They opined that the Himalayan nation is now a safe destination for tourism as the country has reigned in the coronavirus spread nationally. Additionally, most of the people employed in the tourism sector are vaccinated.

The operators held a meeting in Kathmandu on Monday and asked that the government remove the COVID-19 restrictions hampering tourism activities for completely vaccinated tourists and furnish the visas to the tourists on arrival. They also asked the government to publicize that Nepal is a safe destination for tourism on a global scale.

At the meeting, Sarita Lama, the General Secretary of Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal, emphasized the urgency of this decision as Nepal’s tourism activity peaks from September to November. If the decision is not taken in time, the tourism industry could be hit.

Raj Gyawali, an entrepreneur, said that the government should act immediately and issue an advisory that the country is safe for tourists.

The chief of the immigration department, Jhanka Nath Dhakal, was optimistic about granting the visa on arrival for tourists and about issuing an advisory. However, he stated that the cabinet would have to ratify the demands put forth.

Stay Tuned to NepaliSansar for Latest Nepal Tourism News Updates!

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The US Embassy Consul Mike Mussi and the Director General of Immigration Eshor Poudel gave away the first set of five-year, multiple-entry tourist visas to US travellers to Nepal, the US Embassy in Kathmandu informed in a release.

The United States Government has been extending similar services to Nepali travellers since many years. Nepal, with its latest decision, is following the similar visa terms for American visitors.

“Longer visa validity and lowered costs are good for both America and Nepal.  It will increase economic activity and exchanges between our countries,” Mussi said in a statement.

“Visa reciprocity is a standard and long-standing principle in visa policies worldwide. The United States Government and the Government of Nepal have been working towards establishing reciprocity for all types of visas since October 2017,” reads an official release.

This decision, which brings parity in the visa regimes of two countries, is expected to increase the pace of Americans’ tourism and business exchange visits to Nepal, thus benefiting Nepali economy.

“Similarly, American students and scholars are eager to study and conduct research in Nepal. Parity in our visa regimes means that more Americans will have the opportunity to study and research at Nepali academic institutions and participate in educational and cultural exchanges,” the release added.

The decision is also expected to offer significant benefits to certain categories of Nepali visa applicants.

According to the release, the decision will also benefit Nepali students planning educational career in the US by saving them USD 200 on each visa (more than 50 per cent savings) through the elimination of student visa issuance fees.

While tourism makes up major chunk of earnings for Nepal, US has been making a significant contribution to Nepal tourism with 90,000 US visitors to Nepal reported last year, a 15 percent rise over 2017 numbers.

Hope the new decision will benefit US and Nepal in all ways alongside benefits bilateral cooperation between the two nations.

Also Read

• How to Apply for a Nepal Business Visa?

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As a follow-up to our special coverage in February 2019, the legal war against the Trump Administration has finally turned positive for Honduras and Nepali immigrants is the United States.

As the latest reports say, the Trump Administration has taken back the decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for these two countries’ citizens in US.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), on March 12, 2019, informed that the US Government has given such exemptions to more than 10,000 Hondurans and Nepalis living in US.

The latest decision is the result of legal protests and lawsuits raised by a group of Honduras and Nepali TPS holders in US a month back.

The protests had also received wide range of support from ACLU and US immigrant rights advocates who had filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration on their decision to end TPS for immigrants of these two countries.

The lawsuit had a special mention that the government’s decision was motivated by racial agenda.

The lawsuit was filed in a District Court in San Francisco in support of six immigrants with TPS designation and two US citizens as children of beneficiaries.

The new announcement comes as a relief to more than 15,000 Nepalis and 86,000 Hondurans whose protections will end in June 2019 and January 2020, respectively.

Two Different Cases, A Common Relief!

TPS is a humanitarian grant offered by US for residents of countries hit by natural disasters or war situations. Under this support, US entitles the beneficiaries with legal provisions to work in US for a certain period.

Formed in 1990, the grant covers citizens of 10 countries. But the Trump administration has taken a decision to terminate TPS for 98% of those countries currently enjoying the grant.

Condemning the government decision, a San Francisco based US District Court, in October 2018, made a ruling blocking the US Administration from terminating TPS of more than 300,000 immigrants from different countries such as El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan.

Following the first lawsuit in 2018, the Trump Administration announced termination of TPS for Nepalis and Hondurans.

Now, the latest decision unites the two different cases, giving them a common relief.

“I feel like I’ve been sick and this agreement is a few drops of medicine,” lead petitioner and a TPS holder from Nepal (from Sunnyvale) Keshav Bhattarai said in a statement.

 What the Government Argues?

