Around 400,000 Nepalis leave for foreign employment in past six months

Kathmandu / Nov 8: A total of 372,356 people left the country seeking jobs in foreign countries in the past six months.

According to the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), the aforementioned number of migrant workers who went for foreign employment was recorded during mid-April and mid-October. The number increased notably after a decline in cases of the COVID-19 pandemic.

DoFE officials said that the number is inflated also due to the destination countries lifting the restrictions for foreign workers after a decline in the spread of coronavirus. DoFE records show that these migrant workers received approval to work in 90 different countries.

Of the total figure, 239,602 people received new work permits while the remaining 132,752 people renewed their work permits. Based on the DoFE’s statistics, it is seen that around 2,500 workers leave the country every day.

Malaysia was the main attraction country for migrant workers in the past six months. The country absorbed over 100,000 Nepali workers during the period.

Likewise, the attraction is growing also for European countries including Romania, Croatia, Cyprus and the UK. There were only 71 highly skilled workers who left their homeland for foreign jobs.