Nepal Government\u2019s \u2018free visa, free ticket<\/strong>\u2019 scheme for easing the financial burden of migrants is not paying off its due benefits to the needy.<\/p>\n The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) said this in its recent report, where it pointed out that the scheme still lacks implementation and migrant workers continue to pay hefty amounts to recruitment agencies.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Department of Foreign Employment has not monitored whether the employer or recruiting agencies have paid for airfare, insurance, and visa fees,\u201d read the OAG report findings revealed on April 12, 2019.<\/p>\n The government fails to implement the scheme even four years after the official announcement to ease migrant workers\u2019 financial burden.<\/p>\n The scheme was launched with a mandate that employers will bear the visa and air travel expenses for workers going for employment in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Malaysia.<\/p>\n The workers will just need to pay for medical tests, orientation training and recruiting agencies for their services.<\/p>\n Despite the scheme\u2019s implementation, thousands of migrant workers are still paying amounts to recruitment agencies for jobs in foreign destinations.<\/p>\n \u201cImplementation of free visa and free ticket scheme was never on the priority list of the government. The political commitment on the part of the government has lacked because of the fact that its implementation will hurt the recruiting agencies,\u201d says Barun Ghimire<\/span>, programme manager at the Law and Policy Forum for Social Justice.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The scheme remains pending despite the Forum\u2019s pleas to Supreme Court and further judgment by the apex court for early enforcement of the same.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government agencies have so far side-lined the implementation of this scheme. This tendency shows the state\u2019s old habit of leaving things at status quo,\u201d adds Ghimire<\/span>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Prior to this in 2017, the parliamentary International Relations and Labor Committee had also concluded the scheme as a complete failure.<\/p>\n It\u2019s surprising that the migrant workers are paying around NPR 50,000-900,000 for overseas jobs even after the scheme\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the government wants to strictly enforce the policy, it easily can. At least, the government authorities can raid recruiting agencies regularly which will send a strong message to those involved in charging heavy amount to poor migrant workers,\u201d says Ghimire<\/span>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Stay tuned for more updates on \u2018Nepali migrants<\/a> concerns\u2019!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nepal Government\u2019s \u2018free visa, free ticket\u2019 scheme for easing the financial burden of migrants is not…<\/span><\/p>\n