The US Government lawyers state that TPS was never defined ‘permanent’ and the aforementioned countries have already recovered from their disaster situations.

A Department of Justice spokesperson opines that the decision to terminate TPS of Nepalis and Hondurans was lawful and reasonable.

Meanwhile, House Democrats on March 12, 2019 released the new version of the Dream Act called the Dream and Promise Act showing a path of permanent citizenship for TPS beneficiaries.

“Our lawsuit is not the solution to this — it’s temporary relief,” says Lawyer Ahilan Arulanantham with ACLU of Southern California, while arguing that immigrants with TPS, living in US for decades, deserve stability.

It’s worth waiting to watch the next turn in the issue that has been concerning immigrants with TPS status in US!

Stay tuned for more breaking news headlines on ‘Nepali immigrants in US’!

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NHRC has recently recommended to the government, a 16-point document for effective management of foreign employment sector and address malpractices in the sector.

Strict monitoring of recruiting agencies and agents, immediate safeguarding of migrant workers facing challenges across foreign destinations and review of existing laws pertaining to them are among the key recommendations.

In response, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) forwarded the proposal to nine concerned ministries that need to give their nod for implementing the recommendations.

“The government is paying much attention to bringing back bodies of migrant workers. Similar attention should be given to those languishing in jail with no means to legal services, critically injured, and workers in coma in various hospitals. These workers should be brought back too,” says Sudip Pathak NHRC member.

What Stakeholders Said?
The recommendations were formulated after rounds of discussions among the Ministry of Labor Employment and Social, Security, Foreign Employment Promotion Board (FEPB), Department of Foreign Employment, recruiting agencies and various other concerned stakeholders.

Welcoming the proposed recommendations, stakeholders felt more such proposals would be required to address the concerns of Nepali migrant workers.

Basant Karki from the International Labor Organization (ILO) urged the government to also discuss on protecting the rights of foreign workers coming to work in Nepal and involve private sector players in enforcing recommendations.

Stakeholders called for:

• Ending discrimination of aspirant female migrant workers from moving abroad for jobs, in a bid to protect them from trafficking and exploitation
• Ratification of conventions and signing of all the possible bilateral labor agreements with the destination countries
• Empowerment of Nepali missions in foreign destinations making them capable of handling migrants’ issues
• Job security of migrant workers without any extra payment under the ‘Employer Pays’ principle
• Strict enforcement of ‘Free Visa Free Ticket’ scheme and ensure acknowledgement for every payment that migrants pay to recruiting agencies

 
In response, Director General at the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) Dilip Chapagain commended NHRC recommendations terming them ‘encouraging’ towards overhaul of Nepal’s foreign employment sector.

“The government has taken numerous measures recently to manage the sector and protect rights of Nepali workers,” said Chapagain.

Lauding the governmental efforts, NHRC Chairperson Anup Raj Sharma said, “It looks like most of the recommendations have been already implemented which is a good sign for everyone.”

Kul Prasad Karki, President of the Migrant Nepali Coordinator Committee, opined that the right implementation of these recommendations would definitely improve the foreign employment sector.

Also Read:

• Task Force Suggests New Destinations for Nepali Migrants
• Integrated System to Address Government Woes on Migrant Info

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The task force laid by the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security said the country has multiple opportunities for its labor migrants beyond the aforementioned regions.

The recommendations made by the task force majorly involved European countries such as Poland, Czech Republic, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden and Romania holding potential job opportunities in agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

According to Udaya Raj Pandey, Head of the panel and former Nepali Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Nepali migrant workers can find ample job opportunities in around 19 countries, with high potential in ship cruise services.

The task force further informed that Portugal and two Indian Ocean island nations, Seychelles and Mauritius, are keen on welcoming Nepali workers and have already sent draft MoUs to recruit Nepalis under the Government-to-Government modality.

Key Takeaways of the Study
Speaking on the sidelines of the report, panel member and migration researcher with the Center for the Study of Labor & Mobility Arjun Kharel said the recommendations were made after thorough deliberations with related stakeholders and international labor market already hosting high number of Nepali migrant workers.

According to the task force, there has been a high concentration of Nepali migrant workers in countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia and Oman since early 1990s.

While a total of 153 countries have given permits to Nepali workers during between FY 2008-09 and 2016-17 periods, the aforementioned seven countries alone accounted for 6.42 per cent of outgoing Nepali migrant workers.

“Sending Nepali workers to these countries without proper study of their labor markets and agreements with the host country would rather invite problems. There have been many instances of Nepalis trying to reach these countries through illegal channels either by educational consultancies or agents,” says Kharel, citing the challenges being faced by the migrant workers.

