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Over the past decade, Nepal has experienced a surge in out-migration for foreign employment to various destination countries. As more and more Nepali citizens aspire and depart for foreign jobs, regulators and stakeholders face new challenges in managing the migratory cycle and ensuring the that well-being and rights of all migrant workers are safeguarded.
The demand for workers in industries in Middle East countries created massive opportunities. The Government of Nepal responded with the promulgation of the Foreign Employment Act, 1985. The Act specified the countries (published in Nepal Gazette) to which Nepali citizens (preferably low skilled workers) were encouraged to migrate. The Act also opened avenues for the private sector to facilitate foreign employment.
A historical turn in the migratory pattern came with the restoration of democracy in Nepal in 1990. The democratically elected Government in 1992 embarked on a journey of economic liberalization and made official moves to a market economy, which also encouraged out-migration. The liberalization on mobility as well as the economy after the 1990s, coupled with the rapidly increasing labor demand in the Middle East countries, gradually increased the number of migrants traveling beyond India. The earliest record of labor permits issued by the Government shows that 3,605 Nepalese left for foreign employment in 1993/94, primarily to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).