employment said the embassies in the Gulf states and Malaysia received slightly fewer demands after the new provision was introduced, but they are insignificant.

 

“Recruiting agencies were wrong in believing that the new rule would left Nepal without job demands,” a DoFE official said.

 

Free visa and ticket provision, which came into effect from July 8, has made it binding for foreign employers to provide cost free visa and ticket to Nepali workers visiting the Gulf countries and Malaysia for employment. With the regulation in place, workers going to Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain will now have to pay service charge of not more than Rs 10,000 only if the concerned employer does not provide such charge to the recruiting agencies. Workers will have to pay for health check-ups, orientation training and welfare fund.

 

Bal Bahadur Tamang, former chairperson of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, said that it was too early to know the actual impact of the new rule. “We will have to wait at least six months to a year to get the true picture,” he said.

 

The new rule is expected to control widespread exploitation of migrant workers and promote decent recruitment practice. Recruiting agencies were charging higher than the government set ceiling of Rs 80,000 from workers aspiring to go to the Gulf states and Malaysia in the past.