Hope the government’s decision following the recommendations will work towards enhancing safe and secure job opportunities for Nepali migrant workers.

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In its recent report titled ‘Jobless Growth?’, WB recommended a rise in job creation for Nepal to meet the employment needs of the gradually-growing working age population.

“Every month, the working age population increases by 35,000 people and Nepal must create 286,900 jobs a year to maintain its employment rate,” WB said in its report.

While WB projected Nepal’s GDP growth at 4.6 percent in 2018, “providing opportunities to these young entrants while attracting more women into the labor market, will require generating even more jobs for every point of economic growth,” says Martin Rama, World Bank South Asia Region Chief Economist citing to the growing working age (youth) population in South Asia through 2025.

Stating that the growth rebound is inconsistent across economies, the report noted that the exports remain weak despite the accelerating global growth and trade.

However, a slow recovery was observed in case of Nepal.

“Nepal has seen an economic recovery after disruptions from earthquakes and a trade blockade, but growth is expected to slow from 7.5 percent in fiscal year 2017 to 4.6 percent in 2018 due to the heaviest floods in decades combined with slow recovery of exports, slowdown in remittances, and an increase in lending rates,” the report added.

Case of South Asia

WB’s twice-a-year South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) report made these observations as part of its assessment on the overall growth of South Asia.

According to Martin, “more than 1.8 million young people will reach working age every month in South Asia through 2025 and the good news is that economic growth is creating jobs in the region.”

To control the gaps in employment rate, the report urged South Asian economies to create a minimum of 1.17 million jobs a year.

“Growth is important, but even very high growth will alone not be enough to increase South Asia’s employment rate. Policies and actions are needed to make growth more labor-intensive, and especially to create the kinds of jobs that can encourage greater labor force participation by women,” says Robert Beyer, the report author.

Status of Employment in Nepal

Over the years, there has been a growing trend of inclination for foreign employment among Nepali working age population, especially the youth, due to the lack of employment opportunities locally.

As a result, Nepali working population have been migrating to the foreign destinations such as Malaysia, Singapore and Gulf countries, majorly. The first eight months of the current fiscal saw at least 1,026 migrants per day to various overseas labor destinations.

However, there is also a declining trend being observed over the last two fiscals with regard to overseas labor migration. This trend is encouraging the need for creation of more jobs, locally.

The Economic Survey of the Ministry of Finance was quoted to have reported the addition of a minimum 512,000 youth population to the Nepali labor market, annually.

While the number of new entrants to the Nepali labor market stands at more than 42,000 people per month in the last fiscal, the number is expected to grow further in the coming years owing to the declining dependency ratios.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) calls Nepal a young country with 63.7 percent of the country’s overall population (26.5 million) aged below 30 years.

However, when it comes to the employment, the unemployment rate among youth aged 15-29 years stands at 19.2 percent compared to 2.7 percent for the whole population.

“Over 400,000 young people are estimated to enter the labor force every year. These figures indicate the quantitative dimension of the employment challenge in Nepal,” says ILO.

Basic employment-related challenges in Nepal are attributed to the predominance of employment in the informal segments of the Nepali economy with low productivity and earnings, and poor working conditions, resulting in underemployment in the country.

Higher incomes and dignity of labor are among other aspects contributing to the rise in migration for foreign employment.

As a Solution: The Government of Nepal had on many occasions urged ILO for its support to enhance job opportunities within the country. Towards this end, ILO worked with the Nepali Government in developing a comprehensive national Employment Policy and is also assisting towards the effective implementation of the same with special focus on informal economy, social protection and youth employment. To monitor the changing trends, ILO is working in collaboration with the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) of Nepal to develop employment monitoring and evaluation tools. The organization has also extended its technical support for the labor market reform in the country resulting in a modified labor bill. This has further moved Nepali Ministry of Labor to bolster the public employment services thus contributing to the possible rise in employability across the country.

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Interview by Sai Nikesh D

Nepal has come a long way in development. As a nation sharing borders with the world’s two major economies, Nepal has been striving to become a developing country and grow further to achieve the developed country status.  As a process, the Government of Nepal has been actively participating in various global and local level platforms promoting country’s strengths and potential to development, and is sincerely aiming to see the benefits as part of its UN 2030 Agenda.

Continuing with a wide coverage on Nepal and its developments over a period, Nepali Sansar, as a Nepal-focused media house, got a chance to get in touch with Dr.Ek Raj Ojha, Senior Sustainable Development Consultant from Nepal, for a better understanding of the country’s progress towards its set goals.

