Despite efforts on the part of the Nepali government to regulate the recruitment process and to make labour migration safer for Nepali migrants, the recruitment process in Nepal is still flawed, which manifests itself in five common problems:

First, the official recruitment process is described as cumbersome, non-transparent and can take up to several months, which can create room for corruption.

Second, migration costs can get very high including many hidden expenditures and exceed the legal maximum by far, which is why most migrants need to take out loans with high interest rates.

Third, many migrants do not attend the mandatory pre-departure orientation training because of both the high costs associated with the training and the need to travel to Kathmandu. Rather they buy false certificates to be able to obtain a labour permit. From anecdotal evidence and other studies, we have seen that mostly private recruitment agencies facilitate this process and often obtain the false certificates for the workers. The fact that false documents have been made means that the financial burden is then transferred to the migrant workers again. This problem is linked to a general lack of infrastructure and the centralisation of migration-related services, which implies that many services are only provided in Kathmandu and not outside the region.

Fourth, Nepali migrant workers are at risk of being defrauded by recruitment agencies and independent recruitment agents. Among the most common problems is that migrants are misguided or misinformed by recruitment agencies and agents, for instance, through false contracts, by charging exorbitant service costs or by not complying with employment/recruitment agreements. This can have severe consequences for the migration process and employment situation abroad (e.g., exploitation, limited mobility, high migration costs/debts). Labour migrants are also at risk of becoming victims of human trafficking, for instance, due to limited knowledge and information regarding the recruitment and migration process.

Fifth, due to the involvement of recruitment agencies and private agents in the process, labour migration arguably follows their “rent-seeking behavior rather than facilitating supply-demand linkages”.

Find out more about the degree of respect for workers rights in this country based on ITUC Global Rights Index here.