Labour Migration from Nepal to Portugal: Attributes and Influencing Factors

Year: 2023
Prajesh Aryal
Senior Research Associate, Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility (CESLAM)
Sanjit Shrestha
Research Associate, CESLAM
Samiksha Neupane
Research Associate, CESLAM

The labour migration from Nepal has been traditionally endemic to the GCC countries, Malaysia and India. However, this pattern has seen a shift in recent times with the rise of Eastern European nations as possible destination countries for Nepali migrant workers. These shifts in migration patterns have further created opportunities for Nepali migrant workers with the previously lucrative but unavailable Western countries now seeming a real possibility with Portugal starting to host, through formal and informal channels, a large number of Nepali migrant workers. This study intends to explore Nepali workers’ migration to Portugal encapsulating the attributes and influencing factors of this migration process. The study uses a sequential mixed methods methodology to explore the phenomenon with initial surveys and later in-depth interviews with migrant workers administered online. The study uses a snowball sampling approach which is necessitated by the lack of access to Nepali migrant workers in Portugal for the survey. The study uses purposive sampling method to select prospective interviewees. There is a paucity of studies which have explored the Nepali workers’ migration to Portugal in a broad sense with current studies instead narrowed down to focus on specific sectors like agriculture or issues such as exploitation. This study will provide novelty in its scope and will attempt to build knowledge on the entire migration process for Nepali migrant workers to Portugal which is expected to be useful for both academics and policymakers.

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