Dr. Ojha, with his sound expertise in working with national and international level organizations like ADB, UN and government departments in sustainable development and planning, policy framework, among other key aspects of development and planning, shared a valuable information in this regard, helping us portray a complete picture of Nepal and its developmental path over a period and towards future.

Following are a few excerpts of Nepali Sansar Bureau’s detailed interaction with Dr. Ojha:

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Felipe González Morales, who was on an 8-day official visit to Nepal during January 29-February 5, 2018, analyzed the overall scenario of Nepali migrant labor in foreign destinations.

As part of the assessment, Morales held consultations with all the relevant stakeholders including government officials, recruiting agencies, migrants and their families, civil society organizations and trade unions, among others.

Recruitment, a Major Concern 

As the end-of-the-mission remarks, Morales said, “Important protection gaps continue to exist in law and challenges remain in enforcement, implementation and monitoring.”

An official statement has also been released in this regard on February 05, 2018, wherein, the UN official lauded governmental efforts such as introduction of the ‘Free Visa Free Ticket’ policy in 2015, among others.

The statement also highlighted various key challenges of migrant workers across foreign destinations and has made recommendations with regard to various sectors focused on migrant labor.

Morales made a special emphasis on the migrant recruitment procedures terming that as a very ‘complex process with a large number of actors’.

“While I recognize recruiters facilitate regular opportunities, whereby migrants arrive with a legitimate visa, I observed the sector is in practice very poorly regulated, allowing recruiters to often charge high recruitment fees,” he added.

The official found fault with the recruitment agencies that were found collecting as high as Rs 180,000 in recruiting fees.

Addressing the concern, Morales recommended that the Government of Nepal should initiate sufficient licensed recruiting agencies branches across the districts to avoid the presence of unlicensed subagents and other relevant malpractices.

“Decentralizing services that only take place in Kathmandu can also benefit aspirant migrant workers from other parts of the country,” adds Morales.

To Stop Labor Exploitation

The official also proposed the establishment an independent monitoring system to oversee the grievances of different stakeholders.

Pointing out at forced labor, labor trafficking and labor exploitation, Morales urged the government to initiate required probe into the issues.

“Despite existing legislation concerning human trafficking and forced labor, only victims’ complaints related to human trafficking of women and girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation were investigated and tried under the criminal justice system,” he added.

Women Migrants

Speaking on rights of women migrants, Morales urged the government to address the issues pertaining to the age limits of women migrant workers and restricts on women with children under two years of age.

This hurts their right to leave the country and increases their vulnerability to labor exploitation, he noted.

“Such provisions only drive migration further underground and a considerable number of Nepali women use irregular channels through India, often at hands of unscrupulous recruiters. I hence strongly urge Nepali authorities to develop a human rights based, holistic and comprehensive policy, aiming at better protection of women migrant workers in destination countries,” says Morales.

Policy Recommendations

Morales, in his preliminary observations, also made policy-level recommendations including good recruitment practices, reintegration sessions, development of bilateral labor agreements with the host countries in line with international standards, among others.

Besides, he also recommends strengthening of the legal and policy framework, data enhancement on the status of migrant workers, protection and assistance to irregular migrant workers, approval of international conventions, generating domestic jobs, making policies for ensuring skill development of labor and helping returnee workers for their sustainability in the domestic market, among other recommendations.    

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The US-based Pew Research Center, in its analysis of World Bank report for 2016, concluded that Nepal is leading the way with an estimated USD 6.6 billion in remittances equivalent to 31.3 percent of the country’s GDP.

With regard to remittances by percentage of GDP, Nepal (31.3 percent) was followed by Kyrgyzstan (USD 2 billion, 30.4 percent of GDP), Tajikistan (USD 1.9 billion, 26.9 percent of GDP), among others.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, India and the United Arab Emirates remained the biggest source of remittances for Nepal in 2016.

Nepal saw a GDP revenue of USD 21.1 billion in 2016, ranking 96^th in the global ranking in terms of purchasing power parity.

According to the Pew Research Center, more than 1.6 million Nepalese were living in other countries in 2015.

Nepal’s Remittance Trend over the Years

According to the World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016 report, Nepal has been featuring among the top remittance recipient countries over the last three years.

When it comes to remittances (as a percentage of GDP), Nepal (29 percent) stood third in the list of largest remittance recipients following Tajikistan (42 percent) and the Kyrgyz Republic (30 percent) in 2015.

When it comes to remittances (by revenues) in 2015, Nepal (USD 6.6 billion) followed India (USD 72.2 billion), Pakistan (USD 20.1 billion) and Bangladesh (USD 15.8 billion) and Sri Lanka (USD 7.2 billion).

