The government has requested a visiting Malaysia delegation to roll back recent hike in visa processing fee for Nepali migrants going to Malaysia.

The Malaysian embassy in Kathmandu on November 1 hiked the visa processing fee to Rs 3,900 from the previous Rs 700. Stakeholders in Nepal said the fee had been increased after the embassy outsourced the visa processing service to a private firm, Malaysia VLN Nepal. 

In a meeting with visiting Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Wednesday, Home Minister Bamdev Gautam said Malaysia should 'reconsider' the current visa processing fee as it is 'too costly' for poor Nepali migrants.  Nepali stakeholders have been protesting the embassy's 'unilateral' hike in visa fee. Workers complain it still takes nine days for the embassy to issue a visa.  

Hamidi was on a three-day visit here to garner Nepal's support for the Malaysian bid to gain temporary membership at the United Nation Security Council. During the meeting on Thursday, Gautam sought amnesty for hundreds of Nepali workers languishing in Malaysian jails. 

The deputy prime minister also requested his Malaysian counter part to "do more" in ensuring security and safety of Nepali migrants, while safeguarding their rights for proper wage and labour rights. Hamidi assured the Nepali side to put up issues of imprisoned Nepali workers to other stakeholders in his country. He said that his government has given special priority to Nepali workers in the security sector acknolwding their contribution in Malaysia national security. 

He returned home on Thursday after meeting top government officials, including Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey and State Labour Minister Tek Bahadur Gurung. Malaysia is the biggest destination for Nepali migrant workers, with over 500,000 of them currently working in the agriculture, industrial, plantation and security sectors. 

However, Nepali migrant workers are forced to pay at least Rs 120,000 in recruitment costs to go to Malaysia. 

Published 4 April 2014 | The Kathmandu Post