Foreign Employment from Nepal: The Labour Permit (Shram Swikriti) Process

A labour permit, or shram swikriti (श्रम स्वीकृति), is the formal authorisation that the Government of Nepal grants to a citizen before they depart for paid employment abroad. Under the Foreign Employment Act, 2064 (2007 AD) and the Foreign Employment Rules, 2064 (2008 AD), no Nepali may legally go abroad for work, and no recruitment agency may send a worker, without this permit. Travelling for foreign employment without it is classed as irregular migration, which strips the worker of legal protection, insurance cover and welfare-fund benefits if something goes wrong.

The permit is issued by the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE, वैदेशिक रोजगार विभाग), which was established on Poush 16, 2065 BS (31 December 2008 AD) and operates under the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security. DoFE licenses recruitment ('manpower') agencies, approves labour demands from foreign employers, and issues permits to both agency-recruited and individually-recruited workers. Complaints and adjudication are handled by a separate Foreign Employment Tribunal and the Foreign Employment Board.

Since 2008, DoFE has issued millions of labour permits, making foreign employment Nepal's single largest formal-labour channel. Remittances sent home by these workers reached roughly a quarter of national GDP in recent fiscal years, which is why the permit process is tightly regulated and closely watched.

Most of the process now runs through the Foreign Employment Information Management System (FEIMS), the DoFE e-platform at feims.dofe.gov.np. FEIMS links the Department with licensed recruitment agencies, approved medical centres, insurance companies and banks, so that demand approval, worker records, payments and permit issuance sit on one digital record. There are separate logins for individual applicants and for institutional (agency and office) users.

An individual applicant registers using their machine-readable passport number and date of birth, verifies a one-time password (OTP) sent to their mobile or email, and then completes the online application. Fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory, and scanned documents such as the passport, work visa, signed employment contract and photographs are uploaded to the portal. Payments for the welfare fund and insurance can be made through the online gateway, after which biometric verification is completed at a DoFE office or labour desk.

Broadly, workers fall into two tracks. Institutional (agency-recruited) workers migrate through a licensed recruitment agency that has already secured an approved demand from the foreign employer. Individual workers arrange the job themselves and apply for the permit directly, and there is also a faster 're-entry' or renewal path for those returning to the same employer after leave, which skips the full new application.

For agency-recruited workers, the process begins long before the individual applies. A foreign employer issues a 'demand letter' (and usually a power of attorney and job agreement) specifying the number of workers, the job, wages and terms. This demand must first be attested by the Nepali diplomatic mission (embassy) in the destination country, which checks that the employer is genuine and the terms meet Nepali standards.

The licensed recruitment agency then submits the attested demand to DoFE for 'demand approval' (mag patra swikriti). Once verified, the Department registers it and issues a demand number, against which the agency may advertise, select and process workers. Recruitment or sending workers without a valid licence, or against an unapproved demand, is prohibited under Section 3 of the Foreign Employment Act.

The employment contract itself must be approved so that the worker leaves with clear, enforceable terms: post, salary, working hours, leave, accommodation, food and the duration of the contract. Individually-recruited workers must likewise present a genuine job offer and contract for their destination. This contract-approval step is what protects a migrant against being switched into a lower-paid or different job on arrival.

Before a permit is issued, every worker must clear four mandatory pre-departure requirements. A medical fitness examination must be done at a health institution approved for foreign-employment medicals, confirming the worker is fit for the destination and the job (Gulf and Malaysian employers require this through the GCC-approved GAMCA/Wafid channel). An unfit result blocks the permit.

Pre-departure orientation training (PDOT) is compulsory and is delivered by DoFE-authorised training institutes. The course, typically a few days long, covers the destination country's laws and culture, the terms of the contract, workplace safety, financial literacy, and where to seek help in an emergency; gender-specific content is included. The worker receives an orientation certificate that must be uploaded to FEIMS.

Two financial safeguards complete the set. Life and accidental insurance is mandatory for every departing worker, providing compensation to the worker or their family in case of death, injury or disability abroad. Separately, each worker contributes Rs 1,500 to the Foreign Employment Welfare Fund, established under the Foreign Employment Act; the fund pays for rescue and repatriation, treatment, compensation for deaths and injuries, and scholarships for the children of deceased or disabled migrants.

In line with the principle that the worker should not pay to be recruited, the Government of Nepal introduced the 'free visa, free ticket' (nishulka visa, nishulka ticket) policy in mid-2015 (2072 BS). Under it, the foreign employer must bear the cost of the work visa and the round-trip air ticket, rather than passing these onto the worker.

The policy applies to seven main labour destinations: Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. Where the employer refuses to pay the recruitment service charge, a licensed agency may charge the worker only a capped service fee (the government ceiling has been set at Rs 10,000), rather than the far larger sums workers historically paid.

Even under 'free visa, free ticket', a worker still legitimately pays for their own passport, medical test, insurance premium, orientation and the welfare-fund contribution. Enforcement has been uneven and hidden charges persist in practice, but the policy remains the legal benchmark and a key protection against debt-financed migration and trafficking. Workers are advised to keep receipts and to report agencies that demand illegal fees.

DoFE maintains an official list of 'recognized destinations' — the countries to which Nepalis may legally migrate for work. The list has grown over time and now covers on the order of 110 to 111 countries, and the government has periodically opened batches of new destinations. In practice, however, the overwhelming majority of Nepali migrant workers go to a handful of countries: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Malaysia (and India, where an open border means no permit is required).

A small number of countries are prohibited (blacklisted) for Nepali foreign employment on security grounds — commonly Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya — and permits are not issued for work there. In addition to country-level bans, Nepal has at various times imposed category-specific restrictions, most notably on women migrating for domestic work in certain Gulf states; these age- and sector-based rules have shifted repeatedly and prospective workers should check the current position with DoFE.

Because both the approved list and the restrictions change, the authoritative reference is always the DoFE 'Recognized Destination' page and current government notices rather than agency advertisements. Migrating to a non-listed or prohibited country, or through an unapproved route, means travelling without a valid labour permit and without any of its protections.

To obtain a labour permit, a worker generally needs: a valid machine-readable passport; the approved demand/job offer and signed employment contract; a valid work visa for the destination; a medical fitness certificate; a pre-departure orientation certificate; proof of insurance; and proof of the welfare-fund payment. Agency-recruited workers add the agency's documentation, while individual applicants must additionally satisfy DoFE that the job and contract are genuine.

On fees, the durable, government-set amounts are the Rs 1,500 welfare-fund contribution and the capped recruitment service charge under 'free visa, free ticket'; the worker also pays the actual cost of the medical, insurance and orientation. Applicants should treat any other quoted figure as indicative, as service and processing charges are periodically revised.

Individual labour approvals are generally issued within a few working days of a complete application, and re-entry/renewals are typically faster. The permit is recorded electronically against the passport (an E-permit/e-sticker). Workers should carry a printout and their supporting documents, and can verify a permit's status online through FEIMS.