Nepal, with 29.2 percent remittances as a share of GDP, was also among the top 10 recipients in 2014.

Immigration and Emigration

Nepal was among the top ten immigration and emigration nations in 2013.

When it comes to migration corridors, Nepal featured among the top 10 list for forming migration corridors with India and Saudi Arabia.

Here, it is noteworthy that remittances to Nepal have almost doubled over the 2007-16 period boosting the country’s status as the top remittance-dependent nation.

According to UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) report, ‘Sending Money Home: Contributing to the SDGs, One Family at a Time’, the contribution of remittances to Nepal’s GDP has grown from 17 percent in 2007 to 32 percent by 2016.

For More Investment

In a move boosting investment in Nepal, the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) has come forward to set up a Rs 10 billion worth investment fund to promote investment in the country.

NRNA President Bhawan Bhatta informed this at a meeting on January 30, 2018 while informing that the fund will be utilized for the infrastructure development required to promote investments.

On the occasion, NRNA highlighted key developments they are undertaking in Nepal, which includes the construction of Laprak Model Settlement in Laprak of Gorkha and a park on 32 ropanis land on the Bagmati River bank at Shankhamul at an investment of Rs 22.5 million.

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Here are some of the key highlights of Nepal with regard to immigration and labor migration:

Immigration

Despite many challenges, Nepal took some key decisions towards ensuring safety of Nepali migrants working in foreign destinations in 2017.

Few countries with which Nepal signed key pacts related to labor cooperation include Bahrain, Jordan, Korea, Qatar, Japan, Kuwait, among others.

While Nepalese form the largest South Asian and the sixth largest migrant populace in Japan, there was a steady rise in number of Nepali migrants in Japan every year over the last decade.

Nepalese also form the fastest growing migrant community in Australia at an annual growth rate of 27 percent, and Nepali is the second most-spoken language other than English in the state of Tasmania.

However, the Australian Government’s decision to abolish the 457 Visa Scheme for skilled migrants is likely to affect Nepalis planning to move to Australia for work. With this, beginning March 2018, prospective Nepali immigrants will need to undergo the new Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) visa program involving a two-year short-term and a four-year medium term.

Meanwhile, in support of Nepali migrant workers, the Nepali Health Ministry has also announced plans to introduce the National Migration Health Policy.

“This policy will provide an opportunity to promote a more coherent and integrated approach to heal, beyond the treatment of specific diseases for all populations, including migrants, irrespective of their legal and migratory status,” says Paul Norton, Chief of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for Nepal.

Towards skill development for migrants, the Labor Ministry of Nepal has also requested the International Labor Organization (ILO) to initiate result-oriented projects in the country.

Highlighting that the Nepali youth migrating for foreign employment are in need of skill development programs, the Secretary at the Nepali Ministry of Labor and Employment Laxman Prasad Mainali had also urged ILO Director to ensure safety of Nepali migrant labor working at foreign destinations.

Mainali made this proposal as part of his participation at the 331^st governing board meeting of ILO held in Geneva in the first week of November 2017.

As a major immigration-related update in 2017, the Nepali Government announced passports to the foreign-born Nepali children. The government took an official decision in this regard at a council of ministers meeting held in Kathmandu on September 11, 2017.

Other Key Highlights

In a major update to the world, Nepal also joined the list of countries that signed the Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty in 2017.

Nepal singed the treaty on September 21, 2017 as part of its participation at the 72^nd UNGA session in New York.

“It is a good step towards nuclear disarmament”, said the Nepali Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Bharat Raj Paudyal as he informed that Nepal’s stand on the disarmament of weapons causing mass destruction remains consistent and principled.

On the similar occasion, Nepal also won its long-awaited UN Human Rights Council membership. UN declared Nepal as UNHRC member on October 16, 2017 for the 2018-2020 term.

“Nepal’s first-ever election to the Council would be a recognition to the country’s long commitment and contribution in the field of human rights and an encouragement to do more at national as well as global levels,” says Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Making a conservation history, Nepal, in August 2017, became the first country to launch climate-smart snow leopard landscape management plan, leading the way in safeguarding its endangered species and habitat, ahead of the International Snow Leopard Summit and Ecosystem Forum in Kyrgyzstan.

In another major update related to conservation of endangered species, Nepal has also released its six captive-reared critically-endangered species of white-rumped vultures into the wild on November 9, 2017.

Besides, in a move towards tiger conservation, Nepal joined India for a first-of-its-kind exercise to estimate tiger population in both the countries.

These are some of the key among various other updates related to Nepal in 2017.

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